RELATING TO PETITIONS TO TEMPORARILY RESTRAIN AND ENJOIN HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE.

The effective date of the pilot project was changed from July 1, 3000, to January 1, 2077.

The definition of 'public servant' was updated to explicitly include active, formerly active, or retired judges of the United States District Court or Bankruptcy Court.

The legal standard for harassment was refined to require that the conduct cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress, removing previous bracketed language.

Staff attorneys for the judiciary are now explicitly authorized to represent public servants employed by the judiciary, and the judiciary may use its own funds to retain private attorneys for this purpose.

The petition filing requirements were streamlined to remove unnecessary bracketed instructions regarding the format of the petition.

The bill text was updated to clarify that the Attorney General cannot represent public employers or employees in harassment cases, citing potential conflicts of interest.

The bill identifier was updated from H.D. 1 to H.D. 2, indicating a revision in the legislative process.

The definition of 'Judge' was updated to specify the 'Hawaii intermediate appellate court' instead of the 'intermediate court of appeals' and added a residency requirement for federal bankruptcy judges.

The petitioner in harassment cases must now be identified as the specific branch, department, or agency, with the judiciary identified as the administrative director of the courts.

The system for public employers to retain private attorneys was clarified to remove the explicit mention of 'appropriated funds' as a condition, while retaining the restriction against hiring attorneys if the restrained person is in the same branch of government.

Updated the bill identifier from Senate (CD) to House (HD) and changed the author's name and file metadata accordingly.

Added new sections (3 and 4) to appropriate state funds for fiscal year 2026-2027 to cover the cost of retaining private attorneys for the harassment pilot project.

Changed the effective date of the Act from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder for future legislative action.

Adjusted the definition of 'judge' to use the standard term 'intermediate court of appeals' instead of 'intermediate appellate court' and clarified residency requirements for federal judges.

Added a bracketed '[not]' before 'no' in the mandatory jail sentence descriptions, clarifying that the minimum sentences are indeed 'no less than' forty-eight hours and thirty days.

The bill was changed from an indefinite permanent law to a two-year pilot project effective July 1, 2026, and set to expire on June 30, 2028.

New provisions require public employers to use private attorneys for legal representation to avoid conflicts of interest, with specific restrictions on when the Attorney General can or cannot provide representation.

New language was added to prevent private lawsuits against the state or public employers for their decisions to either file or decline to file harassment petitions.

Definitions for 'public servant' were reorganized and expanded to explicitly include all executive, legislative, and judicial branch officers and employees, as well as political subdivision employees.