STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1977-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2517

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. 2517, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the penalty for the unlawful possession, control, or transfer of a firearm or ammunition in violation of a judicial protective order or restraining order by reclassifying the offense from a misdemeanor to a class C felony.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaiʻi; Kauaʻi Police Department; State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers; and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender; Hawaii Firearms Coalition; SDM Training Group/Bows N Bullets; Libertarian Party of Hawaii; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that violations of firearm and ammunition prohibitions contained in judicial protective orders and restraining orders present heightened risks to the safety of protected persons and the public. Your Committee further finds that the current misdemeanor penalty does not adequately reflect the seriousness of unlawfully possessing, controlling, or transferring a firearm or ammunition under these circumstances. This measure strengthens public safety by changing the penalty for such violations to a class C felony.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the penalty for when a person restrained refuses to surrender a firearm or disclose the location of a firearm; 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. 2517, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2517, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair