STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2704

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2919

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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2919 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate moneys to hire an additional full-time employee at the Office of the Public Defender.

More specifically, this measure provides funding for a full‑time attorney in the Office of the Public Defender to offer counsel on constitutional questions and related legal matters.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of the Public Defender and American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that the Office of the Public Defender is a statewide agency that fulfills the State's obligation to provide legal counsel for indigent persons. Your Committee recognizes that constitutionally effective representation requires attorneys in the Office of the Public Defender to be apprised of the constitutional, civil, and statutory ramifications of their cases. Your Committee further finds that all current attorney positions at the Office of the Public Defender are needed to provide representation in trial and appellate matters. Your Committee finds, therefore, that the Office of the Public Defender requires an additional attorney who can advise its attorneys regarding constitutional issues and related legal matters.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation from $125,004 to an unspecified amount; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2919, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2919, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair