STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3080

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1611

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1611, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require law enforcement agencies and the Law Enforcement Standards Board to:

(1) Consult the National Decertification Index; and

(2) Report certain information related to a law enforcement officer's certification status to the Index.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from ACLU of Hawaii.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers.

Your Committee received comments on this measure by the Department of Law Enforcement.

Your Committee finds that the use of force by law enforcement officers to impose laws should be held to the highest standards to ensure that this authority is not abused. Your Committee notes that current statute does not require an employing law enforcement agency to consult with the National Decertification Index when hiring a potential law enforcement officer. Additionally, law enforcement agencies are not required to report records of employed officers to the Index. This measure will help ensure that law enforcement officers serving within the State possess the highest moral standards and character by requiring the use of the National Decertification Index as part of a law enforcement agency’s determination of an applicant’s employment suitability.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Making it effective on July 1, 2025; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1611, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1611, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

________________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair