STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2821

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2250

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. 2250 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the offense of promoting a controlled substance in, on, or near schools, school vehicles, public parks, or public housing projects or complexes to include homeless facilities.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu; Honolulu Police Department; Institute for Human Services, Inc.; CARES; and two individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Friends of Restorative Justice, Community Alliance on Prisons, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that when individuals enter homeless shelters, they are often newly separated from street-based drug activity, engaging with case managers and treatment providers, and attempting to reduce or stop substance use in order to secure housing, employment, or reunification with family. However, drug dealers often operate immediately outside shelter boundaries to capitalize on residents who they know are struggling with addiction and are at their most vulnerable. Your Committee notes that existing law already recognizes that certain locations, such as schools, parks, and public housing, deserve heightened protection from drug trafficking because of the populations they serve. Your Committee believes that homeless shelters serve an equally vulnerable population and deserve the same protection. This measure will reinforce the Legislature's commitment to helping individuals move from homelessness to stability.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting additional legislative findings; 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2250, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2250, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair