STAND. COM. REP. NO. 219

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 389

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 389 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO POLICE COMMISSIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the composition of the county police commissions to require three commissioners on each police commission to include the Executive Director of the State Commission on the Status of Women, or a designated commissioner; Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, or a designated commissioner; and an individual with prior experience in law enforcement.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Domestic Violence Action Center, League of Women Voters, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and thirteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committee has heard the testimony from the Department of the Attorney General expressing certain constitutional concerns regarding this measure.  Your Committee finds that this issue merits further consideration and requests that your Committee on Judiciary and Labor further examine the concerns raised by the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committee finds that the county police commissions are charged with overseeing conduct of the county police departments or officers.  In the wake of a September 2014 high-profile domestic violence incident involving an off-duty Honolulu Police Department sergeant, it is clear that residents in the State should have confidence that the county police departments are being held accountable for the actions of county police officers.  The inclusion of commissioners with experience or backgrounds pertaining to women's issues, civil rights, and law enforcement on the county police commissions will greatly benefit the general public.  Implementation of this measure will improve transparency, accountability, and efficiency in dealing with police misconduct.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the requirement that the police commissions include the specified individuals and instead requiring that there are commissioners on each police commission that have experience or backgrounds pertaining to women's issues, civil rights, and law enforcement;

     (2)  Amending the purpose section accordingly;

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

     (4)  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 Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 389, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 389, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

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

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair