STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1121-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   S.B. No. 2341

      S.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2341, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to increase the accountability of out-of-state vendors who contract with the State to house Hawaii prisoners.  Specifically, this bill requires that a private correctional facility that:

     (1)  Contracts with the State to hold Hawaii prisoners in a private prison;

     (2)  Enters into a government-to-government contract to hold Hawaii prisoners in a private prison; or

     (3)  Enters into an interstate compact agreement under which Hawaii inmates are held in a prison in another state,

must comply with Hawaii's Uniform Information Practices Act or "Sunshine Law" in disclosing information to the public.

     The Community Alliance on Prisons, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and a concerned individual supported this bill.  The Office of Information Practices supported the intent of this measure.  The Department of Public Safety (PSD) opposed this bill.

     Your Committee finds that despite the $50,000,000 in public funds expended annually for contracts with a private company to house Hawaii inmates in mainland prisons, these contracts have never been posted on PSD's website and information concerning these contracts and their enforcement has never been accessible to the public.  While Chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), mandates that most information obtained or produced by the State be available for public scrutiny, there is some confusion as to what extent governs the availability of information from private companies that contract with the State.  Therefore, your Committee respectfully requests the Committee on Judiciary to look further into this matter to determine if more clarification is needed in Chapter 92F, HRS, as to how it pertains to such matters.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2341, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair