STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3103

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2279

H.D. 1

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 Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2279, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EXPUNGEMENT ORDERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the expungement orders law to reflect that a person who is arrested for or charged with a crime but convicted of a violation is eligible for an expungement of their arrest record for that incident.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Community Alliance on Prisons, ACLU Hawaiʻi, and seven individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Supreme Court's ruling in Barker v. Young, 153 Haw. 144 (2023), clarified that individuals initially arrested for or charged with a felony, misdemeanor, or petty misdemeanor but later convicted of a violation are eligible for an expungement of their arrest records. Because of the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision, many individuals who previously faced barriers to housing and employment were able to obtain an expungement of their arrest records. This measure aligns state law with the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision to ensure that individuals have sufficient recourse when they are only convicted of a violation.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2279, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2279, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair