Judiciary committee adopts resolution urging presidential administration to follow federal court orders after testimony on automatic voter registration

The Senate Committee on Judiciary on Wednesday adopted a substituted draft (SD1) of Senate Concurrent Resolution 158 urging the presidential administration to accept and follow federal court orders, the committee chair announced after a short public testifying period.

The measure drew broad written and spoken support from civic and advocacy groups, and a pair of public commenters used the hearing to highlight different concerns: one speaker representing the Democratic Party of Hawaii said the state should “stand with the rule of law,” while another warned of perceived vulnerabilities tied to automatic voter registration.

The resolution matters because it is a formal statement from the committee asking the executive branch to comply with federal court rulings. Judith Mills Wong of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii and multiple other organizational representatives registered support for SCR 158; the Democratic Party of Hawaii submitted signatures backing the measure and Derek Turpin, appearing for the party, told the committee the party “stands in strong support of this resolution.”

Derek Turpin (Democratic Party of Hawaii), who identified himself as a practicing attorney, said the state should make clear that it “stands with the rule of law” and “encourages the presidential administration to respect and obey court orders.” Several other organizations were listed by the chair as supporters, including the Free Access Coalition, the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights, and Hawaii Women Lawyers.

During public comment, Mark Cook, who identified himself as an independent testifier, used his two minutes to warn about automatic voter registration. “Automatic voter registration is a tool that can be used in the hands of bad actors,” Cook said, arguing the process is vulnerable to manipulation and that citizens have been “removed from the election process.” The chair clarified that the committee had substituted the original AVR-related draft with the SD1 that focuses on compliance with court orders rather than establishing an AVR working group.

Committee members recorded votes on the floor. Chair Rhodes voted “aye,” Senator Chang voted “aye,” and Senator Guadalupe recorded a “no” vote; the chair announced the measure passes. The committee clerk also noted public testimony sign-ons totaled 53 in support, one opposed and one comment.

Votes at a glance

- SCR 158 SD1 — Adopted. Committee action: accept proposed SD1 demanding the administration follow federal court orders. Recorded committee votes included Chair Rhodes (aye), Senator Chang (aye) and Senator Guadalupe (no). Public testimony sign-ins were 53 in support, 1 opposed, 1 comment.

- SCR 154 — Deferred. The committee received no testimony on SCR 154 (supporting implementation of applicable recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council universal periodic review) and the chair deferred the measure.

- SCR 26 — Passed (recommendation to pass unamended). The committee recommended passage of SCR 26, which requests the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to plan and design a new Oahu Community Correctional Center at Halawa that includes circuit and district court facilities and to establish a release procedure under which detainees or inmates are transported upon release to a site other than residential communities or public spaces.

The committee concluded the 9:30 agenda after the vote and moved into the 9:31 decision-making agenda before adjourning.

Ending: The measures will move forward according to the Senate’s rules; specific next steps and floor scheduling were not specified during the hearing.