STAND. COM. REP. NO. 390-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 1415

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education & Technology, to which was referred H.B. No. 1415, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THREAT ASSESSMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to protect the community from violence and threats of violence by:

(1) Assisting organizations in developing threat assessment teams by providing them the opportunity for threat assessment training and assistance with threat team building;

(2) Enabling threat assessment team members to obtain and share information from different sources needed to assess threats of violence; and

(3) Protecting personal privacy by ensuring that only vetted threat assessment team members may receive certain sensitive information and specifying that the information may not be used for any purpose beyond what is necessary for a team to assess a threat.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii State Fusion Center, and Honolulu Police Department. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary and Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that when communities face violence or threats of violence, the development of threat assessment teams within organizations can help these organizations identify, assess, and manage the threats. A multidisciplinary threat assessment team consisting of individuals with diverse training and experience, including psychologists, health care providers, social workers, substance abuse counselors, and disability service providers, can help prevent violence and find solutions to manage threats.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that addressing threats of violence through the development of threat assessment teams is a matter of statewide concern;

(2) Removing amendments that would have allowed the Hawaii State Fusion Center of the Office of Homeland Security access to information from the juvenile justice information system; and

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

Your Committee respectfully requests that should your Committee on Finance choose to hear this measure, it consider appropriating $100,000 for the first year of training costs and related expenses.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education & Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1415, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1415, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education & Technology,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair