Transcript Highlights:

• doing meets their own cost-benefit test, or should we take a look at what they're doing and make a judgment
• try<00:27:18.679> to<00:27:18.880> make<00:27:19.159> a<00:27:19.360> judgment
• doing and make try to make a judgment doing and make try to make a judgment about<00:27:20.240><

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Part II would mandate that the Judiciary seal all records for eviction proceedings where the judgment
• where<02:02:36.880> a<02:02:37.520> um<02:02:38.400> the<02:02:38.639> judgment
• <02:02:39.079> is proceedings where a um the judgment is proceedings where a um the judgment

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs met on February 19, 2025, and first heard House Bill 150, which would prohibit lending a firearm to someone who does not have a firearm permit or a registered firearm. The Department of Law Enforcement and the Honolulu Police Department supported the bill, though HPD said enforcing any time limit on a loaned firearm would be difficult. Several members of the public opposed the measure, arguing it would interfere with lawful lending for hunting, competitions, training, military-related use, and family situations, and could create unintended criminal liability. One supporter said the bill would strengthen gun safety and encourage more responsible ownership. No vote was taken during the testimony portion described. The committee then heard House Bill 186, which would make harassment by stalking a class C felony. The Office of the Public Defender requested deferral, arguing the bill would remove a misdemeanor option that can help deter escalation and could be unnecessarily severe and burdensome. Honolulu Police Department supported the bill, saying stalking can be a precursor to more serious violence. The Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney raised concerns about how the new felony would fit within the existing grading scheme, noting that aggravated harassment by stalking and first-degree terroristic threatening are already class C felonies. April Bautista testified in strong support, describing her own experience with domestic violence and stalking and urging passage of the bill. Committee members discussed whether other penalty structures might be possible, but no final action was taken in the portion provided. The committee also heard House Bill 991, which would delete the term “agent of the contractor” from criminal history record check provisions to comply with FBI requirements. The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center supported the bill with comments, explaining that the FBI had found the term too broad for fingerprint-based background checks tied to access to federal tax information. In addition, House Bill 995 was introduced, changing deadlines for annual firearms carry reporting; the Department of the Attorney General supported it, saying the revised deadlines would allow a more complete report, and HPD was also heard on the measure. The transcript ends before any votes or final committee actions on these bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know who makes the judgment call about the middle. Supposedly till 8:00, or what's the law?
• 00.159> the to be hard to I don't know who makes the to be hard to I don't know who makes the Judgment
• 01.120> about<00:30:01.399> the<00:30:01.519> middle<00:30:02.440> start Judgment
• call in about the middle start Judgment call in about the middle start supposingly<00:30:03.600>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard budget testimony first from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Director Tommy Johnson outlined short-term goals to reduce overcrowding, improve living and working conditions, fill vacancies, expand mental health services, and update the correctional master plan. He said the department is still dealing with severe overcrowding at facilities such as OCCC and HCCC, with 947 people at OCCC against a design capacity of 628, and noted 938 inmates are currently housed on the mainland because of temporary repairs at Halawa. He also reported progress on staffing, saying the correctional officer vacancy rate has dropped from 34.3% to 24% through expanded recruitment. The department’s major budget request was $30 million for planning and design for a new Old Triple C project, along with other requests for re-entry services, identification documents, security systems, radios, sink-toilet modules, and trauma-informed care. Members asked about the timing and scope of the OCCC project, courtroom space in new facilities, and the department’s plan to use the funding to improve re-entry and reduce recidivism. The committee then heard from the Department of Law Enforcement on a wide range of priorities. The department described requests to expand agricultural crime enforcement, traffic enforcement, illegal fireworks enforcement, and facilities such as a police building at the DKI airport, a state training center, and new police facilities in central and Leeward Oahu. It also discussed a major IT request for a statewide law enforcement and critical infrastructure notification platform, plus funding for grants management, the Wahiawa Civic Center and court complex, the prescription monitoring program, narcotics enforcement operations, and the narcotics lab. A significant portion of the discussion focused on a proposed traffic enforcement program for commercial vehicle inspections, speeding, and DUI enforcement, which the department said would be funded with federal dollars and would operate concurrently with county police. Committee members questioned whether the effort duplicated county jurisdiction and how the program would be trained and staffed. Members also pressed the department on salary disparities for deputy sheriffs and related vacancies, and the department said the administration was working on a supplemental agreement and placeholder funding to address the issue. Additional discussion covered agricultural crime staffing, the Silver Alert program, and expansion of the forensic lab to handle explosives, firearms, and related evidence. No votes were taken in the portion provided, and the meeting moved from the corrections presentation to the law enforcement budget review with questions and answers throughout.

Transcript Highlights:

• capability and the trust that others, particularly her superiors, have consistently placed in her judgment
• capability and the trust that others, particularly her superiors, have consistently placed in her judgment
• capability and the trust that others, particularly her superiors, have consistently placed in her judgment
• Marie, you're welcome to give opening remarks. her judgment and her performance. her judgment and her

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• How would we enforce a judgment that's entered against the foreign government?
• Uh, state courts that can't compel people to come, they can't enforce judgments, things like that that
• :54:30.880> they<00:54:31.040> can't<00:54:31.360> enforce<00:54:31.800> judgments
• , to come, they can't enforce judgments, to come, they can't enforce judgments, things<00:54:33.120

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• more safe manner and to have access to those safer supplies, it was more so the support and non-judgment
• support<02:02:52.800> and it was more so the support and it was more so the support and non-judgment
• > the<02:02:54.239> people<02:02:54.320> that<02:02:54.560> were non-judgment
• of the people that were non-judgment of the people that were providing<02:02:55.199> those<02
• Candidates must also demonstrate clinical proficiency, sound judgment, and safe technique under supervision

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• designed to share information in a designed to share information in a friendly,<05:12:03.760> non-judgmental
• ,<05:12:05.200> and<05:12:05.440> engaging friendly, non-judgmental, and engaging friendly
• , non-judgmental, and engaging way,<05:12:07.120> but<05:12:07.440> it<05:12:07.680>
• The purpose of any licensure exam is to ensure that a candidate possesses the knowledge, judgment, and
• The purpose of any licensure exam is to ensure that a candidate possesses the knowledge, judgment, and

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, Chair Hoffman, Senator M Quade, of course, our fiscal notes aren't a judgment of whether this
• Senator M Quade, of course, our fiscal notes aren't a judgment of whether this should or should not be
• I'll kind of take your judgment on it, but I think just saying retaliation is bad, I don't know why that's
• I'll kind of take your judgment on it, but I think just saying retaliation is bad, I don't know why that's
• I'll kind of take your judgment on it, but I think just saying retaliation is bad, I don't know why that's

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And if I know that enforcement would therefore necessarily depend on appearance-based judgments, stereotypes
• Depend on appearance-based judgments, stereotypes, and evasive, inappropriate questioning.
• So, please defer to the expertise and judgment of the committee.
• So, please defer to the expertise and judgment of the committee.
• So, please defer to the expertise and judgment of the committee.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This judgment requires a thorough understanding of the condition being addressed to avoid overtreatment
• Doctors don't use their medical judgment; they take orders from parents to perform this surgery.
• You just leave it to the judgment of medical providers.
• <05:00:45.600> of<05:00:45.760> medical<05:00:46.160> providers Judgment of medical
• providers Judgment of medical providers perhaps<05:00:48.958> on<05:00:49.200> reading

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• message that we value well-rounded officers, not just short-term physical benchmarks, but experience, judgment
• message that we value well-rounded officers, not just short-term physical benchmarks, but experience, judgment
• message that we value well-rounded officers, not just short-term physical benchmarks, but experience, judgment
• message that we value well-rounded officers, not just short-term physical benchmarks, but experience, judgment
• Short-term physical benchmarks, but experience, judgment, and professionalism.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• out of the protection of the law, exiled, or deprived of his life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment
• ,<01:33:33.679> but<01:33:33.920> by<01:33:34.080> the<01:33:34.239> judgment
• <01:33:34.560> of<01:33:34.719> his or estate, but by the judgment of his or estate
• , but by the judgment of his peers,<01:33:35.280> or<01:33:35.520> the<01:33:35.679>

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• My problem with this bill, and you know more about it than I do, so I'm going to trust your judgment,
• Public Regulation if this bill... ...you know more about it than I do, so I'm going to trust your judgment

Keywords: 1064, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But I would say, you know, I would reserve any judgments on his county, but just in general, the thought
• going to change the culture, that they don't have the tools to be able to do that, that was not a judgment

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration met at 10:07 a.m. and approved the minutes from its February 9 meeting. The commission said it would accept Department of Correction testimony in writing because of a scheduling issue, and then spent most of the hearing hearing from people with lived experience in county and state correctional settings. Members repeatedly reminded witnesses to keep remarks to about three minutes and focused the discussion on correctional consolidation, collaboration, programming, and reentry. Testimony from multiple sheriff’s offices was broadly supportive of county-based programming, treatment, education, and reentry services. Witnesses from Hampshire, Barnstable, Hampden, and Franklin counties described access to GED and college courses, vocational training, recovery meetings, therapeutic groups, housing and ID assistance, work release, and reentry centers. Several said these programs helped them gain sobriety, employment, family reunification, and parole readiness. Hampden County witnesses emphasized immediate reentry planning and individualized case management; Franklin County witnesses praised respectful treatment and an accessible off-site reentry center; Barnstable witnesses highlighted the women’s therapeutic treatment program, creative writing, and the Bridge Center; Hampshire witnesses described the Bridge House, work release, and transition supports. Several witnesses contrasted those experiences with what they described as limited or delayed programming in DOC facilities, especially for people serving longer sentences or with restrictive classifications. One witness said DOC programming was hard to access because shorter sentences and offense labels affected eligibility; another described overcrowding, little counseling, and no reentry planning in state prison. A juvenile lifer testified that classification barriers and lack of tailored programming left him feeling unprepared, and another witness said DOC’s handling of classification hearings and records was unfair and opaque. Some speakers also raised concerns about mental health care and visitation policies, especially at Framingham, where one witness said suicidal thoughts were met with inadequate responses and another said family visitation was denied without clear explanation. Commissioners asked follow-up questions about DOC access, step-down opportunities, family support, and whether more transitional housing or acclimation time before release would help. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the prior minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, our mission is to use our brains, use our thought process, use our judgment, to make some recommendations
• And, you know, there's a judgment call there, but regionalization is, I think, the geography, the capacity

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission opened an informal discussion focused on developing recommendations for its September report on correctional consolidation and cooperation. Chairs Dan Hunt and Senator Brownsberger emphasized that the group is still in an information-gathering phase, but should begin putting ideas on the table, including possible written recommendations, further hearings, and additional facility tours. Members discussed whether the commission should seek more input from frontline stakeholders such as sheriffs, probation, parole, reentry centers, unions, and the judiciary, and whether recommendations should be organized around specific issue areas like medical costs, programming, reentry, and facility operations. A major theme was the need for a more integrated and consistent correctional system. Participants raised concerns about fragmentation across DOC, county sheriffs, probation, and parole, and suggested exploring step-down pathways, minimum security, pre-release, day reporting, and regional reentry hubs to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism. Several speakers stressed the importance of uniform standards, evidence-based programming, better data on outcomes and spending, and clearer alignment between custody conditions and rehabilitation goals. There was also discussion of looking to other states and international models, as well as revisiting older reports and plans, including the 2009 commission report and the 2010 corrections master plan. Facility-specific issues were also raised, including the need to examine women’s facilities such as Framingham, Bridgewater, and restrictive housing practices in light of suicide concerns and mental health needs. Members discussed the relationship between correctional custody and behavioral health, the role of the judiciary in sentencing and reentry planning, and whether judges should be better informed about available programming and step-down options. There was broad agreement that collaboration, transparency, and accountability should be strengthened, with some members urging that recommendations be based on firsthand facts and data rather than opinion alone. The meeting also included presentation of a written set of eight high-level recommendations compiled by advocacy and legal organizations, which focused on clearer and more consistent programming, equitable application of rules, and reducing punitive conditions that function like solitary confinement. The chairs said the document would be shared with members and posted online. No formal votes were taken during the discussion, and the meeting ended with plans to continue the conversation at a future session, including possible follow-up on reentry centers, restrictive housing, and other systemwide reforms.

Transcript Highlights:

• And that's something that we'd be happy to work with TDCJ on if there is a notation on a judgment or
• And that's something that we'd be happy to work with TDCJ on if there is a notation on a judgment or

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• support for a regulatory environment that allows physicians to exercise their independent professional judgment
• support for a regulatory environment that allows physicians to exercise their independent professional judgment

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• shall be compelled to prescribe any treatment or perform any act which violates his or her good judgment
• shall be compelled to prescribe any treatment or perform any act which violates his or her good judgment

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the pledge, and roll call, establishing a quorum with 33 members present. The chamber approved the prior journal, excused absent senators, welcomed viewers, and received House messages announcing passage of House Bill 253, House Bill 436508, and House Concurrent Resolution 44 for concurrence. New filings were also reported: Senate Bill 197 on economic development and Senate Joint Resolution 99 designating the Destiny Brewer Memorial Highway in Martin County. The main floor action centered on Senate Bill 72, a measure on recruitment and retention of health care professionals and declaring an emergency. The bill’s sponsor argued it would protect health care workers’ conscience rights, improve recruitment and retention, and address provider shortages and corporate pressures in medicine, while emphasizing that emergency care would still be required under federal law. Supporters said the bill would protect providers from being forced to participate in procedures that violate their moral or religious beliefs and cited examples from other states and physicians who had left practices over conscience concerns. Opponents argued the bill’s language was too broad and could allow denial of non-emergency care based on vague moral, ethical, or religious objections, potentially harming patients in health care deserts and sending the wrong message about caring for all people. One senator raised a hypothetical about racial discrimination under the bill’s definitions, while supporters responded that the bill was intended to protect providers and patients and that existing professional ethics and hospital policies would prevent abuse. Additional supporters said the measure would not deny basic care and would help keep physicians in the state. The bill was still under debate at the end of the excerpt, with questions and responses continuing; no final vote or disposition on Senate Bill 72 is shown in the transcript provided. Other bills reported from second reading were referred to the Rules Committee for further action, and Senate Bill 69 was passed over and retained its place on the orders of the day.

Transcript Highlights:

• The judgment or the order from which the appeal is taken is defective. It has to go back down.
• The judgment or the order from which the appeal is taken is defective. It has to go back down.

Bills: SB2444, SB2446, SB2450, SB2453, SB2461, SB2457, SB2462, SB2313, SB2528, SB2532, SB2571, SB2678, SB2529

Keywords: real property, exemption, attachment, execution, consumer protection, financial security, inflation adjustment, head of family, senior citizens, Intermediate Court of Appeals, judges, Hawaii judiciary, court membership, legal system, presidential preference primary, elections, political parties, Hawaii voting, 2028 election, voting

Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard testimony on several bills. SB 2444 would raise the real property exemption amount for attachment or execution, which the Attorney General said could create vague retroactivity language and litigation risk; the committee noted the exemption had last been adjusted around 1978. SB 2446 would add a seventh associate judge to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. Judiciary staff testified in opposition, saying recent internal restructuring and a pending vacancy had improved output and that it would be prudent to wait and see the effect before adding another judge. The Public Defender supported the goal of faster appellate resolution but said it would defer to the court’s assessment and had no objection to revisiting the issue later. The committee also discussed current appellate timelines, with staff saying at least 225 days is built into the process before a case reaches a merit panel, and that a two-year delay from panel assignment was realistic under the current structure. The committee then heard SB 2450, which would establish a presidential preference primary for the 2028 cycle. The Chief Election Officer said the election would cost about $4 million, less if combined with the regular primary. Several opponents argued the bill would add bureaucracy, duplicate or undermine party-run processes, and waste taxpayer money; one speaker estimated the total cost could be closer to $6 million when county costs are included. Supporters and committee members discussed that the measure would not require parties to use the results and that Hawaii remains one of the few states still using caucuses. The committee also asked whether counties could staff the election and whether the results would be useful given Hawaii’s current primary timing. SB 2453 would require the Office of Elections to include a notice with each ballot that a digital and printed voter information guide is available, with the notice in 32-point font as a separate insert. The Chief Election Officer said the insert would cost about $90,000 and asked for an effective date of January 1, 2027 because mailing preparations for the primary would already be underway. The Disability and Communications Access Board, League of Women Voters, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, and others supported the bill. The committee also began hearing SB 2461, which would have the Office of Elections prepare a questionnaire for candidates and publish responses online and in the voter guide; the Chief Election Officer said the office did not think it should be the agency to shape campaign questions, though he said it could work if the questions were specified in statute. Finally, the committee heard SB 2457, which would require a criminal conviction before seized property could be forfeited. The Attorney General and Honolulu Police Department opposed the bill, arguing it would prolong cases, increase storage costs, and make forfeiture less effective against crime, especially where owners flee, die, or hide assets through shell companies. The Public Defender strongly supported the measure, saying forfeiture should be tied to convictions and that people challenging forfeiture often lack counsel. The Honolulu Prosecutor also opposed the bill, but said it supported transparency, due process, and even a right to counsel; it argued conviction-only forfeiture would fail in cases involving fugitives, deceased suspects, or hidden ownership structures. The committee questioned what would happen to property if an owner could not be found, and the prosecutor said the outcome would depend on the type of property and could involve abandonment or interpleader proceedings.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I think what you're asking is largely a reflection of a judgment call that's being made by the chair
• And, um, in the judgment of the author of the bill, it was determined that it was more appropriate to

Keywords: 1187, senate, all