House committee advances judiciary biennium budget and package; compensation, judgeships and expungement measures move forward

The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs advanced the judiciary’s biennium budget and a slate of related measures on Jan. 30, voting to move multiple compensation and staffing bills to the House Finance Committee and adopting technical amendments; two measures (juror questionnaire modernization and wrongful‑conviction redress changes) were deferred for further work.

Brandon Kimura, director of the judiciary’s policy and planning department, testified that the judiciary “testify in strong support of HB 400, the judiciary’s biennium budget,” and outlined operating and capital requests that he said include funding for specialty courts, cybersecurity, an additional district court judge for Kona and capital work including design for a South Kohala district court and a statewide lump sum for emergent facility needs.

Why it matters

The package affects court operations statewide: staffing for specialty and district courts, pay rates that affect the supply of private attorneys who accept court‑appointed work, juror compensation intended to ease civic participation, and system changes to implement expungement orders and language access. Committee members and witnesses repeatedly warned that federal grant freezes or funding uncertainty could ripple through the system and partner nonprofits, increasing pressure on state budgets.

Major actions and votes

- HB 400 (judiciary biennium budget): moved out of committee with a recommendation to forward to Finance and to supply additional detail on a requested $2 million CIP supplement for the Children’s Justice Center site work. Committee recorded an aye vote to move the measure; representatives noted they would include appropriation details in the standing committee report. (See “Votes at a glance” below for roll‑call detail.)

- HB 395 (increase juror compensation from $30/day to $50/day): committee recommended moving the bill to Finance with a house draft that blanks the appropriation and defects the effective date for later consideration.

- HB 396 (increase compensation and caps for court‑appointed counsel in criminal proceedings): committee recommended moving the bill to Finance with appropriation language moved to the standing committee report.

- HB 397 (compensation for private examiners who evaluate fitness to proceed/penal responsibility): committee recommended moving the bill to Finance with appropriation language moved to the standing committee report.

- HB 398 (court‑appointed counsel and guardians ad litem in family court): committee recommended technical and clarifying amendments and moving the measure to Finance.

- HB 399 (authorize additional district court judgeship, 1st Circuit): recommended to move to Finance; the committee noted prior funding has been provided but statutory authorization is needed.

- HB 401 (authorize additional district court judgeship, 3rd Circuit/Kona): recommended to move to Finance; testimony stressed Kona’s heavy caseload and need for an additional judge.

- HB 402 (juror qualification form modernization): committee deferred the measure pending work on companion senate language and further stakeholder engagement to address concerns about the digital divide and stakeholder input.

- HB 114 (positions for Adult Client Services Branch / probation): committee adopted technical amendments (rename to Adult Client Services Branch), moved appropriation details to the standing committee report, and recommended moving the bill forward.

- HB 132 and HB 145 (expungement changes and transmission of expungement orders to the judiciary): the committee adopted amendments to broaden an expungement pilot (HB 132) and to authorize the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center to transmit expungement orders to the judiciary (HB 145), and recommended moving both bills forward with the judiciary’s proposed technical fixes.

- HB 146 (Olelo Hawaii initiative funding cleanup): committee recommended moving the measure with technical amendments and directing appropriation details to the standing committee report; witnesses noted the program received a permanent operating budget last session and the bill would align statutory language.

- HB 151 (redress for wrongful conviction and imprisonment): the Department of the Attorney General opposed the current draft, saying parts would conflict with existing appropriation and payment statutes and the constitution’s appropriation clause; the committee deferred the bill to allow the senate vehicle and additional legal review to be considered.

- HB 727 (women’s court pilot): committee recommended moving the bill with amendments: adopt department of health suggestions for circuits named, ask the 3rd Circuit (Big Island) to prepare an implementation blueprint and resource estimate, blank out appropriations/positions and place those details in the standing committee report.

Discussion highlights and policy context

Funding and federal uncertainty: Brandon Kimura acknowledged federal grant uncertainty and said the judiciary is doing preliminary analyses of direct and indirect federal funding tied to programs such as victim services, substance‑use screening, and technical capacity for the courts. Multiple witnesses — including David Copper, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, and Mihoko Ito speaking for civil legal service providers — asked the committee to consider additional funding for civil legal services; Copper said Legal Aid closed 7,100 cases last year and estimated its services reached about 20,000 residents in the past year.

Court‑appointed counsel shortage and pay: Jennifer Wong and Haley Chang (office of the public defender) described a shrinking pool of private attorneys willing to accept court‑appointed work, especially on neighbor islands. Points noted in testimony included that the prevailing court‑appointed rate has not meaningfully increased in many years (the transcript reference: $90/hour with long gaps since increase) and that existing caps for certain cases (for example, a petty misdemeanor DUI capped at $900) do not align with private market prices; witnesses urged raising hourly rates and caps to attract and retain qualified counsel.

Examiners and fitness evaluations: Jennifer Awang and witnesses from the Department of Health and the Hawaii Psychological Association testified that the statutory panels that evaluate penal responsibility/fitness to proceed (three‑examiner panels required by statute) face a shortage of private examiners; one witness said Oahu has as few as six private examiners handling dozens of panels monthly, producing delays of weeks to months and sometimes keeping people in custody longer than clinically necessary.

Juror process modernization: Michelle Acosta (deputy chief court administrator, 1st Circuit) described HB 402 as a limited bill to give the judiciary flexibility to offer non‑mail return options for the juror questionnaire while keeping mail as an option. The Office of the Public Defender urged caution and recommended collaborative stakeholder work before statutory changes, citing concerns about the digital divide among prospective jurors.

Expungement and records: Phil Higdon (Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center) and judiciary counsel described a technical fix (HB 145) to allow the data center to transmit expungement orders to the judiciary so the court’s case management system can seal public access to records; the judiciary also asked for clarifying language to handle multi‑defendant or multi‑offense cases.

Women’s court pilot: Judge Bob Kim (chief court administrator, 3rd Circuit) and other witnesses supported a women’s court pilot but stressed neighbor‑island differences in capacity and the need for mental‑health and psychiatric services in any model; the committee asked the 3rd Circuit to prepare a blueprint describing structure and resource needs if the pilot moves forward.

Attorney General opposition on wrongful‑conviction draft: Deputy Attorney General Lee In Kwok testified the current text of HB 151 would conflict with statutory restrictions on payments and with the constitution’s appropriation clause by creating a preemptive monthly distribution without legislative appropriation and without evidentiary review; the committee deferred the bill to allow senators and staff to further reconcile the vehicle.

Votes at a glance

(committee recommendation to move forward unless otherwise noted; items marked “deferred” were postponed for additional work):

- HB 400 — Judiciary biennium budget: committee recommendation adopted (move to Finance; additional CIP detail requested). Roll‑call noted chair and vice chair aye; Representatives Belotti, Kahalua, Peruso, Takayama, Garcia and Shimizu recorded as aye; Representatives Cochran and Hashem excused; Representative Todd absent/excused in the first tally. (Committee text: appropriation amounts will be carried in the standing committee report.)

- HB 395 — Juror compensation increase ($30 → $50 per day): recommendation adopted with amendments to blank appropriation and move details to standing committee report.

- HB 396 — Court‑appointed counsel (criminal): recommendation adopted with amendments; appropriation details moved to standing committee report.

- HB 397 — Private examiners compensation: recommendation adopted with amendments; appropriation details moved to standing committee report.

- HB 398 — Court‑appointed counsel/guardian ad litem (family court): recommendation adopted with technical amendments.

- HB 399 — Additional 1st Circuit district court judgeship: recommendation adopted (statutory authorization requested; funding was previously appropriated in 2023).

- HB 401 — Additional 3rd Circuit district court judgeship (Kona): recommendation adopted; committee noted caseload pressure and existing funding in judiciary budget.

- HB 402 — Juror questionnaire modernization: deferred (work with senate companion and stakeholders on digital‑divide protections and stakeholder input).

- HB 114 — Adult Client Services Branch positions: recommendation adopted with amendments (rename to Adult Client Services Branch; appropriation/position details moved to standing committee report).

- HB 132 — Expungement pilot amendment: recommendation adopted with conforming edits to include schedule‑5 substances rather than limiting to marijuana only.

- HB 145 — Transmission of expungement orders (HCJDC → judiciary): recommendation adopted with judiciary technical amendments confirmed acceptable to HCJDC.

- HB 146 — Olelo Hawaii initiative adjustments: recommendation adopted with technical amendments; appropriation details moved to standing committee report (testimony noted the program received a permanent operating budget last session).

- HB 151 — Redress for wrongful conviction: deferred (AG raised statutory and constitutional conflicts; committee awaits a senate vehicle and additional legal reconciliation).

- HB 727 — Women’s court pilot (temporary positions for 2nd/3rd/5th circuits): recommendation adopted with amendments; committee asked the 3rd Circuit to draft a blueprint and resource estimate and moved appropriation/position details to the standing committee report.

Sources and attributions

Reporting in this article relies on testimony and on direct statements recorded in the committee hearing on Jan. 30, 2025, including quotes from Brandon Kimura (Judiciary), Michelle Acosta (Deputy Chief Court Administrator, 1st Circuit), Jennifer Wong (judiciary staff attorney), David Copper (Legal Aid Society of Hawaii), Haley Chang (Office of the Public Defender), Phil Higdon (Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center), Deputy AG Lee In Kwok, Judge Bob Kim (3rd Circuit), Mihoko Ito (civil legal service providers) and others who formally testified to the committee. Quotations are verbatim from the hearing transcript.