STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1406-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2442

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2442, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PURCHASE OF SERVICE CONTRACTS BY THE JUDICIARY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support the continued delivery of essential services provided by community-based organizations in fulfillment of the Judiciary's statutory mandate to individuals, families, and communities in the State by:

(1) Beginning January 1, 2027, requiring contracts for services awarded by the Judiciary to community-based organizations to include protections against inflation; and

(2) Appropriating funds to the Judiciary to increase the contract price in existing contracts for services provided by community-based organizations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation; Kuʻikahi Mediation Center; Community Alliance on Prisons; Hale Kipa; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Substance Abuse Coalition; Hina Mauka; The Hawaiʻi True Cost Coalition; Share Your Mana; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawaii Youth Services Network; Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Parents and Children Together; Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations; Aloha United Way; Mediation Centers of Hawaiʻi; Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi; Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii; and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that the Judiciary relies on community-based organizations to provide essential services that support access to justice and assist individuals and families involved in the court system. Your Committee further finds that rising operational costs and stagnant contract rates have placed significant strain on these organizations, threatening the continuity and effectiveness of critical services statewide. Requiring inflationary adjustments in future contracts and appropriating funds to increase rates under existing contracts will help ensure the sustainability of these services and support the Judiciary's ability to fulfill its statutory mandate.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2442, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2442, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair