Bill Text: HI SB879 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Witnesses in Criminal Cases; Per Diem Payments
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-04-26 - Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-26-13 4:15PM in conference room 325. [SB879 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2013-SB879-Amended.html
STAND. COM. REP. NO. 186
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 879
Honorable Donna Mercado Kim
President of the Senate
Twenty-Seventh State Legislature
Regular Session of 2013
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 879 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WITNESSES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase the per diem payments of out-of-state witnesses in criminal cases to support and encourage out-of-state witnesses to return to Hawaii to participate in the prosecution of those cases.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Crime Victim Compensation Commission; Hawai‘i Tourism Authority; Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu; and Victim/Witness Assistance Division, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, County of Maui.
Your Committee finds that the last time the Legislature increased the per diem payment for out-of-state witnesses was in 1989. This amount is no longer sufficient for out-of-state witnesses to pay for their personal expenses, such as for food and lodging, and discourages or prevents out-of-state witnesses from returning to the State to testify against offenders. Furthermore, the per diem amount for witnesses who are required to travel to and stay overnight on another island to attend a state court is also insufficient. Increasing the per diem payment for out-of-state witnesses from $110 to $145 per day and providing an additional $90 per day for witnesses who are required to travel and stay overnight on another island will support and encourage out-of-state witnesses to testify and facilitate the prosecution of important criminal cases.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 879 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,
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____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair |
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