OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Maui County Council Disaster Recovery Committee Discusses License Plate Reader and Facial Recognition Bills on September 3, 2026

County Council & CommitteesThursday, September 3, 2026
BodyMaui County, Hawaii
SessionCounty Council & Committees
DateThursday, September 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:28:12

Transcript — Verbatim
2:41

Will the disaster recovery international affairs and planning committee meeting, uh recess meeting um from September 2nd reconvene on September 3rd at 9 03 p.m.

2:55

come to order.

2:59

And if everyone can please silence their cell phones or other noise making devices that would help our cause in accordance with this members, in accordance with the sunshine law.

3:09

If you're not in the council chambers, please identify by name who, if anyone is in the room vehicle or workspace with you today.

4:06

Council members, committee members.

4:51

Uh for a previously scheduled meeting.

5:00

And Councilmember Shane Sinansi, Aloha Kakayaka and OCO.

5:06

Hey, aloha Kayaka Kakoturu here at my personal workspace.

5:13

Um I do have some staff members outside.

5:16

We have a centerpiece workshop going on.

5:19

Uh Tanya Kyoloha Shaefer and Chuck Yamaguchi.

5:24

Thank you so much for contributing to the HSAC cause.

5:29

Um last but not least, uh Councilmember Yikile Sugimura is excused.

5:34

This is based on the polling.

5:36

We also wanted to send a special thank you to Member Gabe Johnson for um allowing us to take up his meeting slot for today so we can continue this important discussion.

5:47

This meeting of the Disaster Recovery International Affairs and Planning Committee of the Maui County Council is located on the traditional island of Kanaka Waibi, who never ceded their sovereignty to the United States.

5:59

We recognize that her Majesty Queen Liliokalone yielded the Hawaiian kingdom to the U.S.

6:05

Inderex under threat of violence to avoid the bloodshed of her people.

6:09

We further recognize that Hawaii remains an illegally occupied nation state by the U.S.

6:14

as documented in a 2021 scholarly article for the National Lawyers Guild Review by Andrew Reed, a junk professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

6:26

Generations of Kanakamauli and their knowledge systems have sustainably cared for Hawaii and continue to do so.

6:33

We're grateful to occupy this space and learn the ways in which we can contribute as a committee.

6:38

We seek to support the varied strategies that indigenous people of Hawaii are using to protect their land and their communities and commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity.

6:51

From the Department of Management, we we had the managing director.

6:57

He is doing storm prep today, so we may have him like at a limited role because of um, you know, our good friends Lowell, Karina and Marie coming to visit.

7:10

Um from the Department of the Police, we have Lieutenants Taylor Komakovivaoli and Christina Bornacarcy, as well as Officer Aaron Mark from the Department of Prosecuting Attorney.

7:24

We have prosecuting attorney Andrew Martin and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chad Kumagai.

7:30

Um from Corporation Council, we have Deper Deputy Corporation Council role.

7:36

We also have DRIP committee staff with us this afternoon, senior legislative analyst James Kruger, as well as legislative analyst Jarrett Pasqual, Senior Committee Secretary Yvette Boutelier, and um legislative attorney Carla Nakata as a reminder the public testimony, oral testimony is closed for today.

8:02

Um we had concluded it yesterday, and written testimony is still being accepted.

8:09

We have two items on today's agenda, DRIP 27 and which is Bill 113, establishing 8.38 Maui County Code on the disclosure sale and commercial use of license plate reader data and DRIP 2726 Bill 112026, establishing chapter 8.37 Maui County Code on Facial Recognition.

8:35

Um we will continue where we left off from the last meeting.

8:42

Last meeting we had one round of three minutes, but not everybody got um their opportunity.

8:49

I think it was just the mend.

8:51

So this um the males or whatever you guys want to be called.

8:58

Um this today, um, I wanted to allow five minutes, and for folks that didn't get their opportunity um last round, it can be combined to up to eight minutes if you would like.

9:13

Um would and um they realized uh some of the questions yesterday from member Johnson and Sinensi would be easier answered by Lieutenant Bonacarsi.

9:29

So that's why um they asked her to come today.

9:32

So before we start off on questions, um I guess Member Johnson and Member Sinensi, if you wanted to repeat your questions, maybe Lieutenant Bonacarci could answer them.

9:51

Um if you're asking me, uh chair, sure.

10:00

Um the the idea was which pot of money did we use to buy the county owned um cameras and how much is left in that pot.

10:07

Do you guys plan to buy more with that, you know, with that money?

10:11

And that was the basis of my question.

10:13

Where did you get the money?

10:14

Which fund did you use it from?

10:18

And I maybe council member Sindancy had more to add to that, but that was my part.

10:21

Thank you.

10:22

Member Cinancy, did you wanna um do you remember your question from yesterday?

10:26

We can ask staff if not.

10:28

Yeah, my questions were posed by some of the testifiers yesterday.

10:33

Um who has any of the existing uh flop cameras?

10:37

Does the state have any of the flop cameras already up?

10:41

And then I think the department did answer that some of the uh license plate uh shots or from the Motorola cameras that are existing on the uh the traffic, the traffic lights.

10:58

Yes, and then um also I did receive a message from uh managing director Nishita.

11:06

He said he checked with the team.

11:08

The LPR cameras being used at Wahikuli are under the department of law enforcement, and they are called Genitech, G-E-N-E-T-E-C.

11:21

So originally he had thought they were FLOC, but they're genetic.

11:27

Okay.

11:27

Um Lieutenant Bonacarci, did you um were you able to answer any of those questions from yesterday?

11:39

Test.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Legislation█████████████████████████29%
Public Safety████████████14%
Procedural███3%
Governance Transition1%
Community Engagement1%
Summary of Proceedings

Maui County Council Disaster Recovery, International Affairs, and Planning Committee Meeting – September 3, 2026

The committee reconvened from a previous meeting on September 2, 2026, at 9:03 a.m. to continue deliberation on two bills: Bill 113 (2026) regulating automated license plate reader (ALPR) data and Bill 112 (2026) on facial recognition technology. Oral testimony was closed from the prior day; written testimony remained open. Key speakers included Maui Police Department Lieutenant Christina Bonacorsi, Deputy Corporation Counsel Rowe, and Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin.

Consent Calendar

  • There were no consent calendar items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Oral testimony had been concluded the previous day (September 2). No new public oral testimony was taken during this session.

Discussion Items

  • Bill 113 (ALPR Data): The committee reviewed the bill’s purpose to prohibit sale/commercial use of ALPR data and require contracts to protect data. MPD Lieutenant Bonacorsi clarified that the county owns and controls its Motorola ALPR cameras (27 new units plus 11 legacy, totaling about 32 operational). Data is stored on secured government servers (CJIS-compliant), not shared with Motorola or other entities. Cameras take still photos, not video or live feed. Data retention was discussed; MPD requested at least 3–5 years (longer than the proposed 7–30 days). The bill defines authorized use, disclosure limits, and vendor contract conditions.
  • Amendments to Bill 113: The committee adopted several amendments: (1) streamlined the definition of “documented law enforcement nexus” to reference “legitimate law enforcement purpose”; (2) clarified “private entity” excludes law enforcement and other governmental entities; (3) struck redundant disclosure categories; (4) revised language on data sharing between agencies and exigent circumstances; (5) adjusted contract wording to “special conditions consistent with the following”; (6) inserted “not” in vendor disqualification clause; and (7) added a savings clause for judicial warrants, mutual aid, etc. All amendments passed on voice votes (8-0-1 with Councilmember Sugimura excused).
  • Bill 112 (Facial Recognition Technology): The committee deferred action. Several members expressed reluctance to proceed given MPD does not currently use facial recognition technology. Councilmember Rawlins-Fernandez suggested a moratorium instead. Chair Paltin noted a third bill on data retention was also pending. The committee agreed to defer Bill 112 to a future meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Bill 113 (2026): Recommended passage on first reading as amended. Roll call vote: 7 ayes (Sinenci, Rawlins-Fernandez, Lee, Cook, Batangan, U‘u-Hodgins, Paltin), 1 no (Johnson), 1 excused (Sugimura). Motion carried.
  • Bill 112 (2026): Deferred without objection; no vote taken.
  • Next steps: The committee will take a monthlong hiatus due to the South Maui Community Plan process. Future meetings will address Bill 112 and the third related bill.

Meeting Transcript

Will the disaster recovery international affairs and planning committee meeting, uh recess meeting um from September 2nd reconvene on September 3rd at 9 03 p.m. come to order. And if everyone can please silence their cell phones or other noise making devices that would help our cause in accordance with this members, in accordance with the sunshine law. If you're not in the council chambers, please identify by name who, if anyone is in the room vehicle or workspace with you today. Council members, committee members. Uh for a previously scheduled meeting. And Councilmember Shane Sinansi, Aloha Kakayaka and OCO. Hey, aloha Kayaka Kakoturu here at my personal workspace. Um I do have some staff members outside. We have a centerpiece workshop going on. Uh Tanya Kyoloha Shaefer and Chuck Yamaguchi. Thank you so much for contributing to the HSAC cause. Um last but not least, uh Councilmember Yikile Sugimura is excused. This is based on the polling. We also wanted to send a special thank you to Member Gabe Johnson for um allowing us to take up his meeting slot for today so we can continue this important discussion. This meeting of the Disaster Recovery International Affairs and Planning Committee of the Maui County Council is located on the traditional island of Kanaka Waibi, who never ceded their sovereignty to the United States. We recognize that her Majesty Queen Liliokalone yielded the Hawaiian kingdom to the U.S. Inderex under threat of violence to avoid the bloodshed of her people. We further recognize that Hawaii remains an illegally occupied nation state by the U.S. as documented in a 2021 scholarly article for the National Lawyers Guild Review by Andrew Reed, a junk professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Generations of Kanakamauli and their knowledge systems have sustainably cared for Hawaii and continue to do so. We're grateful to occupy this space and learn the ways in which we can contribute as a committee. We seek to support the varied strategies that indigenous people of Hawaii are using to protect their land and their communities and commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity. From the Department of Management, we we had the managing director. He is doing storm prep today, so we may have him like at a limited role because of um, you know, our good friends Lowell, Karina and Marie coming to visit. Um from the Department of the Police, we have Lieutenants Taylor Komakovivaoli and Christina Bornacarcy, as well as Officer Aaron Mark from the Department of Prosecuting Attorney. We have prosecuting attorney Andrew Martin and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chad Kumagai. Um from Corporation Council, we have Deper Deputy Corporation Council role. We also have DRIP committee staff with us this afternoon, senior legislative analyst James Kruger, as well as legislative analyst Jarrett Pasqual, Senior Committee Secretary Yvette Boutelier, and um legislative attorney Carla Nakata as a reminder the public testimony, oral testimony is closed for today. Um we had concluded it yesterday, and written testimony is still being accepted. We have two items on today's agenda, DRIP 27 and which is Bill 113, establishing 8.38 Maui County Code on the disclosure sale and commercial use of license plate reader data and DRIP 2726 Bill 112026, establishing chapter 8.37 Maui County Code on Facial Recognition. Um we will continue where we left off from the last meeting. Last meeting we had one round of three minutes, but not everybody got um their opportunity. I think it was just the mend. So this um the males or whatever you guys want to be called. Um this today, um, I wanted to allow five minutes, and for folks that didn't get their opportunity um last round, it can be combined to up to eight minutes if you would like. Um would and um they realized uh some of the questions yesterday from member Johnson and Sinensi would be easier answered by Lieutenant Bonacarsi. So that's why um they asked her to come today. So before we start off on questions, um I guess Member Johnson and Member Sinensi, if you wanted to repeat your questions, maybe Lieutenant Bonacarci could answer them. Um if you're asking me, uh chair, sure. Um the the idea was which pot of money did we use to buy the county owned um cameras and how much is left in that pot. Do you guys plan to buy more with that, you know, with that money? And that was the basis of my question. Where did you get the money? Which fund did you use it from? And I maybe council member Sindancy had more to add to that, but that was my part. Thank you. Member Cinancy, did you wanna um do you remember your question from yesterday? We can ask staff if not. Yeah, my questions were posed by some of the testifiers yesterday.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com