HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	519
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO INMATES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Section 353-16.35, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§353-16.35  Development or expansion of in-state correctional facilities.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the governor, with the assistance of the director, may negotiate with any person for the development or expansion of private in-state correctional facilities or public in-state turnkey correctional facilities to reduce prison overcrowding; provided that if an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required for a proposed site or for the expansion of an existing correctional facility under section 343-5, then notwithstanding the time periods specified for public review and comments under section 343-5, the governor shall accept public comments for a period of sixty days following public notification of either an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.

     (b)  Any development or expansion proposal shall address the construction of the facility separate from the operation of the facility and shall consider and include:

     (1)  The percentage of low, medium, and high security inmates and the number of prison beds needed to incarcerate each of the foregoing classes of inmates;

     (2)  The facility's impact on existing infrastructure, and an assessment of improvements and additions that will be necessary;

     (3)  The facility's impact on available modes of transportation, including airports, roads, and highways; and

     (4)  A useful life costs analysis.

(c)  The department shall develop or expand in-state facilities sufficient to meet the requirements of section 353H‑7.

     [(c)] (d)  For the purposes of this section, "useful life costs" means an economic evaluation that compares alternate building and operating methods and provides information on the design, construction methods, and materials to be used with respect to efficiency in building maintenance and facilities operation."

     SECTION 2.  Section 353H-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§353H-7[]]  Return of out-of-state inmates.  (a) The director of public safety shall return Hawaii inmates held in out-of-state prisons at least one year prior to the inmate's parole or release date [in order] for these inmates to participate in programs preparing them for reentry on the island where they have the most support; provided that inmates participating in reentry programs at the mainland facility in which they are incarcerated consent to the return.

     (b)  The provisions of subsection (a) shall not prevent the return of other Hawaii inmates held in out-of-state prisons with less than one year left of their sentence from being returned in preparation for reentry to the island where they have the most support.

(c)  The director of public safety shall return to Hawaii all women inmates that are detained or incarcerated in out-of-state prison or correctional facilities by December 31, 2011; provided that there exists sufficient capacity and bed space in Hawaii's prisons and correctional facilities to accommodate those additional inmates.

(d)  Effective as of December 31, 2015, the director of public safety shall permit no more than a total of five hundred inmates from Hawaii, at any one time, to be incarcerated in out‑of-state prison or correctional facilities.

(e)  The department shall plan, design, and construct sufficient facilities to house all prisoners committed to the department's custody to meet the requirements of subsections (a), (c), and (d).  The department shall also pursue the viability of developing alternative programs or forms of incarceration, such as electronic monitoring, to detain or house the Hawaii inmates returning to Hawaii from a mainland prison or correctional facility.

     [(c)] (f)  The department [of public safety] shall provide a report to the legislature at the end of each calendar year on any inmates not returned pursuant to this section with an explanation of the reasoning and circumstances for noncompliance."

     SECTION 3.  Section 353-16.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

     ["§353-16.2  Transfer of inmates to out-of-state institutions.  (a)  The director may effect the transfer of a committed felon to any correctional institution located in another state regardless of whether the state is a member of the Western Interstate Corrections Compact; provided that the institution is in compliance with appropriate health, safety, and sanitation codes of the state, provides a level of program activity for the inmate that is suitable, and is operated by that state, by any of its political subdivisions, or by a private institution; and provided further that the transfer is either:

(1) In the interest of the security, management of the correctional institution where the inmate is presently placed, or the reduction of prison overcrowding; or

(2) In the interest of the inmate.

(b)  Terms and conditions of the transfer and any reimbursement for expenses shall be agreed upon between the department and the out-of-state correctional institution prior to transfer."]

     SECTION 4.  Section 353-16.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

     ["§353-16.3  Development of out-of-state Hawaii correctional facilities.  Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the governor, with the assistance of the director, may negotiate with any appropriate out-of-state jurisdiction for the development of Hawaii correctional facilities to reduce prison overcrowding; provided that any agreement negotiated pursuant to this section shall be subject to legislative approval by concurrent resolution in any regular or special session."]

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

Prisons; Inmates; Out-of-State

Description:

Requires return of all out-of-state women inmates by 12/31/2011 if adequate bed space exists in Hawaii's prisons and correctional facilities.  Requires that a maximum of 500 Hawaii inmates shall be detained in out-of-state prisons by 12/31/2015.  Requires the public safety department to plan, design, and construct sufficient facilities to house inmates in Hawaii by 12/31/2015 and to pursue alternatives to incarceration for returning inmates.  Effective 7/1/2050.  (SD2)