Hawaii SB 2250: RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

Bill Text

THE SENATE
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII S.B. NO. 2260
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _JAN 2 1 2026_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A BILL FORAN ACT
RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that homelessness is a
growing concern not only in Hawaii but throughout the United
States. The United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development's 2024 annual assessment report, which provides
annual national estimates of homelessness rates to Congress,
found that homelessness increased by eighteen per cent from 2023
to 2024, accounting for approximately seven hundred seventy
thousand people experiencing homelessness during that period.
Among those experiencing homelessness, sixty-four per cent were
staying in sheltered locations.
Although there is no singular direct cause of homelessness,
there has been a correlation between drug use and homelessness.
Several homeless-service studies have been conducted and
estimate roughly thirty to forty per cent of people experiencing
homelessness have a substance use disorder, although these
statistics vary from state to state.
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The legislature further finds that within the State,
according to the 2024 point-in-time count and homeless
point-in-time count conducted by Partners in Care and Bridging
the Gap Continuum of Care, there were an estimated 6,389 people
experiencing homelessness. On Oahu alone, there are 4,494
homeless individuals, and among them, twenty-six per cent
self-reported a substance abuse problem. Thus, the legislature
recognizes that substance use is a considerable factor
contributing to homelessness in Hawaii. As has been implemented
in other states, steps must be taken to intervene in the drug
market that preys on this vulnerable population.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to amend section
712-1249.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to create drug-free zones
around facilities that offer housing, shelter, or other
assistance to homeless individuals.
SECTION 2. Section 712-1249.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:
"§712-1249.6 Promoting a controlled substance in, on, or
near schools, school vehicles, public parks, homeless
facilities, or public housing projects or complexes. (1) A
person commits the offense of promoting a controlled substance
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in, on, or near schools, school vehicles, public parks, homeless
facilities, or public housing projects or complexes if the
person knowingly:
(a) Distributes or possesses with intent to distribute a
controlled substance in any amount in or on the real
property comprising a school, public park, homeless
facility, or public housing project or complex;
(b) Distributes or possesses with intent to distribute a
controlled substance in any amount within seven
hundred and fifty feet of the real property comprising
a school, public park, homeless facility, or public
housing project or complex;
(c) Distributes or possesses with intent to distribute a
controlled substance in any amount while on any school
vehicle, or within ten feet of a parked school vehicle
during the time that the vehicle is in service for or
waiting to transport school children; or
(d) Manufactures methamphetamine or any of its salts,
isomers, and salts of isomers, within seven hundred
and fifty feet of the real property comprising a
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school, public park, or public housing project or
complex.
(2) A person who violates subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c)
is guilty of a class C felony. A person who violates
subsection (1)(d) is guilty of a class A felony.
(3) Any person with prior conviction or convictions under
subsection (1) (a), (b), or (c) is punishable by a term of
imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than ten
years.
(4) Any individual convicted under subsection (3) of this
section shall not be eligible for parole until the individual
has served the minimum sentence required by such subsection.
(5) For the purposes of this section, "school vehicle"
means every school vehicle as defined in section 286-181 and any
regulations adopted pursuant to that section.
(6) For purposes of this section, "school" means any
public or private preschool, kindergarten, elementary,
intermediate, middle secondary, or high school.
(7) For purposes of this section, "public housing project
or complex" means a housing project directly controlled, owned,
developed, or managed by the Hawaii public housing authority
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pursuant to the federal or state low-rent public housing
program.
(