REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE NEED TO UPDATE SELF-DEFENSE LAWS ON AGRICULTURAL LANDS.

SCR72

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

72

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of the attorney general to conduct
a study on the need to update self-defense laws on agricultural lands
.

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WHEREAS, agriculture
is a crucial industry in the State; and

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WHEREAS, when
an individual resorts to deadly force, the law imposes a heightened threshold
of mental awareness, situational understanding, and decision-making
rationality, requiring the individual to perceive the nature of the threat,
assess available alternatives, and select a legally permissible response under
rapidly evolving circumstances; and

����
WHEREAS, this
asymmetry is especially pronounced on agricultural lands where spatial
isolation, limited access to immediate law enforcement assistance, and the
practical realities of active agricultural operations constrain the range of
immediate and feasible options available to farmers and ranchers; and

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WHEREAS, in
the absence of a stand-your-ground law, individuals engaged in lawful
agricultural activity may be held to legal expectations that do not fully
account for these operational realities, thereby creating a structural mismatch
between doctrinal self-defense standards and the conditions under which
confrontations on agricultural lands typically occur; and

����
WHEREAS, in
this context, the absence of a stand-your-ground-law does not merely preserve a
duty to retreat, it effectively presumes the availability of retreat, rational
deliberations, or the immediate availability of law enforcement officers under
conditions that often do not exist in active agricultural settings; and

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WHEREAS, this
doctrinal framework assumes that the duty to retreat and exhaust all avenues of
avoidance prior to using deadly force is the normative contextual basis in
which agricultural workers engage while working ranches and farmlands; and

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WHEREAS, agricultural
work is often conducted in rural, geographically isolated locations, far
removed from the immediate availability of adequate law enforcement responses,
rendering these isolated locations particularly vulnerable to agricultural
theft, vandalism, trespassing, and escalations in physical confrontations; and

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WHEREAS, the
existing self-defense doctrine, while neutral on its face, may function
differently in agricultural contexts, and thereby warrants legislative action;
now, therefore,

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BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, the House of Representatives concurring, that the
Department of the Attorney General is requested to conduct a study on the need
to update self-defense laws on agricultural lands; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to consult
with representatives from state and county law enforcement agencies,
agricultural stakeholders, and other relevant stakeholders when conducting its
study; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to evaluate
the consistency of the State's laws with those of other states, including with
respect to duty-to-retreat provisions applicable to agricultural or rural lands;
and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to submit a
report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation,
to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the
Regular Session of 2027; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent
Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
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AG; Stand
Your Ground; Self-Defense; Duty to Retreat; Agricultural Lands; Study