HB1182

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1182
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The district of Puna is the third largest police district in the county of Hawai‘i and consists of approximately four hundred ninety-nine square miles. According to the 2000 census, the district accounts for approximately twenty-one per cent of the island's population and drew approximately 10,554 new residents during the last decade, thereby becoming the fastest growing district on the island of Hawai‘i. The current police station in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i was originally built in 1969 and expanded in 1986. At the time of the last expansion, the structure housed thirty-three sworn personnel and one clerical position. Since then, the police station workforce has increased to fifty-three sworn personnel and two civilian positions. The facility is located on land that has no additional space for improvements or expansions.

The current facility is cramped and only has a single interview and waiting room for use by both victims and suspects. Locker room facilities are inadequate, as there is only one shower, one lavatory, and one sink for all male employees to share. The break room is the size of a walk-in pantry. Officers can reheat their meals and get a cup of coffee, but there is not enough room for a table or chairs for officers to use during their break.

A new facility would need to house seventy sworn personnel and four civilian employees, interview rooms, holding cells, an evidence room, public reception area with adequate security partitions, adult offender processing rooms, and separate facilities to process juvenile offenders. The new facility would also have to be in compliance with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The total cost of the facility, including planning, design, and construction costs, is estimated at $6,500,000.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $6,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, for a grant-in-aid to the county of Hawai‘i for the planning, design, and construction of the Puna district police station in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the county of Hawai‘i for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________