STAND. COM. REP. NO. 699

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 307

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 307 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREARMS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to include any firearm or rifle with the capacity to fire ammunition of fifty caliber or higher in the list of prohibited weapons.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Americans for Democratic Action.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the National Rifle Association; Hawaii Rifle Association; Hawaii Federation of Republican Women; Pacific Arms Co., LLC; Young Guns; Hawaii Firearms Coalition; Valley Island Sport Shooters; and several hundred individuals.

 

     Your Committee finds that the State has some of the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, as well as the third lowest number of gun deaths per capita among the states in 2019.  Your Committee further finds that prohibiting firearms or rifles that fire ammunition of fifty caliber or higher is consistent with the State's commitment to protecting the safety and well-being of its citizens.

 

     In addition, your Committee notes that section 134-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides exemptions to firearm prohibitions for law enforcement officers, members of the military, persons employed by the State, and certain other persons who use firearms in the course of duty.  Your Committee's interpretation is that this section applies to privately owned firearms, provided that they are used in the scope of official duties.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Exempting shotguns and muzzle-loading firearms;

 

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of May 6, 2137, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 307, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 307, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

 

 

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair