STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3346

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     H.B. No. 1838

        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 Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VISAS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish uniform statewide requirements for policies and processes for the issuance of U and T visa certifications for noncitizen victims of crime that are consistent with federal laws and regulations governing U and T visas;

 

     (2)  Require each state and county certifying entity to adopt a policy and process for the issuance of U and T visa certifications, consistent with those statewide requirements; and

 

     (3)  Appropriate funds for the Department of the Attorney General to provide training to certifying entities and certifying officials on all federal and state requirements for U and T visa certifications.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Health Planning and Development Agency; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; one member of the Hawaiʻi County Council; The Legal Clinic; Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights; ACLU of Hawaiʻi; Matriarchy Rising, Kona Indivisible; Mercado de la Raza; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project, Inc.; Immigrant Legal Resource Center; UNITE HERE Local 5; Roots Reborn; and twenty-nine individuals.

 

     Your Committee finds that immigration policy has shifted in favor of stricter enforcement, complicating immigration issues.  Consequently, some certifying entities are resistant to certify U and T visas due to unease, inadequate understanding of the U or T nonimmigrant status process, or a lack of resources.  Without uniform standards for U and T visa certifications, noncitizen victims face inconsistent access to justice.  This measure will establish uniform standards for the U and T visa certification process and provide resources to certifying entities to support these essential pathways and ensure that the immigration system remains fair, humane, and effective.

 

     Your Committee notes the concerns raised by The Legal Clinic that this measure, in its current form, does not recognize state courts and judges as U and T visa certifiers.  Under federal law, state courts and judges are explicitly authorized to issue certifications and Hawaii courts have exercised this authority.  State courts are often the first, and sometimes only, viable certifying option available to survivors, serving as a critical access point for U and T visa certification.  Your Committee further notes the concern raised that this measure adopts a narrower and more restrictive standard for the determination of helpfulness.  Broadening the standard for the determination of helpfulness would more accurately reflect federal law.  Your Committee additionally notes the concern raised that this measure subjects court-issued U and T visa certifications to judicial review.  Furthermore, your Committee notes the concern raised by the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project, Inc., that this measure does not specify that the funding provided for the Department of the Attorney General to conduct training on U and T visa certifications shall pay for a training curriculum that has already been developed and tested and is employed nationally.  Therefore, amendments to the measure are necessary to address these concerns.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying the definition of "certifying entity" to include any state or county entity, including state courts, that is authorized under federal law, regulation, or policy to issue U or T visa certifications;

 

     (2)  Expanding the definition of "certifying official" to include state judges;

 

     (3)  Broadening the determination of helpfulness to more accurately reflect federal standards;

 

     (4)  Clarifying that requests for cooperation may come from certifying entities or law enforcement;

 

     (5)  Excluding state courts, state judges, and judicial officers from the judicial review process;

 

     (6)  Deleting language that would have required a petition for judicial review and related records to remain under seal unless otherwise ordered by the court after considering certain requirements and objectives of federal law;

 

     (7)  Inserting language specifying that the training on U and T visa certification provided by the Department of the Attorney General shall be based on existing curricula developed with support from the Office of Violence Against Women at the United States Department of Justice and State Justice Institute;

 

     (8)  Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (9)  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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

 

 

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair