SB2772

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the use of face coverings; absence of visible names, officer identification numbers, or other individually identifying information; failure to be clearly and conspicuously identifiable as law enforcement officers; and use of unmarked vehicles during law enforcement activities has raised concerns for public safety. When law enforcement officers fail to visibly display identification verifying that they have law enforcement authority, both individuals involved and onlookers may experience confusion and fear that they are experiencing or witnessing a crime. Additionally, the lack of consistent, visible personal and agency identification makes it difficult for other law enforcement to distinguish between authorized personnel and bad actors. Several news outlets have also reported incidents of individuals impersonating federal law enforcement officers to harass or detain others, which undermines public trust in law enforcement, especially among vulnerable individuals.

The legislature further finds that the State has both the authority and responsibility, under its police powers, to maintain order and protect the safety and well-being of all people within its jurisdiction. In order to carry out this duty effectively, the State has the authority to establish identification requirements for law enforcement operating within the State so that the public and the State's agents can distinguish between individuals who are exercising law enforcement authority and those who are not, particularly in situations where a person is engaging in potentially unlawful behavior. Therefore, the State has a compelling interest in identifying and verifying who is and who is not validly claiming or operating under law enforcement authority within the State.

Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to require each department or agency employing a law enforcement officer to maintain a publicly available policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers.

SECTION 2. Chapter 139, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§139- Law enforcement identification policies. (a) By January 1, 2027, any law enforcement agency operating in the State shall maintain a policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers. The policy shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) A purpose statement affirming the department's or agency's commitment to:

(A) Transparency, accountability, and public trust; and

(B) Restricting situations in which law enforcement officers do not visibly display identification to specific, clearly defined, and limited circumstances;

(2) A requirement that all law enforcement officers visibly display identification that includes their department or agency and either a name or badge number, or both a name and badge number, when performing enforcement duties; and

(3) A list of narrowly tailored exemptions for the following:

(A) Law enforcement officers engaged in active undercover operations or investigative activities;

(B) Law enforcement officers engaged in plainclothes operations;

(D) Exigent circumstances involving an imminent danger to persons or property, the escape of a perpetrator, or the destruction of evidence, including if the law enforcement officer is responding to those circumstances while off-duty; and

(E) When there is a specific, articulatable, and particularized reason to believe identification would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the law enforcement officer.

(b) Each law enforcement agency shall make its visible identification of law enforcement officer policy adopted pursuant to this section accessible to the public.

"Enforcement duties" means:

(1) Active and planned operations involving the arrest or detention of an individual; or

(2) Deployment for crowd control purposes.

"Law enforcement agency" includes a law enforcement agency of another state.

"Law enforcement officer" includes any commissioned or deputized volunteer enforcement officer or sworn officer of a law enforcement agency of another state vested by law with a duty to:

(1) Maintain public order; or

(2) Make arrests for offenses or to enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses.

"Visibly display identification" means to wear externally on the uniform in a size and location that is reasonably visible to a member of the public with whom the law enforcement officer interacts."

PART II

SECTION 3. Section 92H-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read:

""Law enforcement officer" means any public servant, whether employed by the State or subdivisions thereof or by the United States, vested by law with a duty to maintain public order, or to make arrests for offenses, or to enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses, and includes the attorney general, deputy attorneys general, county prosecuting attorneys, and deputy prosecuting attorneys engaged in the enforcement of criminal laws."

2. By amending the definition of "covered public servant" to read:

""Covered public servant" means:

(1) The governor;

(2) The lieutenant governor;

(3) The administrative director appointed pursuant to section 26-3;

(4) Any head of a department established under section 26‑4;

(5) Any member of the legislature;

(6) Any active, formerly active, or retired:

(A) Justice of the Hawaii supreme court;

(B) Judge of the Hawaii intermediate appellate court;

(D) Judge of a Hawaii district court or district family court; or

(E) Per diem judge of a Hawaii district court or district family court;

(7) Any active, formerly active, or retired:

(A) Justice of the United States Supreme Court;

(B) Judge of the United States Court of Appeals;

(D) Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court,

who resides in the State, formerly resided in the State while serving as a federal judge, or owns real property in the State;

(8) The administrative director of the courts;

(9) The deputy administrative director of the courts;

(10) Any employee or volunteer of the office of elections; [or]

(11) Any law enforcement officer; or

[~~(11)~~] (12) Any person designated for good cause by the governor, president of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives, chief justice, chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, or chairperson of the office of Hawaiian affairs in the designator's respective body."

PART III

SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

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.	2772
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII