HB 2197: REAL PROPERTY; DWELLINGS; SQUATTERS; CRIMINAL TRESPASS; REMOVAL; HAWAII PENAL CODE

Specifies a process by which property owners may utilize law enforcement officers to remove unauthorized individuals from dwellings.  Establishes the criminal offenses of squatting and fraudulent sale or lease of residential real property.  Makes the offense of criminal trespass in the first degree for a person who knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling or in or upon the premises of a hotel or apartment building a class C felony, rather than a misdemeanor.  Classifies the type of property damage typically inflicted by squatters as a form of criminal property damage in the second degree.  Classifies the falsification of documentation typically performed by squatters as a form of unsworn falsification to authorities.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD2)