STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3159

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2342

H.D. 1

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. 2342, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WEAPONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit carrying or using a firearm in the commission of a separate misdemeanor offense; and

(2) Clarify prohibitions regarding deadly or dangerous weapons, switchblade knives, and butterfly knives.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu

Police Department, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Hawaii Firearms Coalition, and forty-nine individuals.

Your Committee finds that while the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony is already prohibited under section 134-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, there is a need to expand the prohibition to the use of firearms in misdemeanor offenses. Your Committee further finds that a new law to specifically address the carry or use of a firearm in the commission of a separate misdemeanor is necessary to increase public safety. This measure will address hazards to the health, safety, and welfare of Hawaii residents by updating and clarifying existing statute related to firearms and weapons.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language specifying that the permit requirements for the acquisition of a rifle or shotgun under 134-2(g), Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall not apply to an applicant who has been issued a hunter education certificate that is valid for life or has received a written exemption; 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. 2342, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2342, H.D. 1, 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