The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs on Friday, March 14 moved forward a package of measures addressing neighborhood boards and community outreach, Hawaiian-lands claims work, tax collection and appeals, and juvenile-justice reforms, while deferring a detention-of-minors bill for additional technical amendments.

The committee, chaired by the meeting’s chair (identified in the transcript as Chair) and assisted by the vice chair, approved recommendations or moved measures to further referral for most bills after testimony from state agencies, legal advocates and community speakers.

Why it matters: The bundle includes bills that change how neighborhood and community advisory boards operate under the Sunshine Law, clarify when a Hawaiian Homes Commission Act change takes effect, alter the statute of limitations for tax collection during appeals, set procedural rules for tax appeal notices, and expand judicial discretion in sentencing people who committed offenses as minors. Several measures affect Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, county neighborhood governance, and the state’s ability to collect revenue after lengthy appeals.

Key actions and votes

- Senate Bill 869 SD1 (community outreach boards): The committee voted to advance the measure with a recommendation to insert language into the bill’s purpose clause (pulled from HB 686 HD1) to clarify that Hawaii County Community Development Action Plan committees are included in neighborhood-board provisions. Recorded “aye” votes in the transcript: Chair; Vice Chair; Representative Bellotti; Representative Kahalua; Representative Pruso; Representative Takayama; Representative Shimizu. Representatives Cochran, Todd and Garcia were recorded as excused. The committee’s recommendation was adopted.

- Senate Bill 405 SD1 (neighborhood board meetings): The committee amended the effective date to July 1, 3000, and moved the measure to conference. The committee adopted the recommendation with no recorded no votes in the transcript; Representatives Cochran, Todd and Garcia were excused.

- Senate Bill 903 SD2 (Hawaiian affairs / PLT claims review): The Office of Hawaiian Affairs testified in strong opposition, saying settlement talks were premature until a complete inventory of the Public Land Trust (PLT) is completed. The chair asked to insert language from HB 1358 HD3 into SB 903 and move the bill to finance; the committee adopted that recommendation.

- Senate Bill 1408 SD1 (Hawaiian Homes Commission Act technical correction): The Department of Hawaiian Homelands testified in strong support and the committee moved the measure forward as-is.

- Senate Bill 1469 SD2 (tax collections tolling while appeals pending): The Department of Taxation’s director, Gary Suganuma, explained the administration measure would suspend the statute of limitations on collections while an assessment is pending on appeal to give the State the full 15-year opportunity to collect. The committee approved technical amendments and moved the bill to finance.

- Senate Bill 1467 (tax appeals notice): The measure clarifies that notice of a county tax appeal need not be served on the state director of taxation; the Department of Taxation supported the clarification. The committee moved the bill forward with technical edits.

- Senate Bill 544 (sentencing of persons who were minors when offense committed): The committee heard support testimony from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Office of the Public Defender and Human Rights for Kids, which urged that mandatory minimums fail to account for mitigating youthful factors. The committee moved the bill forward with technical amendments.

- Senate Bill 691 SD1 (family courts minimum age for adjudication): Testimony included Attorney General office comments to protect family-court jurisdiction over noncriminal supervision matters, the Public Defender’s support for a bright-line rule prohibiting adjudication of children under 12, and opposition from the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office raising concerns about early intervention and service delivery. The committee adopted recommended amendments from the Attorney General and moved the bill forward.

- Senate Bill 694 (detention of minors): The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Public Defender strongly supported a prohibition on holding minors in adult jails or lockups, citing trauma and risk. The committee did not complete decision-making on SB 694; it deferred action to Wednesday, March 19 to allow technical/conforming amendments (including suggested changes to a subsection related to temporary room confinement) and additional consultation with the public defender.

Committee discussion highlights and notable testimony

- Office of Information Practices director Carlotta Camarino testified on two neighborhood/board bills (SB 869 and SB 405), saying earlier confusion about SB 869 had been clarified and recommending clearer purpose-clause language; she described SB 405 as providing neighborhood boards more flexibility to receive reports from government officials but noted the need for public notice if matters move to decision-making at a later meeting.

- Greg Mesakian, who identified himself as serving on the Waikiki Neighborhood Board but testified as an individual, initially opposed SB 869 and SB 405 on transparency grounds but withdrew his opposition to SB 869 after hearing OIP’s explanation.

- McKenna Woodward testified for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in opposition to SB 903 SD2, saying any offer of settlement of PLT claims would be premature until a full PLT inventory/audit (HB 1358 HD3) is completed; OHA asked that the committee defer SB 903 or fold in HB 1358 language.

- Department of Hawaiian Homelands’ Oriana Lea supported SB 1408 SD1 as a technical fix correcting an error in Act 130 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2024) concerning federal processes tied to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

- Taxation director Gary Suganuma and the Tax Foundation (Tom Yamachika) discussed SB 1469 and SB 1467; Suganuma described the need to toll collections’ statutes of limitations while appeals are pending so judgments remain collectible after long appeals.

- Juvenile-justice speakers included the Office of the Public Defender (Haley Chang), Human Rights for Kids (James Doold) and James Doold and advocates who urged more judicial discretion on sentencing people who committed crimes as minors and pressed for limits on adjudicating or incarcerating very young children. The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office (Daniel Hugo) opposed aspects of SB 691 on grounds that early intervention and family-court jurisdiction could be constrained without careful drafting.

What’s next

Most measures advanced to further referral (conference or finance) with technical or clarifying amendments as recorded on the House floor transcript; SB 694 (detention of minors) was deferred for additional technical work and stakeholder input and will return March 19 for decision-making.

Selected direct quotes from witnesses and staff

- Carlotta Camarino, director, Office of Information Practices: “We believe that now that that's been made clear, this bill is good to go.”

- McKenna Woodward, Office of Hawaiian Affairs: “Any offer from the state for settlement of claims for revenues due to OHA from the PLT is premature until a complete inventory of the public lands trust has been assessed.”

- Gary Suganuma, director, Department of Taxation: “We are seeking to suspend the statute of limitations while the case is pending before the board of review or tax appeal court so that we have the full 15 year opportunity to collect delinquent taxes.”

- Haley Chang, Office of the Public Defender: “Without exception, juveniles should never be held in adult correctional facilities.”

Ending note: The committee’s actions will be reflected in the next referral steps (conference or finance); several measures contain technical or purpose-clause edits the chair asked staff to insert before transmittal. The transcript shows the committee sought to balance transparency and public notice for neighborhood boards, procedural clarity for tax practice, and added protections or discretion for juveniles in Hawaii’s justice system.