THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2774
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to law enforcement.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 139, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§139-A 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;

(C) Law enforcement officers wearing personal protective equipment that prevents display;

(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.

(c) For the purposes of this section:

"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 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.

§139-B Visible display of identification requirements. (a) Any law enforcement officer shall visibly display identification that includes their agency, name, and badge number, if applicable, while performing enforcement duties.

(b) This section shall not apply to an officer engaged in undercover duties in the regular performance of the officer's official enforcement duties.

(c) For the purposes of this section:

"Enforcement duties" has the same meaning as defined in section 139-A.

"Law enforcement officer" has the same meaning as defined in section 139-A.

"Visibly display identification" has the same meaning as defined in section 139-A."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. 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 4. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Law Enforcement; Visible Identification; Policy; Requirement

Description:

By January 1, 2027, requires each law enforcement agency operating in the State to maintain a publicly available policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers. Requires all law enforcement officers in the State to visibly display identification including certain information while performing enforcement duties. Exempts officers performing undercover duties from the visible display of identification requirements.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.