STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1168-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: S.B. No. 2427

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2427, S.D. 2, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a temporary Law Enforcement Working Group (Working Group) to recommend certification and de-certification requirements for state and county law enforcement officers who carry firearms and badges and have arrest authority;

(2) Require the Working Group to submit preliminary and final reports to the Legislature that includes recommendations for statewide recruitment standards, hiring standards, and training standards for the State certification of law enforcement officers; and

(3) Prohibit law enforcement officers who are terminated for misconduct by a state or county department, agency, or office in a law enforcement capacity from being hired by another state or county law enforcement department, agency, or office.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and three individuals supported this measure. The Department of Public Safety testified in support of the intent of this measure. The Department of Taxation provided comments on this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Administratively attaching the Law Enforcement Working Group to the Department of the Attorney General instead of the Department of Public Safety;

(2) Enabling law enforcement officers who have been terminated for misconduct by a state or county department, agency, or office in a law enforcement capacity to be hired by another state or county department, agency, or office if the law enforcement officer is reinstated through the collective bargaining or legal process;

(3) Changing the minimum number of times per year the Working Group is required to meet, to an unspecified amount;

(4) Changing its effective date to January 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2427, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2427, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________

AARON LING JOHANSON, Chair