STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1392-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 3010

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems, to which was referred S.B. No. 3010, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMAL ENDANGERMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize:

(1) Law enforcement officers, animal control officers, and firefighters to enter an unattended vehicle to protect the health, safety, or well-being of a pet animal that is endangered by being left or confined in an unattended vehicle; and

(2) Private citizens to rescue a pet animal that has been left in an unattended vehicle under certain circumstances.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Animal Legal Defense Fund and one individual.

Your Committee finds that every year, hundreds of pet animals lose their lives after being left alone in parked cars during extreme temperatures. Many pet owners may not realize that even on mild days, the inside of a parked car can quickly become dangerously hot, which can expose unattended pet animals in the car to severe dehydration and potentially fatal consequences.

Your Committee notes that individuals who observe pets left in hot vehicles may be unwilling to intervene out of fear of criminal or civil liability. This measure provides protections to individuals, including law enforcement officers, animal control officers, and firefights, from certain legal liability when rescuing pet animals in unattended vehicles.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3010, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3010, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems,

____________________________

CORY CHUN, Chair