SB2584

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that sexual assault is one of the most underreported and traumatically enduring crimes. Victims often delay reporting for years or decades due to fear, shame, trauma, or the influence or coercion of their assailants. Additionally, every victim of sexual assault lives with the consequences of the crime for the rest of their lives, with no statute of limitations on their pain, trauma, or need for justice.

The legislature further finds that any legal time limit that shields perpetrators and prevents sexual assault cases from being heard in court is fundamentally unjust. The legislature believes that every sexual assault case, whether a felony or misdemeanor, deserves to be heard in court without statutory time barriers that prioritize procedural technicalities over justice for victims.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Allow for a prosecution for any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to be brought at any time; and

(2) Prohibit the dismissal of the prosecution of any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, solely because a period of time has elapsed between the commission of the offense and commencement or continuation of the prosecution.

SECTION 2. Section 701-108, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§701-108 Time limitations. (1) A prosecution for murder, murder in the first and second degrees, attempted murder, attempted murder in the first and second degrees, criminal conspiracy to commit murder in any degree, criminal solicitation to commit murder in any degree, [~~sexual assault in the first and second degrees,~~] any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, and sex trafficking[~~, and continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of fourteen years~~] may be commenced at any time.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, prosecutions for other offenses are subject to the following periods of limitation:

(a) A prosecution for manslaughter where the death was not caused by the operation of a motor vehicle must be commenced within ten years after it is committed;

(b) A prosecution for a class A felony must be commenced within six years after it is committed;

(d) A prosecution for any other felony must be commenced within three years after it is committed;

(e) A prosecution for a misdemeanor or parking violation must be commenced within two years after it is committed; and

(f) A prosecution for a petty misdemeanor or a violation other than a parking violation must be commenced within one year after it is committed.

(3) If the period prescribed in subsection (2) has expired, a prosecution may nevertheless be commenced for:

(a) Any offense an element of which is fraud, deception as defined in section 708-800, or a breach of fiduciary obligation or the offense of medical assistance fraud under section 346-43.5, within three years after discovery of the offense by an aggrieved party or by a person who has a legal duty to represent an aggrieved party and who is oneself not a party to the offense, but in no case shall this provision extend the period of limitation by more than six years from the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2);

(b) Any offense based on misconduct in office by a public servant at any time when the defendant is in public office or employment or within two years thereafter, but in no case shall this provision extend the period of limitation by more than three years from the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2); and

(c) Any felony offense involving evidence containing deoxyribonucleic acid from the offender, if a test confirming the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid is performed prior to expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2), but in no case shall this provision extend the period of limitation by more than ten years from the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2).

(4) An offense is committed either when every element occurs, or, if a legislative purpose to prohibit a continuing course of conduct plainly appears, at the time when the course of conduct or the defendant's complicity therein is terminated. Time starts to run on the day after the offense is committed.

(5) A prosecution is commenced either when an indictment is found or a complaint filed, or when an arrest warrant or other process is issued [,]; provided that [~~such~~] the warrant or process is executed without unreasonable delay.

(6) The period of limitation does not run:

(a) During any time when the accused is continuously absent from the State or has no reasonably ascertainable place of abode or work within the State, but in no case shall this provision extend the period of limitation by more than four years from the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2); or

(b) During any time when a prosecution against the accused for the same conduct is pending in this State [~~; or~~

~~(c)~~ ~~For any felony offense under chapter 707, part V or VI, during any time when the victim is alive and under eighteen years of age~~].

(7) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no prosecution for any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707 shall be dismissed solely because a period of time has elapsed between the commission of the offense and the commencement or continuation of the prosecution; provided that the identity of the accused may be established through evidence, including through deoxyribonucleic acid evidence.

[~~(7) As used in~~] (8) For the purposes of this section, "public servant" [~~shall have~~] has the same meaning as defined in section 710-1000."

SECTION 4. This Act shall apply to offenses committed before, on, or after its effective date, regardless of whether the previously applicable statute of limitations has expired; provided that the prosecution has not been finally adjudicated or barred by a final judgment before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2584
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII