STAND. COM. REP. NO. 195

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 932

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred S.B. No. 932 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A COMPREHENSIVE OFFENDER REENTRY SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish an offender reentry system to assist adult and juvenile offenders in preparing for release and reintegration back to the community under the Department of Public Safety. 

     This measure also establishes an interagency committee and appropriates funds for demonstration projects.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Public Safety, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., The Salvation Army, TJ Mahoney & Associates, and eight individuals.  The Department of the Attorney General, Office of Youth Service, and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations submitted testimony with concerns.  The Department of Taxation submitted testimony in opposition.  The Hawaii Paroling Authority submitted comments.

     Your Committee finds that preparing incarcerated persons for reentry into the community is essential in their successful rehabilitation and for the prevention of recidivism.  A system that ensures offenders exiting our prisons have acquired the skills and treatment necessary to reenter the community will enhance public safety.  Limiting reentry preparation to educational programs is insufficient.  Life skills development workshops, including budgeting, nutrition, exercise, substance abuse treatment, and parenting and job skills are also necessary.  Such a reentry program will be cost-effective since the cost of incarceration greatly outweighs the cost of preparing incarcerated offenders for becoming productive members of society.  Furthermore, research has shown that the continuing treatment and membership this measure provides for through the reentry program is essential to ensure the released offenders have the support they need to be successful. 

     Your Committee further finds that the special needs of juvenile offenders makes the inclusion of a juvenile reentry program under the Department of Public Safety inappropriate.  A mere duplication of an adult reentry program is not sufficient for preparing our youth to transition back into society.  Juvenile needs would be best assessed and served through the Departments of Education and Health.

     Your Committee disagrees with the testimony of the Department of Public Safety concerning its abilities to interpret the "best interest of the family" weighed with public safety and security considerations when determining the placement of parent inmates in correctional facilities as required in section 5(b)(1) of the proposed Comprehensive Offender Reentry System.  Your Committee believes that accessibility to family members for visitation is important for many reasons and that the Department of Public Safety is capable of taking family needs into account in making a determination of placement of the offender.

     Your Committee further finds that the functions intended for the proposed Interagency Committee are important to ensure integration of the various training, skills, and assistance necessary, but may be better served through a stakeholders committee.  The stakeholders committee should bring together the Departments of the Attorney General, Public Safety, Health, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Education with the Hawaii Paroling Authority, service providers, and stakeholders relevant to the committee's work.  The stakeholders committee should meet on a minimum of a quarterly basis, be responsible for monitoring and reviewing reentry programs, and make recommendations to the Department of Public Service and to the Legislature. 

     Your Committee further finds that given the creation of the stakeholders committee, there is no need for a separate, duplicative reentry task force.

     This measure was amended to exclude juvenile offenders from the proposed Offender Reentry Programs and Services under the Department of Public Safety and to omit the proposed reentry task force.  The requirement for proposing tax incentives to employers who hire formerly incarcerated individuals was changed from the Department of Taxation to the Department of Public Safety with the assistance of the Department of Taxation and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.  Technical, nonsubstantive changes have been made for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 932, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 932, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair