Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ranch Safety Self Defense topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ranchers and cattlemen back resolution to limit duty to retreat for agricultural landowners; committee delays vote
Summary
The Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee heard strong support for SCR91/SR74 from the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council and multiple rural residents who said existing self-defense rules leave landowners vulnerable; the committee postponed decision making due to lack of quorum.
SCR91 (a concurrent resolution) and SR74 (a senate resolution) would urge the Legislature to amend state self-defense laws to deprioritize the duty to retreat in specified agricultural circumstances. The measures drew testimony from agricultural interests and many rural residents at the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment hearing on March 14, 2025.
Nicole Galase, representing the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, said ranchers face armed trespassers and poachers in remote areas and that the existing law leaves landowners unsure about the legal consequences of defending themselves. "We need to protect our farmers and ranchers in these rural areas and deter illegal trespassers on ag lands," Galase told the committee, and said ranchers ask what the consequences might be if they try to defend themselves.
Multiple residents and landowners who testified in support described confrontations with trespassers, aggressive hunters and dogs, and deaths on or near agricultural lands. One speaker who identified himself as Austin Southfield said aggressive, unethical hunters repeatedly trespassed on his property, and he described livestock killed by dogs. Other supporters emphasized the urgency of deterrence for remote properties where law enforcement response may be delayed.
The Department of Agriculture staff registered support in written testimony and were available for questions. The clerk's tally recorded 11 in support and 0 opposed on the concurrent resolution (SCR91), and 13 in support and 0 opposed for the senate resolution (SR74). The committee did not take a vote on March 14 because it lacked quorum; the chair said decision making for the entire agenda will occur on Monday, March 17 at 1:02 p.m.
Supporters framed the measures as protection for landowners and family members who encounter trespassers in isolated areas. Opposing testimony was not recorded in the hearing transcript. Any statutory change would ultimately require drafting specific language and referral to the Judiciary or relevant committees for legal review; the measures before the Agriculture and Environment Committee are requests that urge legislative action rather than a stand-alone statutory change recorded in the hearing.
