STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1021

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1451

S.D. 2

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 S.B. No. 1451, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Enhance sharing of critical infrastructure information between infrastructure owners and operators and the state government;

(2) Define and protect "critical infrastructure information" that is crucial for direct support of the security and resilience of the State; and

(3) Provide homeland security partners with reassurance that their proprietary information provided to the state government will be protected from disclosure.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement and Office of Information Practices.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Public First Law Center.

Your Committee finds that chapter 128A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, outlines the duty of the State to provide for homeland security. Your Committee believes that establishing protections so the Office of Homeland Security may safely access critical infrastructure information is a necessary facet of strengthening homeland security. This measure will facilitate the protection of the public from terrorism and other threats by providing for the sharing and protection of this critical data.

Your Committee notes that the additional requirement that critical infrastructure information "would" reveal vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure that, if exploited, would likely result in the significant disruption, destruction, or damage of or to operations, property, or facilities may endanger public safety by providing sensitive information to individuals seeking to cause damage to critical infrastructure. Therefore, your Committee believes that the requirement should be amended to specify that critical infrastructure information "could" reveal these vulnerabilities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that "critical infrastructure information" means certain information that, if disclosed, could reveal certain vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure; and

(2) 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 S.B. No. 1451, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1451, S.D. 2.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair