STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1277

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1098

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMES AGAINST PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Specify that intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury to a protective services worker who is engaged in the performance of the worker's duties constitutes the offense of assault in the second degree, which is a class C felony; and

(2) Clarify that a protective services worker is a public servant for the purposes of terroristic threatening in the first degree.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services and Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that protective service workers provide an essential service to the State, at great risk to themselves, by investigating and addressing the abuse and neglect of children and vulnerable adults. Due to the violent nature of the situations they investigate, protective service workers are often targets of physical violence and death threats. Fearing for their safety impacts many protective service workers' ability to focus on their work and contributes to burnout and staffing vacancies. This measure promotes the health and well-being of essential staff by increasing penalties for assaulting a protective service worker.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair