STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2862

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2345

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRISIS INTERVENTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the State's crisis intervention practices.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to coordinate crisis intervention training for state and county law enforcement agencies and crisis intervention officers;

(2) Requires the Department of Health to certify crisis intervention officers;

(3) Defines "crisis intervention officer";

(4) Establishes and appropriates moneys for crisis intervention coordinator positions; and

(5) Appropriates moneys for the training and certification of crisis intervention officers.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Law Enforcement; Disability and Communication Access Board; State Council on Mental Health; Alzheimer's Association; Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center; Hawaii Primary Care Association; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; Institute for Human Services, Inc.; National Alliance on Mental Illness Hawaii; Opportunity Youth Action Hawaii; and three individuals.

Your Committee finds that, in response to an influx of habitual offenders, some of whom suffer from chronic conditions relating to drugs, alcohol, or mental illness, mental health service providers have been working with appropriate law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system to implement crisis intervention programs. Your Committee also finds that a critical member of a crisis intervention team is the law enforcement officer, and that de-escalation and prevention efforts have been successful when law enforcement officers are trained in mental health first aid and crisis intervention.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring the Department of Law Enforcement and county law enforcement agencies to identify one or more nationally recognized crisis intervention organizations able to provide training and certification for crisis intervention officers;

(2) Deleting the requirement that the Department of Health certify crisis intervention officers;

(3) Inserting language to allow a crisis intervention officer to respond to a call for assistance from a law enforcement officer who has reason to believe that a person is imminently dangerous to themself or others;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair