STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3295

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1886

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1886, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish provisions limiting state and federal collaboration for purposes of immigration enforcement operations;

(2) Establish identification and facial coverings standards for state and federal law enforcement officers; and

(3) Establish criminal offenses for improper facial coverings and lack of visible identification and unauthorized civil immigration interrogation, arrest, or detention.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Pride at Work - Hawaiʻi, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, Kona Indivisible, Aloha Independent Living Hawaii, Roots Reborn, The Legal Clinic, Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and forty-one individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that when law enforcement officers are unidentifiable, residents can no longer distinguish legitimate officers from impersonators, leading to widespread fear and confusion and making interactions between law enforcement officers and members of the public that are already high-stress environments significantly more dangerous for all participants. Visible identification and limits on facial coverings can minimize the risk of escalation in these situations while also increasing trust in law enforcement. This measure not only establishes identification requirements and limitations on facial coverings, but also sets enforceable criminal penalties for individuals who violate those requirements. In doing so, this measure is an important step in preserving public safety and trust in law enforcement officers.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language providing that limitations on collaboration between state and federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes shall not prohibit or restrict any public employee or state or county entity from acting in accordance with title 8 United States Code sections 1373 and 1644;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2055, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1886, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1886, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair

________________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair