STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2367

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2798

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. 2798 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Make permanent the Agricultural Enforcement Pilot Program established pursuant to Act 235, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025; and

(2) Rename the program as the Agricultural Enforcement Program and expand the program statewide.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Department of Law Enforcement, Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, and three individuals.

Your Committee finds that agricultural crimes pose a threat, not only to public safety and the livelihoods of farmers, but also to the food security of the State and vibrancy of local economies. These crimes can take a variety of forms, including theft, vandalism, and unauthorized hunting, which can result in the accidental shooting of livestock. Act 235, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025, established the Agriculture Enforcement Pilot Program to provide a comprehensive response to these crimes by strengthening existing legal frameworks and establishing clearer definitions and penalties for violations related to agriculture and agricultural lands. This measure recognizes the success of the Agricultural Enforcement Pilot Program by making it permanent and expanding it to cover agricultural enforcement statewide.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050.

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. 2798, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2798, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair