STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.2988

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2132

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2132, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CORRECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the provision of parity programs for female adult prisoners, and gender-responsive community-based programs for female adult prisoners and adjudicated youth.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Public Safety (PSD), Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, TJ Mahoney & Associates, Community Alliance on Prisons, and an individual.

Current state law does not require parity in correctional rehabilitation programs for males and females. Your Committee recognizes that correctional programs and services were created for the male dominant population and should better reflect the needs of women offenders, including the identification of issues of importance to women such as childhood abuse, early onset alcohol and drug abuse, poverty and homelessness, lack of job skills and employment, health problems and needs, and single motherhood.

This measure accomplishes its purpose in part by providing grants-in-aid to encourage cooperation and assist private agencies that have existing programs for female offenders, to develop and implement new programs.

Your Committee notes that S.B. No. 119, C.D. 1, 2001, a similar measure, was vetoed because it lacked appropriations and the vagueness and ambiguity of the terms "substantially equivalent" and "psychosocial development needs of female offenders", both in reference to "parity programs". The amended measure cures both grounds for the veto.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) On the recommendation of the PSD, deleting reference in the purpose section to the adverse impact of the two reports on prison reform efforts and to facilitating innovative programs, because the language could set broad and vague requirements which could be difficult to achieve and are unnecessary;

(2) Deleting new section –1, relating to female prisoners and parity programs as being the grounds for the veto and as being unnecessary because new section –2 covers the matter, and changing the purpose section accordingly; and

(3) Changing the title of new section –2 to "Female prisoners; parity programs" and deleting reference to "model".

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2132, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2132, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

		____________________________ BRIAN KANNO, Chair