STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3093

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2057

S.D. 2

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. 2057, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit law enforcement officers from using any personnel or funds originating in the State to assist or facilitate conduct by federal immigration agents that exceeds their law enforcement duty or authority; and

(2) Prohibit law enforcement officers from assisting or cooperating with or allowing resources to be used to facilitate federal immigration agents engaged in operations that target individuals or entities for activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or immigration enforcement operations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; one member of the Hawaiʻi County Council; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Fujiwara and Rosenbaum, LLLC; Roots Reborn; ACLU Hawaiʻi; Waipahu Safe Haven Immigrant/Migrant Resource Center; UNITE HERE! Local 5; Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights; and forty-four individuals.

Your Committee finds that constitutional rights apply to all people, regardless of immigration status. Freedom of speech, assembly, and participation in civic life are foundational to a functioning democracy. When residents fear intimidation, retaliation, or surveillance for exercising these rights, democratic legitimacy is undermined, and community trust erodes. This measure reinforces constitutional norms and ensures public safety institutions operate in a manner consistent with the State's value of fairness, accountability, and respect for civil liberties while maintaining the power and authority of legitimate law enforcement duties.

Your Committee notes that the Honolulu Police Department's staffing resources are currently strained and that the Department is likely unable, as a practical matter, to meaningfully dedicate personnel to federal civil immigration enforcement operations without impairing core local public safety functions. Your Committee further notes that clarifying the limits of state and county resource commitments promotes the prioritization of local law enforcement responsibilities and community trust.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that law enforcement officers are prohibited from using any personnel or funds originating in the State to assist or facilitate conduct by federal immigration agents that is for the purposes of civil immigration enforcement;

(2) Specifying that law enforcement officers are prohibited from assisting or cooperating with or allowing certain resources to be used to facilitate federal immigration agents engaged in operations with the purpose of civil immigration enforcement;

(3) Inserting language clarifying that the prohibitions established by this measure do not prohibit:

(A) A law enforcement officer from performing the officer's duties under state law, including investigating or enforcing state criminal laws;

(B) Compliance with a judicial warrant, court order, or subpoena; or

(C) The provision of information or assistance expressly required by federal law or state law, including any mandatory information-sharing duties;

(4) Inserting definitions of:

(A) "Activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution";

(B) "At or near";

(C) "Assist";

(D) "Exceeds their law enforcement duty or authority";

(E) "Facilitate";

(F) "Federal immigration agent"; and

(G) "Law enforcement officer"; and

(5) 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2057, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2057, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair