The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on Feb. 6, 2026.
_____________
Feb. 6, 2026, 9 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 016 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Judiciary
Sen. Karl Rhoads, Chair
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF SB2457 — RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its comments in support of SB2457, which would restrict the practice of asset forfeiture to cases in which the property owner has been convicted of a covered offense.
The passage of Act 288 in 2025 was an important step toward reforming the practice of asset forfeiture in Hawaii. But the law lacks one critical feature: It does not require a conviction before the government can seize property related to a crime. This oversight means that Hawaii’s property forfeiture regime still lacks sufficient protections for innocent property owners.
A report card of civil asset forfeiture practices nationwide released by the Institute of Justice in 2020 gave Hawaii a D- and described the state as having some of the worst forfeiture laws in the country.[1]
Act 288 addressed some of the issues that led to the state’s low grade But the state’s low standard of proof for showing how the property is tied to a crime — which was particularly singled out for criticism — remains a problem.
It is shocking that Hawaii residents can lose their property without being convicted of a crime. And the forfeiture program is especially threatening to vulnerable populations, given that many who find themselves subject to forfeitures lack the knowledge, assets or ability to challenge them.
Limiting forfeiture to situations in which the property owner has been convicted of a covered offense would strengthen protections for third parties and innocent property owners who can get swept up in forfeiture cases.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
_____________
[1] Lisa Knepper, Jennifer McDonald, Kathy Sanchez and Elyse Smith Pohl, “Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture, 3rd Edition,” Institute for Justice, December 2020.
