STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1758-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.R. No. 85

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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.R. No. 85 entitled:

"HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII STATE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP AND PROVIDE A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON WAYS TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF IMAGE-BASED SEXUAL ABUSE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to strengthen protections for survivors of image-based sexual abuse in Hawaii by directing the State Commission on the Status of Women, in collaboration with the Attorney General, to form a working group of experts and survivors to review laws nationwide and recommend improvements. The group will study how new technologies such as deepfakes and AI contribute to nonconsensual image sharing, evaluate legal gaps, and propose policy or legislative changes to enhance survivor protections. A report with findings and recommendations is to be submitted to the Legislature before the 2027 session.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Imua Alliance, Hawaii State Chapter of Children's Justice Centers, and Hawaii Women's Lawyers. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that legislation has so far been slow to respond to and provide protections against image-based sexual abuse. Establishing a working group to review laws nationwide will not only allow our State to catch up to protections that other States in the country have introduced but will also allow the State to be prepared to enact legislation to protect against new technologies such as deepfakes or AI which may further contribute to nonconsensual image sharing.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the Attorney General from the proposed working group.

(2) Adding in the following designees to the working group:

(a.) County police departments

(b.) Prosecuting attorneys offices

(c.) gender-based violence coalitions

(d.) the Judiciary

(e.) Any other representatives with relevant knowledge or experiences that the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women designee and/or the Legislative Reference Bureau deems necessary.

(3) Revising language "…to prevent image-based sexual abuse, and intervene and protect survivors…".

(4) Assigning a designee of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, to work in collaboration with the Legislative Reference Bureau instead of the Department of the Attorney General.

(5) Changing the original date of the working group submitting a report of its findings from no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027 to twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2028 and to dissolve the working group on December 31, 2027.

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 concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 85, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 85, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair