STAND. COM. REP. NO. 820

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 128

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 128 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to reduce the number of unnecessary arrests made in criminal cases by:

(1) Establishing factors under which officers may, without warrant, arrest and detain persons for petty misdemeanors and violations; and

(2) Requiring officers to record the factors that justified the warrantless arrest.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the ACLU of Hawai‘i; Policing Project at NYU School of Law; and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Honolulu Police Department; Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaii; Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui; Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu; State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers; Fathers and Mothers for Children Kauai Chapter; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that unnecessary arrests for certain criminal cases place a significant strain on limited police resources, contribute to overcrowding in correctional facilities, and often result in unjust hardships for individuals and their families. These arrests not only disrupt lives but also create financial and emotional burdens. This measure aims to reduce the number of unnecessary arrests by establishing specific conditions for warrantless arrests and allowing citations to be issued in lieu of arrest for certain minor offenses.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 128, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 128, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair