Senate Judiciary hears wide-ranging bills on elections, bail, immigration and campaign finance; multiple measures advanced with amendments

The Senate Committee on Judiciary met in Honolulu and by Zoom on Feb. 7 to take testimony on a series of bills spanning elections, criminal procedure, guardianship funding, campaign finance, immigration legal services and constitutional amendment procedures.

The committee heard extended public and organizational testimony on Senate Bill 114, which would establish a presidential preference primary, and on SB 725, which would require judges to make specific findings about a defendant’s ability to afford bail. Both bills drew detailed comments from election officials, party representatives and criminal-justice stakeholders.

Scott Nago, chief election officer with the Office of Elections, introduced SB 114 and provided an estimate of implementation costs, saying, “You have our testimony in front of us or in front of you. Youre I'm going to stand on it, but just note that there is a cost of $410,000,0.0.” Opponents including Jamie Detwiler of Hawaiian Islands Republican Women urged the committee to reject SB 114, arguing the bill shifts control of presidential preference contests from parties to the state and would replace volunteer-run caucuses with mail ballots. “SB 114 will replace our in person presidential primaries with mail in ballots,” Detwiler said, and she asserted the appropriation in the bill should instead be spent for homeless programs and underserved communities.

Committee members asked Nago about timing and costs; he told senators the bulk of the cited $4,100,000 figure would disappear if a presidential preference primary were consolidated with an existing election date, aside from voter education costs for a new election type.

On SB 725, Jennifer Wong, staff attorney for the judiciarys criminal division, asked the committee to defer the bill pending the Judicial Councils ongoing penal-code review, saying the review includes a subcommittee on pretrial bail reform. "We are asking that this matter be deferred," Wong said. Deputy Attorney General Trisha Nakamatsu warned some language could unintentionally prevent sheriffs or police from releasing arrestees when they currently may, and suggested alternative statutory placements for the bills requirements so that on-the-record findings could be made when a judge conducts a formal bail hearing.

Public defenders and oversight groups testified in favor of stronger inquiry into defendants finances at bail settings. Sonny Gennady of the Office of the Public Defender said the bill "adds a formal discussion with a defendant about the use of money in obtaining freedom" and would provide more due process at the front end of cases. Community Alliance on Prisons and the ACLU also supported the measure, citing disproportionate impacts of cash bail on low-income people and the county jail population.

The committee also considered many other measures: SB 733 (proposal to make the Legislatures session continuous), SB 778 (raising the minimum age for life-without-parole eligibility from 18 to 21), SB 780 (process for excluding disqualified candidates from ballots), SB 788 (two-year pilot to fund specified probate/family-court resources for respondents unable to pay), SB 809 (prohibiting certain campaign contributions by state or county contractors/grantees during the contract period), SB 816 (establishing a judiciary-administered program to contract for immigration legal representation), SB 846 (limits on suspension of public-records responsibilities during emergencies), SB 1173 (fee on independent expenditures by noncandidate committees) and SB 1225 (constitutional amendment altering how constitutional-amendment ballots are counted).

Notable testimony and positions: - Immigration legal representation (SB 816) drew strong support from legal clinics, the ACLU and University of Hawai'i law clinic representatives, who stressed immigration proceedings are civil but can have severe, lasting consequences without counsel. Sandy Ma of the Legal Clinic said immigration court is civil and people are not guaranteed attorneys, and urged funding for representation. - Campaign finance and contractor restrictions (SB 809) received support from the Campaign Spending Commission and multiple civic groups; the commission recommended defining "owner" as a person with at least a 5% stake and recommended limiting reporting requirements to contracts above the state small-purchase thresholds. - The constitutional amendment bill SB 1225, changing the vote-counting standard for legislative-initiated constitutional amendments so only explicit yes/no responses count, prompted divided testimony; some speakers argued the change reduces confusion, while others said it would erode voter intent protections.

Votes at a glance - SB 114 (presidential preference primary): Passed with amendments (committee report directs definition insertion and blanks appropriation amounts for the committee report; effective date set in committee to April 23, 2057, per the motion). (Outcome: passed) - SB 725 (bail findings): Deferred indefinitely; sponsor indicated an SD1 will be forthcoming. (Outcome: deferred) - SB 733 (continuous legislative session): Deferred. (Outcome: deferred) - SB 778 (life-without-parole age): Passed with amendments to create a new statutory section preventing life-without-parole for those under 21 and deleting duplicative statutory changes. (Outcome: passed) - SB 780 (exclude ineligible candidates from ballots; challenges process): Passed unamended; committee directed challenges to courts for resolution for state offices. (Outcome: passed) - SB 788 (guardianship/conservatorship pilot): Passed with amendments (appropriation blanked for committee report; pilot details retained). (Outcome: passed) - SB 809 (contractor/grantee contribution restrictions): Passed with amendments (definitions clarified; small-purchase thresholds applied). (Outcome: passed) - SB 816 (immigration legal representation program): Passed with amendments (judiciary to administer contracts but not directly provide services; effective-date/appropriation adjustments made). (Outcome: passed) - SB 846 (emergency powers/public-records suspension): Deferred pending related legislation. (Outcome: deferred) - SB 1173 (fee on independent expenditures by noncandidate committees): Passed with amendments; committee will ask the Attorney General about constitutionality and direct revenue to the Campaign Spending Commission. (Outcome: passed with reservations) - SB 1225 (constitutional amendment voting standard): Passed out of committee with reservations noted; committee adopted the measure to move forward to the next legislative step. (Outcome: passed)

What happens next Committee reports will reflect the amendments the chair announced on the floor for the bills the committee advanced. Several measures were deferred for later refinement and possible SD1 drafting by sponsors and committee staff. For bills that were advanced, the committee blanked appropriation amounts and placed those figures in committee reports when it accepted agency recommendations to do so.

The hearing included a lengthy public-comment record: the clerk announced counts for several bills (for example, SB 114 had an announced count of roughly 11 in support and 41 opposed with 3 comments at public comment), and written testimony totals were read into the record for many measures.

The committee transcript records the committees votes and the chairs post-hearing dispositions; sponsors and staff indicated they will return with draft amendments where the committee asked for further drafting or deferral.

— Reporting from the Senate Committee on Judiciary hearing, Feb. 7, 2025.