Bill Text: HI HB1068 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii House Bill 1068 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2013-07-09 - Act 245, 7/1/2013 (Gov. Msg. No. 1348). [HB1068 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HB1068-Amended.html

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1010

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1068

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

Your Committees on Human Services and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1068, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require employers to post in a conspicuous place a poster that provides specified information relating to human trafficking and the availability and description of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline; and

(2) Establish penalties for violations of the poster requirement.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from IMUAlliance, the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, Outrigger Enterprises Group, MADE IN HOPE, Tahirih Association, Courage House Hawaii, and fifty-one individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Libertarian Party of Hawaii. Your Committees received comments on this measure from The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

Your Committees find that victims of human trafficking are commonly linked by poverty and a lack of opportunity and are often seeking to escape their impoverished life with the hope of finding opportunity and a brighter future in the United States, including Hawaii. Human traffickers frequently promise unsuspecting victims an opportunity to travel, at no immediate expense, for employment and housing. When these victims reach their destination, they are often forced to work in various types of jobs that range from the sex trade to virtual slave labor. By the time these individuals are rescued, if ever, their physical, mental, and psychological state have been shattered, with many becoming ill and some even losing their lives. This measure attempts to assist these victims.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Amending language establishing the locations in which establishments shall post information relating to human trafficking and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline;

(2) Inserting a definition for the term "establishment" to mean:

(A) Any entity that holds a class 5 or class 11 liquor license pursuant to section 281-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(B) A hospital emergency room;

(D) A farm operation employing five or more persons;

(3) Adding language to allow the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to contract with other state or county agencies for the purposes of implementing or enforcing this measure; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1068, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1068, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair