THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            17
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO STUDY AND
    DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF BUILDING A PRISON AT
    KALAELOA. 


 1        WHEREAS, Hawaii's inmate population has grown by over one
 2   hundred percent over the past ten years; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the State's existing prison facilities are
 5   insufficient to house the growing inmate population; and 
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, prison overcrowding inhibits the rehabilitation
 8   of inmates who will eventually be released back into the
 9   community; and 
10   
11        WHEREAS, in order to alleviate overcrowding in Hawaii's
12   prisons, the State has contracted with prisons in Oklahoma,
13   Minnesota, and Tennessee to incarcerate almost 1,200 inmates or
14   nearly one fourth of its prison population; and 
15   
16        WHEREAS, the mainland prison contracts expire in two years
17   and the State will again be faced with an inmate housing
18   problem; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, the Governor's proposal to build a 2,300-bed
21   facility on the island of Hawaii for $130 million has met with
22   opposition, and therefore, the State administration is
23   considering a twenty-five year lease to house Hawaii inmates at
24   a mainland prison operated by a county government or Indian
25   reservation; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, housing Hawaii inmates in mainland institutions
28   isolates inmates from family and friends which can hurt inmate
29   morale and make rehabilitation more difficult; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, in a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article dated
32   April 20, 1998, the Governor stated that a new prison would
33   create more than 2,500 jobs; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, it would, therefore, benefit the State's economy

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            17
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   and correctional system to build a prison in Hawaii if suitable
 2   space is available; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the State acquired over 2,000 acres of land in
 5   July, 1999, when the closing of Barbers Point Naval Air Station
 6   resulted in the creation of the Kalaeloa Community Development
 7   District; and 
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, a suitable site for a new prison may be available
10   at Kalaeloa and the possibility requires further exploration
11   and study; now, therefore,
12   
13        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
14   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
15   Representatives concurring, that the Department of Public
16   Safety is requested to study and determine the feasibility of
17   building a prison at Kalaeloa, and to report its findings and
18   recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days
19   before the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
20   
21        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
22   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public
23   Safety and the Barbers Point Naval Air Station Redevelopment
24   Commission.  
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28                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________