Bill Text: HI HCR61 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 61 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Requesting Each Of The Several Counties To Assess The Roles And Responsibilities Of County Police Commissions, Especially With Regard To Police Misconduct Issues.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-29 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Aquino, Oshiro, Say, Thielen excused (4). [HCR61 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR61-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	61
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING EACH OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES TO ASSESS THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNTY POLICE COMMISSIONS, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO POLICE MISCONDUCT ISSUES.

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Police Department was heavily criticized by lawmakers and the public in the wake of a September 2014 high-profile incident involving an off-duty Honolulu Police Department sergeant, whose actions sparked concern about the manner in which police handle domestic violence cases and triggered an informational briefing at the State Capitol; and

WHEREAS, residents in the State should be able to rely on the county police departments being held accountable for the actions of county police officers; and

WHEREAS, outside oversight and police department transparency are vital to ensuring ongoing community trust in the county police departments; and

WHEREAS, county police commissions, created pursuant to state law, are a matter of statewide concern; and

WHEREAS, the duties of each county police commission are prescribed by the charter of each county; and

WHEREAS, while the charters of the several counties grant the county police commissions the authority to investigate police misconduct, the commissions lack the authority to direct administrative decisions, even when egregious officer misconduct is proven to have occurred; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the several counties are requested to assess the roles and responsibilities of county police commissions, especially with regard to police misconduct issues; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if a county determines that amendments should be made to its respective police commission's roles and responsibilities, then that county is respectfully urged to take appropriate action to adopt such amendments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor and the Chair of the Council of each county.