Senate Judiciary advances bills on forfeiture, courts, taxes and victim services; committee records votes and funding requests

The Senate Committee on Judiciary advanced a slate of bills on Jan. 30, 2025, moving forward proposals that would limit civil asset forfeiture, create or expand specialty courts, authorize staffing additions for probation services and request state appropriations for prosecutorial and victim services.

The committee, chaired in the hearing by the committee chair (Senate Committee on Judiciary), front‑loaded policy items of broad public interest — notably SB 722 to restrict civil asset forfeiture and SB 361 to permanently establish the Community Outreach Court in the First Circuit — and then considered budget and administrative measures including two grant‑in‑aid appropriation requests from the City and County of Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney.

Why it matters: Several of the measures touch on how the criminal legal system will manage low‑level offenses and vulnerable populations going forward — from establishing mobile community courts that emphasize diversion, to requiring clearer rules and procedural protections for forfeiture. The bills also contain appropriation requests or implementation details that will be resolved in later budget and drafting steps, meaning outcome and cost details remain to be finalized.

Key actions and takeaways

- The committee voted to advance SB 722, a bill that narrows civil asset forfeiture so property may be forfeited in connection with a felony conviction; the measure was passed unamended by the committee and will move on for further consideration. Testimony in the hearing included opposition from the Attorney General (citing forfeiture as an enforcement tool) and support from public‑defense and civil‑liberties groups who called for stronger safeguards.

- The Community Outreach Court (SB 361) was approved by the committee to be permanently established in the First Circuit, with committee action deferring appropriation details to future budget work. Judiciary and public‑defense witnesses described the program as a mobile, community‑based way to resolve nonviolent cases and connect participants to services; the committee asked for concrete staffing and cost estimates before final budget committees act.

- SB 526, a three‑year pilot to establish women’s courts in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th circuits (neighbor‑island circuits), was advanced with amendments and a request that each circuit provide detailed personnel and funding needs. Witnesses stressed the variation in available behavioral‑health resources across islands and urged tailoring to local capacity.

- SB 313 (a proposed 1% annual wealth tax on state net worth over $20 million) was advanced with amendments to delay collection, require implementation planning and to change the frequency to once every three years; committee members recorded reservations but voted to keep the discussion moving.

- Two appropriation requests from the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of the Prosecuting Attorney — SB 286 (career criminal prosecution unit) and SB 287 (victim‑witness assistance) — were advanced. The committee recorded the requested amounts in the committee report but blanked the appropriation language in the bill text to be resolved in budget deliberations; the requested amounts were $747,267 (SB 286) and $737,785 (SB 287), as noted in committee materials and testimony.

- SB 304 (additional probation positions in the First Circuit) was advanced with amendments adopting 11 new full‑time positions and a committee note to reflect judiciary staffing and cost estimates ($921,248 total requested in testimony: $781,248 salaries and $140,000 operating).

- SB 289 (uniform administrative fines under the state ethics code for penalties under $1,000) was advanced with amendments after the Ethics Commission’s executive director described an expedited notice‑and‑order process intended to speed enforcement while preserving rights to request a hearing.

- SB 311 (a proposed state constitutional amendment to clarify whether expenditures to influence elections are covered by state free‑speech protections) was advanced with amendments to the ballot question text to address interplay with U.S. Supreme Court precedents (Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo) and to describe when a state amendment would take effect.

- SB 428 (witness fees and mileage) and SB 435 (notice in elections mailings that a voter guide is available) were advanced; the Office of Elections requested an appropriation of $90,000 for printing and insertion costs for SB 435, which the committee recorded for the report.

- SB 598 (a proposed Hawaii “Hope Card” program to issue small identification cards summarizing long‑term protective orders) was advanced with committee direction to the Attorney General to provide more implementation detail and a cost estimate; during testimony AG‑related staff estimated startup costs of roughly $450,000 and ongoing costs of about $110,000 per year to build secure systems and operate two full‑time equivalents.

Votes at a glance (committee action summary)

- SB 286 — Appropriation for career criminal prosecution unit (City & County of Honolulu): Passed with amendments; committee report notes requested appropriation $747,267; appropriation language blanked for budget committee.

- SB 287 — Appropriation for victim‑witness assistance (City & County of Honolulu): Passed with amendments; committee report notes requested appropriation $737,785; appropriation language blanked for budget committee. Testimony raised risk of federal VOCA funding disruptions; witness gave a potential federal loss figure of $1,876,542 for Honolulu if federal Victims of Crime Act funds were cut.

- SB 289 — Administrative penalties (state ethics code; under $1,000 expedited notice/order procedure): Passed with amendments; committee recorded clarifying language so respondents have 20 days to respond and may request a hearing.

- SB 304 — Probation staffing for adult client services (First Circuit): Passed with amendments to set 11 new FTEs; committee noted requested funding $921,248 in testimony (salaries and operating) and included preamble language on national caseload ratios. Testimony gave current average caseload ~116 per officer and national targets ranging from 20:1 (highest‑acuity) to 200:1 (lowest‑acuity).

- SB 311 — Constitutional amendment re: expenditures to influence elections: Passed with amendments to the ballot language and preamble to reference Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo and to specify triggering conditions for state action.

- SB 313 — Wealth tax (1% over $20 million): Passed with amendments to (a) require DOTAX to propose implementation language by 2027, (b) delay effective collection to tax years after Dec. 31, 2029, and (c) assess once every three years; committee recorded members’ reservations.

- SB 361 — Permanently establish Community Outreach Court (First Circuit): Passed with amendments; committee deferred appropriation details and requested staffing and cost breakdowns from Judiciary, Prosecutor and Public Defender offices.

- SB 428 — Witness fees and mileage rates (civil/criminal): Passed unamended.

- SB 435 — Voter information guide notice in OCE mailings: Passed with amendments; committee recorded requested appropriation $90,000 for printing/insert costs in the committee report.

- SB 526 — Women’s court pilot (2nd, 3rd, 5th Circuits): Passed with amendments; committee asked each circuit to supply personnel and cost estimates and highlighted large local variation in mental‑health resources.

- SB 598 — Hawaii Hope Card (protective order card): Passed with amendments; AG testimony estimated startup ~$450,000 and ongoing ~$110,000/year (two FTEs, website/database and ID card hardware/software), and committee asked for more detail and security design options such as limited authenticated lookups.

- SB 722 — Civil asset forfeiture limits: Passed unamended; committee adopted the bill restricting civil forfeiture to property associated with felony offenses with conviction discipline processes retained for criminal forfeiture.

Discussion highlights and concerns raised

- Funding uncertainty: Department and county witnesses repeatedly said some requested funding had been restored in the executive budget in prior years but that the committee GIA vehicle is retained as a backstop. Prosecutor staff also flagged the potential federal freeze on VOCA funds and quantified a possible Honolulu loss of $1,876,542, a concern for victim‑services continuity.

- Implementation detail requests: For several pilot or program bills (SB 361, SB 526, SB 598) the committee advanced policy approval but asked agencies for specific personnel counts, salary and operating estimates, and security/technology designs before sending appropriation language to Ways & Means.

- Variation by island: Judiciary, Department of Health and local court administrators described sharp differences in on‑island capacity (for example, the Big Island’s sheriff coverage and behavioral‑health resources versus Oahu), and asked the Legislature to allow each circuit to tailor pilot staffing and service models rather than require identical replications.

Who testified and key speakers (selected)

- Chair (Senate Committee on Judiciary) — presided over the hearing and led committee votes. - Vice Chair Gabbard (Senator) — committee member who questioned witnesses on staffing and program details. - Senator San Buenaventura and Senator Chang — participated in questioning and recorded reservations on some measures. - Paul Mow — Chief of Staff, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City & County of Honolulu (testified on SB 286 and SB 287 about grant‑in‑aid practice and VOCA concerns). - Robert Harris — Executive Director, Hawaii State Ethics Commission (testified on SB 289 about expedited administrative fines process). - Saifoloy Aganon — Acting Probation Administrator, Adult Client Services Branch, First Circuit (testified on SB 304 staffing needs and caseload ratios). - Judge Thomas Haya and Robert Kim — Judiciary representatives who testified on SB 361 and challenges of replicating outreach courts on neighbor islands. - Haley Chang — First Deputy, Office of the Public Defender (testified in support of outreach and specialty courts and on civil‑forfeiture concerns). - Phil Higdon — Administrator, Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (testified on SB 598 Hope Card implementation constraints and costs). - Various community speakers and advocacy groups — Institute for Justice, ACLU of Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, Substance Abuse Coalition and others provided written and oral testimony across multiple bills.

Process notes and next steps

The committee frequently advanced bills with amendments that either blanked appropriation text (leaving dollar amounts to be resolved by budget committees) or requested detailed implementation materials be returned to the committee before the measure proceeds to Ways & Means. For measures that required new administrative systems (SB 598) or circuit‑specific service models (SB 526), the committee sought written cost estimates and staffing breakdowns from affected agencies.

The committee’s formal votes were recorded on the record as “passed” or “passed with amendments” and will be reflected in each bill’s committee report. Several committee members noted reservations on SB 313 (wealth tax) and asked DOTAX to prepare detailed implementation language and cost estimates for subsequent sessions.

Ending: The Senate Judiciary Committee concluded the hearing after taking roll calls on each bill and asked affected agencies to return requested budgets and implementation details during the next round of committee work so Ways & Means can consider appropriation language.