This House Concurrent Resolution urges Hawaii's Department of the Attorney General and Department of Law Enforcement to improve their ability to combat human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The bill requests the creation of a plan to expand specialized investigative personnel and strengthen statewide enforcement initiatives, including expanding the Operation Shine the Light program to all county police departments. It also calls for the establishment of specialized runaway youth recovery teams in each county to quickly locate missing youth who may be at risk of trafficking. Finally, the resolution asks these agencies to submit a report with staffing needs, training requirements, and funding recommendations to the Legislature by early 2027.
Authorizes a court to modify sentences imposed on juvenile offenders if certain conditions are met and the court finds that, after considering certain factors, the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any person or the community and the modification is in the interests of justice. Establishes procedures, provides for hearings and representation by counsel, and authorizes appellate review. (HD1)
Allows a party aggrieved by the judgment of a circuit court on a minimum term order to appeal to the Intermediate Appellate Court. Requires prisoners to be represented by counsel in any petition challenging the minimum term proceedings. Requires the Supreme Court to establish rules. Establishes grounds for challenging a minimum term order. Appropriates funds. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)
Prohibits the Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Taxation, and Department of the Attorney General from appointing or employing certain former United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol agents and employees as law enforcement officers. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
Prohibits certain solicitation and inducement practices relating to insurance claims. Establishes disaster-related insurance fraud offenses. Broadens the scope of the offense of insurance fraud and the acts that constitute insurance fraud. Clarifies the penalties for the offense of insurance fraud and the capabilities and operations of the Insurance Fraud Investigations Branch, including the annual report to the Legislature and the use of fraud analytics. Reiterates protections for insurance fraud whistleblowers. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
Prohibits the assessment of any fees, fines, or court costs against a person who was adjudicated for an offense committed during the person's minority, or against the person's parent or guardian, and discharges all related debt obligations assessed before the effective date of the Act. Encourages the use of community service and other programs that employ aina-based principles. Repeals certain penalties imposed on parents, guardians, or other persons associated with unaccompanied children in streets and unmarried minors in dance halls. (SD1)
HB 2448 criminalizes female genital mutilation (FGM) performed on minors within the state, establishing it as a punishable offense. The bill directly affects minors who are victims of FGM and provides them with civil remedies, including legal options to seek compensation. Key provisions include defining FGM on minors as a criminal act and creating a pathway for victims to pursue civil claims against perpetrators. This legislation focuses on preventing harm to minors and offering legal recourse, without specifying enforcement details or penalties beyond the criminal and civil frameworks.
Establishes the Hawaii Center for Policing and Criminal Justice Research within the Social Science Research Institute, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa to house the Hawaii Crime Lab. Requires law enforcement agencies and law enforcement oversight agencies to collect and report certain data regarding law enforcement stops, uses of force, and complaints to the Hawaii Crime Lab. Requires the Hawaii Crime Lab to collect and publish incident-level information and an annual report on the data collected. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to adopt rules, in coordination with the Hawaii Crime Lab, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and any community advisory boards. Appropriates funds for the establishment and operation of the Hawaii Center for Policing and Criminal Justice Research within the Social Science Research Institute, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa to support implementation. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
HB 2153 establishes the Kūpaʻa Law Enforcement Retention Bonus Program, which provides financial incentives to help retain law enforcement officers. The bill allocates state funds specifically for these retention bonuses, directly affecting eligible law enforcement officers in Hawaii. The key mechanism is the state appropriating dedicated funding to cover the bonus payments. This policy change creates a formal, funded program to support officer retention efforts.
Establishes the procedure that a circuit court shall follow upon the reversal or vacation of an individual's judgment of conviction on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed. Requires the State to pay advance compensation to any petitioner who was convicted in a court of the State, imprisoned for at least one year, and whose judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated, or was pardoned, on grounds consistent with innocence. Requires the Comptroller to issue a warrant for payment of advance compensation to a petitioner. Requires the Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to contract with a community-based agency to assign a case manager to a petitioner upon the petitioner's release. Requires the State to provide medical coverage to a person for a certain duration upon the reversal or vacation of the person's judgment of conviction on grounds consistent with innocence and where the charges were dismissed. Provides that the Judiciary and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall retain jurisdiction over the person for the purposes of effectuating this process. Authorizes the State to seek reimbursement from the applicable county for any losses incurred by the State pursuant to this process. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Clarifies eligibility to seek compensation for individuals whose judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated, or who were pardoned, on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed. Shifts the burden of proof to the State to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the reversal or vacation of the judgment of conviction for a petitioner, or the pardoning of the petitioner, was inconsistent with innocence. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
