STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2364

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2730

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. 2730 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish factors under which officers may arrest and detain persons without a warrant for petty misdemeanors and violations, and require officers to document the justification for the arrests;

(2) Amend the circumstances under which officers may issue citations in lieu of arrest;

(3) Require officers to issue citations in lieu of arrest for certain petty misdemeanors and violations; and

(4) Require the Judiciary to promulgate a standardized citation form and update the required information for citations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Maui Police Department, Policing Project at the NYU School of Law, ideas42, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Kauai, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaii, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, Kauaʻi Police Department, Hawaii Police Department, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, and three individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that individuals who are unnecessarily held in custody before trial increase the costs to the State, burden understaffed police departments, and lead to overcrowding in correctional facilities. This problem is exacerbated when law enforcement officers make warrantless arrests for minor offenses, even when a citation would be sufficient. Moreover, excessive use of warrantless arrests can unnecessarily harm relations between law enforcement officers and the public. This measure will enact reasonable restrictions, similar to those already found in many other states, to ensure that officers do not spend resources arresting people for low-level offenses unless there is an articulable public safety reason to believe an arrest is needed.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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. 2730, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2730, 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,

________________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair