SR 26: REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COURT SECURITY AND DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC STAFFING SHORTAGES, EXPANDED STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES, AND THE ESCALATING FISCAL AND ACCOUNTABILITY RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTING AT STATE COURTS.

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	26
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COURT SECURITY AND DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC STAFFING SHORTAGES, EXPANDED STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES, AND THE ESCALATING FISCAL AND ACCOUNTABILITY RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTING AT STATE COURTS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State established the Department of Law Enforcement as a cabinet-level department with expanded statewide public-safety responsibilities, consolidating and increasing statutory duties without a commensurate, sustained expansion of Deputy Sheriff positions; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Sheriff Division of the Department of Law Enforcement is responsible for securing all state court facilities; transporting persons in custody; executing warrants and court orders; protecting state officials and facilities; supporting agricultural and land enforcement operations; assisting with Department of Education campus safety; responding to disasters and emergencies; and performing other duties as assigned by statute or executive directive; and

 

     WHEREAS, the scope, geographic reach, and complexity of these responsibilities have expanded significantly in recent years, while recruitment pipelines, compensation structures, and training capacity have not grown proportionally; and

 

     WHEREAS, persistent vacancies, extended hiring timelines, academy throughput constraints, compensation disparities relative to county law enforcement agencies, reliance on mandatory overtime, and cross-deployment of deputies away from core judicial assignments have created structural scarcity within the Sheriff Division; and

 

     WHEREAS, this scarcity has directly affected the Hawaii State Judiciary's ability to maintain consistent, publicly staffed security coverage at state court facilities, resulting in operational strain and increased reliance on contracted private security personnel; and

 

     WHEREAS, testimony presented during public hearings before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance earlier in 2026 by representatives of the Hawaii State Judiciary detailed drastically increased expenditures for private security services at court facilities, including proposals for armed contracted security at court entrances, reflecting escalating recurring costs attributable to unfilled Deputy Sheriff positions; and

 

     WHEREAS, these expenditures represent a structural budgetary shift in which recurring operating funds are increasingly allocated to private security contracts on a year-to-year basis rather than invested in stabilizing and expanding the public Deputy Sheriff workforce; and

 

     WHEREAS, a continued reliance on vacancy-driven contracting with private-security services risks normalizing a parallel security infrastructure that fragments public accountability, diffuses oversight, and gradually erodes institutional public-sector capacity; and

 

     WHEREAS, private security contractors are not governed by the same constitutional accountability standards, public transparency requirements, disciplinary systems, or collective bargaining frameworks that apply to sworn public officers, raising material concerns regarding use-of-force protocols, incident reporting, liability exposure, and coordination during high-risk court proceedings; and

 

     WHEREAS, state courts are foundational democratic institutions where constitutional rights are exercised and adjudicated, protective orders are issued, criminal proceedings are conducted, and public disputes are resolved, and the protection of state courts is a core sovereign function that requires stable and accountable public stewardship; and

 

     WHEREAS, the failure to align expanded mission scope with sufficient staffing capacity undermines access to justice, increases fiscal inefficiency over time, and shifts risk from structural workforce investment to reactive contracting expenditures; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that a Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group is requested to be established to address systemic staffing shortages, expanded statutory responsibilities, and the escalating fiscal and accountability risks associated with private security contracting at state courts; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group is requested to evaluate and recommend structural solutions to:

 

     (1)  Realign Department of Law Enforcement staffing levels with expanded statutory responsibilities;

 

     (2)  Stabilize Deputy Sheriff recruitment and retention; and

 

     (3)  Reduce long-term fiscal dependence on private security contracting at state court facilities; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group include:

 

     (1)  The Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, or the Chief Justice's designee;

 

     (2)  The Director of Law Enforcement, or the Director's designee;

 

     (3)  The Director of Human Resources Development, or the Director's Designee;

 

     (4)  The Director of Finance, or the Director's designee;

 

     (5)  The Attorney General, or the Attorney General's designee; and

 

     (6)  The exclusive representatives for any affected bargaining units; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group is requested to collaborate in good faith, using existing departmental data and resources, to review and discuss the following matters:

 

     (1)  Mission Scope and Resource Alignment: An overview of the statutory and operational responsibilities assigned to the Department of Law Enforcement and a general assessment of whether current authorized and filled positions appear sufficient to meet court security obligations without recurring reliance on private contracts;

 

     (2)  Facility-Level Court Security Needs: A discussion of minimum safe staffing considerations for state court facilities and identification of where contracted services are currently being used due to Deputy Sheriff vacancies;

 

     (3)  Workforce Stabilization Considerations: An examination of recruitment and retention challenges, including compensation competitiveness, hiring timelines, training throughput, vacancy duration, and overtime dependency;

 

     (4)  Private Contracting Fiscal Overview: A high-level summary of current and projected expenditures for private security services at state court facilities and general comparison of the costs associated with restoring public staffing capacity;

 

     (5)  Accountability and Risk Considerations: Identification of policy considerations related to training standards, reporting protocols, coordination with sworn officers, transparency, and liability when private security contractors are used; and

 

     (6)  Preliminary Recommendations: Any suggested administrative, budgetary, or legislative actions that may help improve long-term alignment between the mission scope of the Department of Law Enforcement and staffing capacity; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group is requested to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii State Judiciary is requested to provide any necessary administrative support to the Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group, including preparing and drafting the report; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court; Director of Law Enforcement; Director of Human Resources Development; Director of Finance; and Attorney General.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Court Security and Department of Law Enforcement Capacity Working Group