STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1260-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2567

S.D. 2

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 Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2567, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PETITIONS TO TEMPORARILY RESTRAIN AND ENJOIN HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a two‑year pilot project that authorizes public employers to petition for temporary restraining orders and injunctions against employment‑related harassment of certain public employees and to appropriate funds for the administration of the pilot.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary; Department of Education; Department of Human Services; Office of Wellness and Resilience; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that public employees across multiple branches of government have experienced increasing threats, harassment, and violence while performing their duties, including alarming trends documented in national studies and surveys. These patterns of escalating hostility undermine employee safety, interrupt essential public services, and contribute to the loss of institutional knowledge when affected employees resign or reduce public engagement. Your Committee believes that allowing public employers to seek protective orders on behalf of harassed employees provides a critical mechanism to safeguard public servants and maintain the effective functioning of government.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting an unnecessary reference to the definition of "public servant" under the offense against public administration law;

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

(3) 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 Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2567, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2567, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair