STAND. COM. REP. NO. 372-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1963

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Human Services & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1963 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IMAGE-BASED SEXUAL ABUSE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish the felony offense of nonconsensual disclosure of intimate or private images.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Crime Victim Compensation Commission; Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women; Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu; The Sex Abuse Treatment Center; Hawaiʻi Women's Coalition; Children's Justice Center, Hawaiʻi State Chapter; AAUW of Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and three individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the Public Defender.

Your Committee finds that online sexual extortion is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation. The harm from non-consensual distribution of intimate or private images is a recognized form of technology-facilitated sexual violence that has a profound impact on victims.

However your Committee further finds that Hawaii's criminal statutes do not adequately address technology‑facilitated abuse. This measure establishes explicit prohibitions and strengthens offender accountability to better protect individuals, minors, and vulnerable adults.

Your Committee notes the concerns raised in testimony from the Office of the Public Defender, that the term "state of undress" is undefined, and therefore creates a risk that the offense established by this measure could be interpreted far more broadly than intended. Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaii Affairs, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider defining this term.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1963, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1963, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services & Homelessness,

____________________________

LISA MARTEN, Chair