Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1630 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for a grant-in-aid to the Honolulu YMCA to hire site coordinators in order to implement the central facilitation component of the Weed and Seed initiative for the Honolulu area.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Honolulu Police Department and the Executive Director of the Weed and Seed Hawaii Strategy.

Your Committee finds that the Weed and Seed initiative in Hawaii has been hugely successful in reducing drug use and crime rates in communities where it has been implemented. The Weed and Seed Strategy is a comprehensive community-based initiative that utilizes a combination of law enforcement, community policing, treatment and prevention services, and neighborhood restoration as part of its strategy. The appropriation to the Honolulu YMCA is designed to implement the community empowerment aspect of the Weed and Seed program by hiring site coordinators. Your Committee finds that these coordinators are integral to the success of the Weed and Seed program as these coordinators work directly with the residents, organizations, and businesses in the community to implement site specific strategies that will improve the quality of life for these residents.

Your Committee has amended the bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1630, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1630, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.