Posted on: Friday, May 9, 2003

'Upskirt photography' bill among 4 signed by Lingle

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

A bill expanding the state's violation of privacy law to include so-called "upskirt photography" became law yesterday. Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law Senate Bill 1107, which makes it a crime to record or broadcast a person's "intimate area" underneath clothing in a public place without that person's consent.

The bill, which was part of the city prosecutor's legislative wish list, was prompted by a case in which law officials said former Iolani School basketball coach Tyler Takehara, 49, positioned a camcorder in a bag and videotaped shots looking up women's skirts as they rode escalators at Ala Moana Center.

Prosecutors said existing privacy laws only prohibited recording someone with a secret camera in private places, and didn't apply to Takehara's case. But the new law makes recording someone underneath their clothes without their consent in a public place a misdemeanor, which holds a maximum penalty of $2,000 fine and a year in jail. The law also allows the court to order that any recording in violation of the statute be destroyed.

The bill was one of four that Lingle signed into law yesterday.

Lingle signed Senate Bill 1306, which requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish intrastate telecommunications relay services for the deaf, hearing- impaired and speech-impaired.

Lingle also signed Senate Bill 538 and Senate Bill 1255. Senate Bill 538 alters the definition of public lands to allow the Agribusiness Development Corp. to negotiate subleases with potential tenants instead of having to put the land through an auctioning process. Senate Bill 1255 allows the Department of Agriculture to enter into cooperative agreements relating to agricultural safety and security with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.