STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1170-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2217

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2217, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IDENTIFICATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to promote safer and compassionate communication by:

(1) Allowing an applicant with a disability to request a special notation on an instruction permit, provisional license, driver's license, or identification card; and

(2) Requiring the Department of Transportation to establish public outreach efforts and coordinate with state and county law enforcement agencies regarding the disability notation.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Invisible Disabilities Association and nine individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu and Hawaii Disability Rights Center.

Your Committee finds that individuals with disabilities that are not immediately visible, such as neurological, developmental, or cognitive conditions, may respond atypically during stressful encounters with law enforcement and first responders, leading to unnecessary escalation or misunderstanding. Allowing a voluntary notation on state issued identification provides a discreet way to alert responders that additional communication awareness or patience may be needed without requiring disclosure in other settings. This measure promotes safer, more informed, and more compassionate interactions for individuals with hidden disabilities by ensuring first responders have the context needed to respond appropriately.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Codifying language in the Hawaii Revised Statutes that requires the Department of Transportation to:

(A) Establish public outreach efforts to educate the general public on the availability of the disability notation; and

(B) Coordinate with the Department of Law Enforcement and each county police department to ensure that annual training for law enforcement officers includes procedures for recognizing and appropriately responding to individuals with disability notations on their permit, driver's license, or civil identification card; 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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2217, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2217, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair