HONOLULU — On the same day he announced $1 billion in line-item vetoes and reductions to the Legislature’s proposed state budget, Gov. Josh Green enacted several bills that address domestic violence, sexual assault and their aftermath as well as measures that aim to enhance wellness and resilience and improve child care.

The governor signed the measures in two separate ceremonies at the State Capitol on Wednesday.

“What I’m signing today may appear to be simple words on paper, but it’s been said that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword,’ and so it is with this legislation,” Green said. “The bills I have signed today will provide resources for those who have endured domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as improve the overall health, well-being, and resilience of our people.”

The first signing ceremony doubled as an emotional farewell to longtime domestic violence activist Nanci Kriedman, who is retiring as CEO of the Domestic Violence Action Center. As state Sen. Joy San Buenaventura and others at the gathering noted, Kriedman’s efforts over more than 40 years helped set the stage for the latest progress.

Kriedman herself put the signings of the domestic violence bills in perspective.

“The system does not work very well,” Kriedman said. “That is the truth. It is ineffective at providing protection that people need—children and adult women and sometimes men. These bills will take us one step further, to help close some gaps, as Sen. San Buenaventura said, but we’ve got a ways to go.

“We are on a long ride to keep our families safe and, as we say at the Domestic Violence Action Center, families are at the core of a healthy community,” she said. “And if that’s our commitment, then we have got to make good on it.”

Among the bills enacted to address domestic violence and sexual assault were:

• Senate Bill 933, Senate Draft 1, House Draft 1, Conference Draft 1, authorizes family courts to allow petitioners to attend temporary restraining order hearings remotely, upon request; requires the courts to consider factors such as lack of transportation or child care; and requires courts to allow remote attendance to petitioners who allege domestic abuse. “Encounters between abusers and victims in court often result in additional trauma to victims,” said Sen. Karl Rhoads, who introduced the measure.
• SB 1267, SD1, HD 1, expands the jurisdiction where petitions for domestic abuse protective orders and temporary restraining orders may be filed. “Hawaii will continue to support and prioritize survivor safety and this crucially important bill will further protect survivors regardless of their address,” said Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who introduced the bill. “Access to justice shouldn’t depend on one’s zip code, and survivors everywhere deserve access to protection.”
• SB 1257, SD2, HD1, CD1, transfers responsibility for the administration of the Address Confidentiality Program from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to the Department of Law Enforcement. It also allows the Department of Law Enforcement to contract with a third party for the mail forwarding and acceptance of service of legal process aspects of the program and appropriates funds for full-time equivalent positions, operating costs, and equipment.
• House Bill 554, HD2, SD2, CD2 requires the University of Hawaii to ensure that anyone involved in implementing its disciplinary process has training or experience in handling sexual misconduct complaints and the University’s disciplinary process. It further requires that UH provide mandatory annual trauma-informed, gender-inclusive, LGBTQ+-inclusive sexual misconduct primary prevention and awareness programming for students and employees of the University; prohibits the UH from taking certain disciplinary action against individuals reporting sexual misconduct unless certain exceptions apply; establishes positions; and appropriates funds.
• HB 579, HD2, SD1, CD1 establishes the statewide human trafficking prevention program within the Department of the Attorney General to provide services and assistance to victims of human trafficking and victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The new act also requires reports to the legislature.
• HB 580, HD1, SD1 expands victim-counselor privilege under the Hawaii Rules of Evidence to include confidential advocates employed by the University of Hawaii and increases the minimum number of hours of training a domestic violence victims’ counselor must complete to be considered a victim counselor.

“Domestic violence and sexual assault are pervasive, life-threatening crimes that affect millions of lives across the country, without regard for their age, gender, economic status, race, religion or education level — each one of them needs protection and help,” Green said.

State Rep. Linda Ichiyama, co-convener of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, noted that SB 1267 was based on the real-life experience of a woman whose safety was compromised by limitation in where protective orders could be filed. Under the new law, such filings can be made at venues deemed more secure.

Ichiyama said the other measures also address critical concerns.

“The Women’s Legislative Caucus worked in close partnership with our House and Senate colleagues, the Green administration, and community advocates to improve UH campus safety, combat human trafficking, and enhance training requirements for child custody evaluators,” she said. “Collectively, these measures help ensure better support for survivors and their families.”

Among the other bills signed Wednesday were those relating to child custody, safety and welfare.

SB 295 SD2, HD2, CD1 establishes the Malama Ohana Working Group within the Office of Wellness and Resilience to seek, design, and recommend “transformative” changes to the state’s existing child welfare system. It allows the office to contract with an administrative facilitator to provide the necessary support for the working group and requires the working group to report to the Legislature.

“I share the concerns of our community to urgently address the tragedies and shortcomings of Hawaii’s child welfare system. Therefore, I was moved to action and introduced Malama Ohana–SB 295,” said Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz. “This bill aims to reform the child welfare system by requiring the Department of Human Services to work with the community and various stakeholders to determine and address core structural and process failures within our system.

“I’m encouraged and hopeful that because Malama Ohana will be comprised of skilled and committed community-based organizations, representatives of the child welfare services branch, institutions serving Native Hawaiians, contracted service providers, birth parents, and youth with lived experience in the State’s child welfare system, that they will put forth immediate and actionable recommendations for reform that will produce positive outcomes for all keiki and ohana in the state’s child welfare system,” he said. “I also believe that Malama Ohana will contribute to developing more effective community support while allowing the community to be heard and take more responsibility for the well-being and welfare of our keiki.”

Dela Cruz was also a driving force behind HB 948, HD2, SD2, CD1, which establishes a two-year child and adolescent crisis mobile outreach team pilot program on Oahu and one neighbor island site to expand existing crisis response services.

“This legislation reflects our unwavering commitment to recognizing the vital importance of crisis outreach services and mental health support for Hawaii’s youth,” said House majority leader Nadine Nakamura.

The other child welfare bills include:

• HB 581, HD2, SD2 requires current and prospective child custody evaluators to complete a training course on the dynamics of domestic violence every three years and submit a letter or certificate of completion to the family court.
• SB 406, SD1 HD1 allows the court to award reasonable visitation rights to a petitioning grandparent of a minor child when the child’s parent can’t visit due to death or incarceration and denial of reasonable grandparent visitation rights would cause significant harm to the child. It requires the court to follow “best interest of the child” procedures, considerations, and standards when granting grandparent visitation rights and specifies that anyone who violates the terms and conditions of a court order granting reasonable grandparent visitation rights be subject to sanctions.
• HB 349, HD2, SD1, CD1 expands the original jurisdiction of family court to include proceedings for declarations of emancipation of minors; specifies the rights of an emancipated minor; and establishes procedures for the emancipation of minors.
• HB 350, HD2, SD1 establishes that the exemption from mandatory reporting by members of the clergy does not apply when the clergy member believes that there exists a substantial risk that child abuse or neglect that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity may occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.

San Buenaventura, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, said she hopes the measures will help prevent further deaths from domestic violence and child abuse.

“With the Governor’s signing of today’s child welfare bills, we hope to address the failures that led to the abuse of children whom the state is supposed to protect,” she said.

The governor also signed three bills relating to corrections, wellness and resilience, and background checks.

SB 712, SD2, HD1, CD1 creates a trauma-informed certification program at Windward Community College for adult corrections officers. It requires the curriculum to include a Level 1 trauma-informed course specifically designed for adult corrections officers.

“Trauma is often the root cause of criminal behavior,” said Sen. Glenn Wakai, who introduced the bill. “Past performance has shown Government adding to that problem.  That needs to come to an end. Formally establishing a Trauma-Informed Certification program will allow our prison guards to display empathy and encouragement to a very vulnerable population. The healing begins with education.”

SB 894, SD2, HD2, CD1 transfers the Office of Wellness and Resilience from the Office of the Governor to the Department of Human Services, effective July 2025. It extends the Trauma-Informed Care Task Force dissolution date to 6/30/2025 and establishes the Task Force as an advisory board to the Office of Wellness and Resilience until its dissolution. It also reconstitutes the membership of the Trauma-Informed Care Task Force into a permanent advisory board to the Office of Wellness and Resilience to be called the Wellness and Resilience Advisory Board.

Finally, HB 777, HD2 SD2, CD1 authorizes the Department of Human Services to conduct background checks for current and prospective employees, volunteers, contractors, contractors’ employees and volunteers, subcontractors, and subcontractors’ employees and volunteers whose position places them or would place them in close proximity to certain minors, young adults or vulnerable adults. It clarifies that any state law permitting a more extensive inquiry into an individual’s criminal history by the state and any of its branches, political subdivisions, agencies, or semi-autonomous public bodies corporate and politic will prevail over conflicting conviction record inquiries under the state’s employment practices law.