STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2285

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2251

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. 2251 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE VICTIM WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate grant-in-aid moneys to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu for the Victim Witness Assistance Program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Kapalama Neighborhood Security Watch, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that over the years, federal funding from the Victims of Crime Act, which supports the Victim-Witness Assistance Program of the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, has steadily declined. This funding also supports the salaries of victim-witness counselors who serve a pivotal role in courses and support victims of crimes while their cases move through the criminal justice system. In the upcoming fiscal year, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu will experience a significant cut to Victims of Crime Act funds, damaging the Department's capacity to provide complete services to victim‑witnesses. This measure will bridge the federal funding gap and allow the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu to maintain a complete level of service for the Victim-Witness Assistance Program.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to require the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu to submit a report to the Legislature describing the implementation and allocation of funds for the Victim‑Witness Assistance Program;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2251, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2251, 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