STAND. COM. REP. NO.2989

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2382

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. 2382, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require public notification to allow public comment on site selection, new construction, and expansion of a correctional facility under private development.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Public Safety (PSD) and Community Alliance on Prisons.

This measure is intended to ensure that the public is kept abreast on any private prison development in Hawaii, whether for a new facility or to expand an existing facility. Under existing law, the Governor may contract for the development of private in-state correctional facilities or public in-state turnkey correctional facilities to reduce prison overcrowding. Your Committee finds that the process should be made public, in the same manner as an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement process which is also required of these types of construction.

Your Committee has amended this measure on the recommendation of the PSD by:

(1) Changing the public comment period from ninety to sixty days for site selection and for expansion and new construction, and requiring that the public comment period run concurrently with any required environmental assessment public comment period of 30 days and environmental impact statement public comment period of 45 days; and

(2) Deleting the $500,000 qualification for capital improvement projects.

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. 2382, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2382, 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