STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2508

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2128

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 Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2128 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRESPASS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide that any firearm or motor vehicle possessed and used by a person who hunts on private land without the permission of the owner or occupier of the land shall be forfeited to the State in accordance with chapter 712A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Kapapala Ranch; and six individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Firearms Coalition and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee finds that unpermitted hunting and trespassing on private agricultural lands remain serious and ongoing problems for farmers and ranchers across the State. These incidents endanger landowners, farm workers, families, and hunters themselves, and often result in damaged fences, destroyed crops, injured or killed livestock, theft, and vandalism. To address these unsafe hunting practices, this measure strengthens deterrence by allowing for the forfeiture of firearms or motor vehicles used in illegal hunting on private land.

Your Committee notes the concerns expressed by the Hawaii Firearms Coalition that forfeiture statutes were intended to address serious criminal activity not hunting boundary disputes. Amendments to this measure are necessary to address this concern.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Authorizing a court to impose a penalty of forfeiture of a firearm or motor vehicle possessed, or a fine of not less than $750 for a first offense, for violations of hunting on private lands;

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

(3) 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 Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2128, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2128, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair