Green signs first bills on abortion access and felony prosecutions
Measures came in response to recent Roe v. Wade and Obrero court rulings
Gov. Josh Green signed his first two bills into law on Wednesday, with one measure aimed at providing stronger protections for abortion access and another outlining the ways felony prosecutions can be initiated in Hawaii.
Both bills came in response to recent court decisions at both the state and federal level.
Senate Bill 1 clarifies that the state will not deny or interfere with a pregnant person’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy and also protects Hawaii health care providers who provide reproductive health care services from punitive legal action from within or outside the state, according to the Governor’s Office.
“This is one of the most important issues of our time and as Hawaii’s physician-governor, I tell you absolutely that this goes beyond a complex social issue for political discussion,” Green said in a news release Wednesday. “This is 100-percent about fundamental, practical health care for our people.”
The measure follows the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the guaranteed constitutional right to an abortion and prompting many states to take action to either protect or outlaw abortion access and potentially open the door to legal action against medical providers.
Abortion access has long been legal in Hawaii, which in 1970 became the first state to allow abortion at the request of the woman, “and today with the signing of this bill we are sending a message that we will continue to honor that choice, honor women and honor reproductive freedom,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said Wednesday.
Green also signed Senate Bill 36, which amends state law to allow county prosecutors to initiate felony cases by complaints following preliminary hearings. It also prohibits multiple attempts to initiate a felony prosecution for an offense, except in certain circumstances.
The bill aimed to resolve an issue that came out of the Hawaii Supreme Court decision in September in State v. Obrero, which
determined that state law does not allow initiating felony criminal charges through preliminary hearing, a process that had been followed for some 40 years, according to the Governor’s Office.
Richard Obrero was arrested in 2019 after allegedly shooting a 16-year-old boy on Oahu. After a grand jury found there wasn’t probable cause to indict Obrero, the prosecution filed a complaint and presented evidence at a preliminary hearing, where a judge found probable cause to support charges against Obrero.
Obrero appealed, arguing that by using the complaint and preliminary hearing process, the prosecution violated state law requiring an indictment or information before a defendant can be arraigned in Circuit Court.
The Hawaii Supreme Court agreed, a decision that affected about 50 cases in Maui’s 2nd Circuit Court, including that of Marlin Lavoie, who had pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the 2013 killing of his girlfriend on Molokai but had his case dismissed after the ruling.
Lavoie was quickly reindicted by a grand jury and sentenced to 40 years in prison earlier this month.
Part of the new law limits the prosecution to one attempt to charge a felony case via grand jury indictment or complaint following preliminary hearing unless certain conditions are met, including presentation of additional material evidence, if there is evidence of misconduct by the grand jury or grand jury counsel or if a court finds good cause to allow another attempt.
“The people of Hawaii want to feel safe in their homes and communities and have every right to expect government leaders to provide public safety,” Green said. “This legislation is a tool that will help our law enforcement officers and county prosecutors continue their work toward that goal.”