Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 962 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate state matching funds under the Edward Byrne memorial state and local government formula grant program for the development, implementation, and maintenance of a sentencing simulation model.

Your Committee finds that the sentencing simulation model is a computer based program that provides forecasting and impact assessment capability when determining sentencing policy changes. This capability is currently not available to the State.

Your Committee believes that gathering, organizing, consolidating, and interpreting data on convicted defendants is essential to the efficient allocation of prison, probation, and community resources. Accordingly, your Committee finds that this model will assist the State by providing the necessary information and tools to address prison overcrowding in our State.

Your Committee has amended the bill by changing the amount of the appropriation in section 2 to $1 to facilitate continuing discussion of this issue.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 962, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 962, S.D. 1.