STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1177

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 991

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 Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 991, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECKS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify that the Department of the Attorney General may conduct fingerprint-based background checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation on contractors and contractors' employees.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and one individual.

Your Committee finds that statutes authorizing states to conduct fingerprint-based criminal history record checks for non‑criminal purposes are subject to approval from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon the Bureau's investigation of sections 28-17 and 846-2.7(b)(49), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that the term "agents of contractors" was overly broad, as it failed to specifically identify the subject of the criminal history record check. This measure will update existing law to meet the Federal Bureau of Investigation's requirements to allow the Department of the Attorney General to conduct fingerprint-based background checks on individuals who have access to federal tax information held by the Department.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that contractors, contractor's employees, and subcontractors who have access to federal tax information held by the Department of the Attorney General may be subject to fingerprint-based background checks;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(3) 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. 991, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 991, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair