STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2365

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2749

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. 2749 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SENTENCING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend repeat offender sentencing provisions to allow sentencing courts, under certain circumstances, to sentence defendants in class C felony cases to probation with appropriate terms and conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, Office of the Public Defender, and Community Alliance on Prisons.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that section 706-606.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was designed to prevent individuals sentenced to probation from being given a second sentence of probation when they have committed another crime while serving their original term of probation. At the time the law was established, less information was available on the role substance abuse addiction, mental health treatment, and prior trauma played in crime recidivism. However, it is now clear that each defendant is a product of unique circumstances, and a degree of judicial discretion is necessary to ensure a just sentencing system. This measure expands the limited number of options available to a judge when sentencing a defendant by allowing a narrow exception to mandatory sentencing.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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. 2749, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2749, 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