STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2157
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 2055
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 S.B. No. 2055 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Require the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC) to establish a helpline for individuals to submit reports of harms from federal deployments in the State; and
(2) Require the HCRC to compile an annual report and hold an annual public hearing on data obtained through the helpline.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Imua Alliance, and thirty-five individuals.
Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.
Your Committee finds that in these unprecedented times, it is necessary to create an accessible pathway for residents to report harms associated with federal agent deployments, federal law enforcement, and immigration enforcement operations in the State. Your Committee further finds that the establishment of such a pathway will ensure that the State can track civil rights violations, enabling the State to analyze trends, respond appropriately, and protect the rights of the people of the State. Accordingly, this measure will establish a twenty-four hour intake civil rights violation helpline within the HCRC which will help provide support to those harmed.
Your Committee notes that HCRC testified that the State's existing 211 hotline is operated by Aloha United Way pursuant to a memorandum of understanding. The 211 hotline provides a free, confidential service that connects residents of the State to vital resources. Because this capability already exists, your Committee finds that contracting with 211 as the primary intake and triage partner for reports of harms associated with federal deployments will reduce startup time, minimize costs, and allow the HCRC to focus on its investigative workload. Your Committee additionally finds that the helpline will generate new investigative workload, new data management responsibilities, and new public reporting obligations for the HCRC.
Your Committee also notes the concern raised by the HCRC that specifying the investigations over which the HCRC has jurisdiction is necessary to avoid implicating the Supremacy Clause and principle of federal preemption to prevent investigations from being construed as obstruction or interference with the performances of federal duties.
Accordingly, Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Specifying that the HCRC shall only investigate reports of civil rights violations over which the HCRC has jurisdiction;
(2) Deleting language that would have required the HCRC to report the number of arrests made in connection to reports made to the helpline;
(3) Specifying that the HCRC shall only make recommendations for policy and training improvements over which it has jurisdiction;
(4) Inserting language that requires the HCRC to compile and submit to the Legislature, and post on its website, a monthly preliminary report containing certain aggregated and anonymized information;
(5) Inserting language that requires the HCRC to include a disclaimer in each monthly preliminary report indicating that the information contained in the report may not be fully verified and subject to change;
(6) Inserting a definition of "harm";
(7) Inserting a definition of "federal troop deployment";
(8) Inserting a blank appropriation amount for the establishment of certain positions for HCRC;
(9) Inserting a blank appropriation amount for the HCRC to contract with Aloha United Way to implement the twenty‑four hour intake helpline in the existing 211 system operated by Aloha United Way;
(10) Inserting a blank appropriation amount for website and database development costs;
(11) Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and
(12) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
Your Committee notes that this measure, as amended, contains unspecified appropriation amounts and an unspecified number of positions. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider an appropriation amount of:
(1) $430,000 to establish two full-time equivalent (2.0 FTE) Civil Rights Investigator positions, one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Data Analyst position, and one-full time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Program Manager position within the HCRC;
(2) $500,000 for the HCRC to contract with Aloha United Way to implement a twenty-four hour intake civil rights violation helpline in the existing 211 hotline operated by Aloha United Way; and
(3) $250,000 for website and database development costs.
Your Committee also notes that the HCRC did not request a twenty-four hour intake helpline in its testimony. Consequently, the appropriation amount requested may not reflect the actual dollar amount necessary to implement a twenty-four hour intake helpline. Your Committee respectfully requests that the Committee on Ways and Means consider an appropriation amount greater than the requested amount of $500,000.
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 S.B. No. 2055, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2055, 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,
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________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair |
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