STAND. COM. REP. NO.  490-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   H.B. No. 415

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.B. No. 415, H.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 request a financial and management audit of the Department of Public Safety's (DPS) contracts with Corrections Corporation of America and the federal detention center in Honolulu to focus on:

     (1)  The quality of programming, costs, and economic benefit to the state of housing inmates in mainland facilities compared to housing them in Hawaii;

     (2)  Including the closure of Kulani correctional facility as part of the comparison; and

     (3)  Making a recommendation on whether to continue housing inmates in the mainland and in the federal detention center in view of the requirements of the Community Safety Act of 2007.

     Hawaii Government Employees' Association; Community Alliance on Prisons; United Public Workers, Local 646; American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii; The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii; Ohana Hoopakele; and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  DPS opposed this measure.

     Your Committee has requested from DPS information regarding the number of inmates and the number of hours that inmates participate in prescriptive programs in mainland facilities compared with the same for inmates in Hawaii from 2007 to 2009.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Changing the effective date to December 21, 2020, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     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 H.B. No. 415, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 415, H.D. 2, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

FAYE HANOHANO, Chair