STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3393

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2685

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2685, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to manage the continued growth of Hawaii's inmate population.

     Specifically, this measure directs the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Accounting and General Services to plan and design the construction and operation of a new minimum‑security facility that either includes or is located at a site with appropriate access to courts, public transportation, drug rehabilitation centers, transitional or reintegration programs, and other support services similar to the facilities of the Honolulu Federal Detention Center.

     The Department of Public Safety and Community Alliance on Prisons submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.  One individual submitted comments.

     Your Committee finds that the State contracts to house more than half of its prison population or approximately two thousand fifty‑nine inmates at out‑of‑state correctional facilities.  According to the Department of Public Safety's 2006 annual report, forty‑eight per cent of male inmates and sixty‑one per cent of female inmates are classified as minimum‑security risk or are considered "community‑custody."  However, the State's only two minimum‑security prisons often exceed operational capacity.  Your Committee finds that this measure will help to manage the State's inmate population by directing the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Accounting and General Services to plan and design for the construction and operation of a new minimum‑security facility here in Hawaii.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2685, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair