RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.

SB2584

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2584

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to criminal proceedings
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
�
The
legislature finds that sexual assault is one of the most underreported and
traumatically enduring crimes.
�
Victims
often delay reporting for years or decades due to fear, shame, trauma, or the
influence or coercion of their assailants.
�

Additionally, every victim of sexual assault lives with the consequences
of the crime for the rest of their lives, with no statute of limitations on
their pain, trauma, or need for justice.
�

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The legislature further finds that any
legal time limit that shields perpetrators and prevents sexual assault cases
from being heard in court is fundamentally unjust.
�
The legislature believes that every sexual
assault case, whether a felony or misdemeanor, deserves to be heard in court
without statutory time barriers that prioritize procedural technicalities over
justice for victims.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

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(1)
�
Allow
for a prosecution for
any offense or attempt of
any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to be
brought at any time; and

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(2)
�
Prohibit the dismissal
of the prosecution of any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and
VI of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, solely because a period of time has
elapsed between the commission of the offense and commencement or continuation
of the prosecution.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 701-108, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

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"
�701-108
�
Time limitations.
�
(1)
�
A prosecution for murder, murder in the first
and second degrees, attempted murder, attempted murder in the first and second
degrees, criminal conspiracy to commit murder in any degree, criminal
solicitation to commit murder in any degree, [
sexual assault in the first
and second degrees,
]
any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V
and VI of chapter 707, and
sex trafficking[
, and continuous sexual
assault of a minor under the age of fourteen years
] may be commenced at any
time.

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(2)
�

Except as otherwise provided in this section, prosecutions for other
offenses are subject to the following periods of limitation:

����
(a)
�
A prosecution for manslaughter where
the death was not caused by the operation of a motor vehicle must be commenced
within ten years after it is committed;

����
(b)
�
A prosecution for a class A felony must
be commenced within six years after it is committed;

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(c)
�
A prosecution for any felony under part
IX of chapter 708 must be commenced within five years after it is committed;

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(d)
�
A prosecution for any other felony must
be commenced within three years after it is committed;

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(e)
�
A prosecution for a misdemeanor or
parking violation must be commenced within two years after it is committed; and

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(f)
�
A prosecution for a petty misdemeanor
or a violation other than a parking violation must be commenced within one year
after it is committed.

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(3)
�

If the period prescribed in subsection (2) has expired, a prosecution
may nevertheless be commenced for:

����
(a)
�
Any offense an element of which is
fraud, deception as defined in section 708-800, or a breach of fiduciary
obligation or the offense of medical assistance fraud under section 346-43.5,
within three years after discovery of the offense by an aggrieved party or by a
person who has a legal duty to represent an aggrieved party and who is oneself
not a party to the offense, but in no case shall this provision extend the
period of limitation by more than six years from the expiration of the period
of limitation prescribed in subsection (2);

����
(b)
�
Any offense based on misconduct in
office by a public servant at any time when the defendant is in public office
or employment or within two years thereafter, but in no case shall this
provision extend the period of limitation by more than three years from the
expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2); and

����
(c)
�
Any felony offense involving evidence
containing deoxyribonucleic acid from the offender, if a test confirming the
presence of deoxyribonucleic acid is performed prior to expiration of the
period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2), but in no case shall this
provision extend the period of limitation by more than ten years from the
expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2).

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(4)
�

An offense is committed either when every element occurs, or, if a
legislative purpose to prohibit a continuing course of conduct plainly appears,
at the time when the course of conduct or the defendant's complicity therein is
terminated.
�
Time starts to run on the
day after the offense is committed.

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(5)
�

A prosecution is commenced either when an indictment is found or a
complaint filed, or when an arrest warrant or other process is issued [
,
]
;

provided that [
such
]
the
warrant or process is executed without
unreasonable delay.

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(6)
�

The period of limitation does not run:

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(a)
�
During any time when the accused is
continuously absent from the State or has no reasonably ascertainable place of
abode or work within the State, but in no case shall this provision extend the
period of limitation by more than four years from the expiration of the period
of limitation prescribed in subsection (2);
or

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(b)
�
During any time when a prosecution
against the accused for the same conduct is pending in this State [
; or

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(c)
�
For any felony offense under chapter
707, part V or VI, during any time when the victim is alive and under eighteen
years of age
].

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(7)
�

Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no prosecution for
any offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of
chapter 707 shall be dismissed solely because a period of time has elapsed
between the commission of the offense and the commencement or continuation of
the prosecution; provided that the identity of the accused may be established
through evidence, including through deoxyribonucleic acid evidence.

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[
(7)
�

As used in
]
(8) For the purposes of
this section,
"
public servant
"

[
shall have
]
has
the same meaning as
defined
in section
710-1000."

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SECTION 4.
�

This Act shall apply to offenses committed before, on, or after its
effective date, regardless of whether the previously applicable statute of
limitations has expired; provided that the prosecution has not been finally
adjudicated or barred by a final judgment before the effective date of this
Act.

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SECTION 5.
�

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other
provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act
are severable.

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SECTION 6.
�

Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 7.
�

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Statute
of Limitations; Sexual Assault; Repeal; Criminal Offenses; Procedure;
Prosecution; Dismissal; Prohibition

Description:

Allows
for a prosecution for
any
offense or attempt of any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, to be brought at any time.
�

Prohibits the dismissal of the prosecution of any offense or attempt of
any offense under parts V and VI of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
solely because a period of time has elapsed between the commission of the
offense and commencement or continuation of the prosecution.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.