STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2669

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2575

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 Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2575 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREARMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for certain class A felonies involving firearms;

(2) Change from a class B felony to a class A felony the penalty for owning, possessing, or controlling any firearm or ammunition while being prosecuted for or having been convicted of committing a felony, a crime of violence, a criminal offense relating to firearms, or an illegal sale or distribution of any drug;

(3) Change from a misdemeanor to a class A felony the penalty for ownership, possession, control, or transfer of ownership of any firearms or ammunition by a person who a court order has restrained from contacting, threatening, or physically abusing any person;

(4) Change from a misdemeanor to a class A felony the penalty for carrying a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance; and

(5) Establish possession of methamphetamine while carrying a firearm as a class A felony.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, Maui Police Department, and thirteen individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Hawaii Rifle Association, Mid Pacific Pistol League, Hawaiʻi Firearms Coalition, Puʻuloa Rifle and Pistol Club, For Liberty and Justice Hawaii, and seventy-one individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from three individuals.

Your Committee finds that individuals who disregard the law and safety of others by possessing a firearm, despite being involved in serious criminal activity or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, pose a severe threat to public safety. Through their actions, these individuals have already demonstrated an unwillingness to consider the effects of their behavior. Removing firearms from volatile situations involving serious criminal activity, drugs, or alcohol is one of the most effective mechanisms for preventing lethal outcomes and ensuring law enforcement officer safety.

Likewise, individuals who possess a firearm while subject to a court protective or restraining order reveal their unwillingness to abide by and respect court authority. These individuals also pose a severe risk to public safety, especially when they have been identified as posing a credible threat of harm to survivors of domestic violence. By increasing penalties for possessing a firearm while the subject of a court order, this measure would reinforce the authority of courts in the State and make substantial contributions to the rule of law and public safety.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that unlawful possession of methamphetamine in violation of Part IV of Chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, rather than knowing possession of methamphetamine in any amount, while carrying a firearm is a class A felony; and

(2) 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 Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2575, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2575, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

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CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair