STAND. COM. REP. NO. 818

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 125

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. 125 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREARMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require retail sellers of firearms to provide purchasers with notice regarding the law on firearms storage;

(2) Expand the requirements for the secure storage of firearms; and

(3) Clarify the offense of criminally negligent storage of a firearm.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition; Hawai‘i – American Nurses Association; Hawai‘i Public Health Association; Giffords; Brady; Everytown for Gun Safety; Hawai‘i Chapters of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America; Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America; Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawai‘i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender; Hawaii Rifle Association; Red Letter Industries; Self Defense Solutions Hawaii; Libertarian Party of Hawaii; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that unsecured or improperly stored firearms pose a significant risk to public safety, contributing to accidental injuries, deaths, suicides, theft, and increased lethality in violent situations. Your Committee further finds that access to unsecured firearms by unauthorized individuals, including minors and criminals, exacerbates these dangers and undermines responsible gun ownership. To address these risks, this measure establishes clear and enforceable requirements for the secure storage of firearms, ensuring they are properly stored to prevent unauthorized access and enhance public safety.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring a person engaged in the transfer of firearms to provide a written copy of the law related to storage of firearms with respect to minors; and

(2) 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. 125, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 125, 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