STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2698

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2382

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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2382, 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 promote recruitment, retention, and the continuity of services within the Department of Law Enforcement.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Establishes the Kupaa Retention Bonus Program to be administered by the Department of Law Enforcement to provide $15,000 retention bonuses to eligible sworn law enforcement officers who have worked a minimum of two thousand hours during the preceding fiscal year, subject to collective bargaining negotiations;

(2) Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the Kupaa Retention Bonus Program; and

(3) Appropriates funds for the Kupaa Retention Bonus Program.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Department of Law Enforcement, and Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Office of Collective Bargaining.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of Information Practices and United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that sworn law enforcement personnel of the Department of Law Enforcement perform public safety functions that are essential to the protection of life, property, and the rule of law throughout the State. Your Committee also finds that significant disparities in compensation exist between sworn personnel employed by the Department of Law Enforcement and similarly situated sworn officers employed by county police departments, resulting in a persistent and growing gap in pay for comparable training, certification, risk exposure, and professional responsibility. Your Committee further finds that the Department of Law Enforcement faces increasing difficulty in recruiting new officers, retaining experienced personnel, and preventing the loss of trained staff to higher paying law enforcement agencies.

Your Committee believes that the bonus program established by this measure will help address these issues by supporting pay equity and more competitive recruitment in the Department of Law Enforcement.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2382, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair