STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2287

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2871

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 Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2871 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISCRIMINATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit discrimination based on:

(1) The perception that a person possesses certain characteristics;

(2) The perception that a person is associated with a person who possesses, or is perceived to possess, certain characteristics; or

(3) The intersection or combination of two or more specified characteristics in relation to a person.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission, Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission, one member of the Hawaiʻi County Council, American Association of University Women of Hawaii, Pride at Work Hawaiʻi, HOKU PAC, Honolulu Hawaii NAACP, ACLU of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi State Women's Coalition, Lambda Law Hawaiʻi, and seventeen individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that perception-based discrimination is particularly insidious because it is rooted in bias and perception, not reality. When people are targeted because of assumptions about who they are, who they are associated with, or how multiple identities intersect, they are marginalized and less likely to engage in public life, access government services, seek leadership roles, or participate in the democratic process. Additionally, individuals who advocate for, support, or are associated with marginalized communities are often penalized simply for standing in solidarity. Your Committee further finds that the State's existing civil rights framework does not adequately address compound discrimination against individuals who hold multiple marginalized identities. This measure will strengthen the State's civil rights framework by prohibiting discrimination based on perceived characteristics, perceived association with protected classes, and the intersection of multiple protected characteristics.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2871, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2871, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair