STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3651

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2231

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2231, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish as a goal of the State the increased representation of female law enforcement officers in the State by 2030; and

(2) Require each law enforcement agency to recruit law enforcement officers from diverse backgrounds.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Honolulu Police Department, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, ACLU of Hawaiʻi, Policing Project, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the national average for sworn women police officers in county and city departments is approximately thirteen percent. Additionally, research indicates that female officers use less force, less excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, and see better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases. This measure will improve recruitment and retention of female police officers to meet police staffing shortages while building a police force that better meets the needs of the State's communities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Expanding the employment goal of each law enforcement agency to include increasing the employment of law enforcement officers who do not adhere to the gender binary;

(2) Requiring law enforcement agencies to recruit law enforcement officers from diverse backgrounds, including diverse educational backgrounds instead of only schools of social work;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(4) Making it effective upon its approval; and

(5) 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 H.B. No. 2231, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2231, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair