STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2216

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2593

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Labor and Technology and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2593 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS BOARD,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt certain positions of the Law Enforcement Standards Board from the State's Civil Service Law and collective bargaining.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Law Enforcement Standards Board and one individual.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO and one individual.

Your Committees find that the Law Enforcement Standards Board is responsible for, among other things, establishing, administering, and enforcing standards and requirements for the employment, certification, training, and continuing education of law enforcement officers, including conducting investigations when there is reason to believe that a law enforcement officer does not meet the minimum standards for employment. Your Committees further find that the Board approved the establishment and hiring of three positions, including administrative manager, training and curriculum coordinator, and lead investigative agent positions to fulfill its duties. By making these positions exempt from the State's Civil Service Law and collective bargaining requirements, this measure ensures that the Board has the flexibility to recruit and retain qualified personnel with specialized expertise, address confidential and enforcement-related responsibilities, and promptly and effectively carry out its statutory mandate.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2077, to encourage further discussion;

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor and Technology and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2593, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2593, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor and Technology and Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair

________________________________ BRANDON J.C. ELEFANTE, Chair