Requires the Director of Law Enforcement to adopt rules establishing training and certification standards and procedures for crisis intervention officers. Clarifies the scope of treatment allowable under orders for assisted community treatment. Requires the Department of the Attorney general to assist with the preparation, filing, and presentation of any request for a court or administrative order authorizing treatment over the objection of certain patients.
Requires any law enforcement officer acting under color of law in a public space or on state or county property to remain visibly identifiable. Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings while performing their duties, with certain exceptions. Requires law enforcement officers to wear apparel and use vehicles that bear conspicuous markings of the applicable law enforcement agency. Requires all civil law enforcement activity that involves participation by state or county law enforcement officers or occurs on state or county property to be conducted in a manner that adheres to specified standards. Deems certain locations to be service-first spaces and requires them to have clear, narrowly tailored procedures with respect to civil immigration actions. Requires all state and county agencies to adopt policies that limit the collection, retention, and sharing of immigration-related personal data. Requires all interagency data exchanges between state agencies, county agencies, or state and county agencies to operate under auditable agreements. Requires all state and county agencies to report annually to the Legislature and Governor regarding the civil-immigration-related requests. Requires every state and county agency to adopt a policy that prohibits immigration-based harassment or threats, including unwarranted verification of an individual's immigration status, with respect to employment or the provision of services to the public. Requires all state and county law enforcement officers to monitor civil immigration enforcement activity by activating body cameras when present in a situation in which United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are interacting with a member of the general public.
SB 2516 creates a new penalty system for obstructing criminal investigations, directly affecting individuals who interfere with law enforcement (e.g., witnesses lying or defendants tampering with evidence). It replaces a flat penalty with a "gradient structure," meaning punishments increase based on the severity of the original crime being obstructed. For example, hindering a murder investigation would carry a harsher penalty than obstructing a minor traffic violation case. This change aims to make sentencing more proportional to the seriousness of the underlying offense.
By January 1, 2027, requires each law enforcement agency operating in the State to maintain a publicly available policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers. Requires all law enforcement officers in the State to visibly display identification including certain information while performing enforcement duties. Exempts officers performing undercover duties from the visible display of identification requirements.
Prohibits excited delirium from being recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in the State. Prohibits a medical examiner, coroner, or health care provider from stating on a certificate of death or in any report that the cause of death was excited delirium. Prohibits law enforcement officers from using the term excited delirium to describe an individual in an incident report. Establishes a new Hawaii Rule of Evidence that deems evidence that a person experienced or suffered an excited delirium inadmissible in a civil action. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
SB 2919 appropriates funds to hire one full-time equivalent Deputy Public Defender III position within the Office of the Public Defender. This bill directly affects the Office of the Public Defender by providing dedicated staffing resources for their operations. The key provision is the allocation of state funds specifically for this new staff role, which would support the office's capacity to represent indigent defendants in court. The bill does not create new legal requirements or change existing laws, focusing solely on budgetary support for personnel.
SB 2518 increases penalties for assaulting law enforcement officers in the first degree, which is the most serious category of such assault. It directly affects individuals convicted of attacking officers and strengthens legal consequences for these offenses. The bill establishes stricter sentencing requirements, including longer prison terms, for first-degree assault against police officers. This changes the current penalty structure to impose harsher punishments for this specific crime.
Makes it a disorderly conduct offense to remain or loiter within twenty feet of a bus stop with no intent to utilize any bus service. Authorizes law enforcement officers to immediately remove any person committing a disorderly conduct offense of remaining or loitering within twenty feet of a bus stop with no intent to utilize any bus service and confiscate any of their personal property. Authorizes law enforcement officers to determine if the confiscated property is to be saved or discarded. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
HB 1441 creates a new criminal offense called "organized retail theft" for coordinated theft schemes targeting retail businesses. It sets specific penalties for this offense and establishes an organized retail theft task force to investigate and address such incidents. The bill directly affects retailers by providing new legal tools to combat large-scale theft operations and law enforcement agencies through the task force structure. Key provisions define the crime, outline penalties, and mandate the task force’s formation without specifying exact penalty levels.
Requires law enforcement agencies and police oversight agencies to collect and report certain data regarding law enforcement stops, uses of force, and complaints to the Hawaii Crime Lab affiliated with the University of Hawaii. 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.
