A state Senate committee has advanced legislation designed to give broader protections to adults vulnerable to financial, physical and other abuses, but it removed a controversial element that would have singled out elderly residents for special protections.

The Senate Human Services committee on Tuesday deleted the provision that would have required the state to begin an investigation whenever it received a report of suspected abuse of anyone 75 or older.

The panel left intact the section that authorizes the state to start an inquiry when it receives a report that a "vulnerable" adult is being abused or in danger of abuse, a change that would broaden the existing law.

The legislation was introduced following an Advertiser series last year that disclosed that many cases of suspected elder abuse go unreported or unchecked because the Adult Protective Services law is so narrowly focused. One national elder-law expert called it the most restrictive APS statute in the country — a contention the state Department of Human Services, which investigates cases of elder abuse, disputes.

Critics of the proposed legislation, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i, argued that singling out elderly residents amounted to age discrimination and would open the door to unwarranted intrusions by the government into a person's life.

"Individuals may be stripped of their constitutional rights simply because they reach the age of 75," Laurie Temple of the ACLU said in written testimony to the committee.

But proponents, such as Kokua Council, Catholic Charities Hawai'i and the Hawai'i chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, supported the original measure, noting that many cases of suspected elder abuse fall through the cracks because of the narrow focus of the law.

James Pietsch, a University of Hawai'i law professor, told the committee that Hawai'i's elderly already are afforded extra protections in various civil and criminal statutes, and by having a specific elder-abuse law, the message would be sent that the state values its kupuna and cases would not be as likely to fall through the cracks. He also noted that suspected victims of abuse would retain the right under the proposed law to tell the state to stop an inquiry, preventing unwanted government intrusions.

Current law allows DHS to investigate only if the adult is considered dependent on someone else for care because of an impairment, is already an abuse victim and is in imminent danger of continued abuse.

The proposed law would apply to adults considered vulnerable to abuse because of a physical, mental or other impairment. Dependency no longer would be a factor.

Another key change would permit the state to investigate if the person has been abused or is in imminent danger of abuse, eliminating the requirement that both criteria be in place.

Lawyer Tom Farrell, a former deputy attorney general who helped draft the original APS law in the late 1980s, told committee members that he supported changing the dual requirement, noting the Legislature never intended the law to be applied in that fashion.

"If the house is on fire, you need to take action to protect the people inside," Farrell said. "You don't have to wait until the people are burning, too."

The committee also amended the bill to include an unspecified appropriation to cover additional staff needed to help DHS deal with the increase expected in abuse investigations.

Senate Bill 1184 now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.

Reach Rob Perez at rperez@honoluluadvertiser.com.