SB986 HD1.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	986
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

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

SECTION 1. House Concurrent Resolution No. 27, H.D. 1 (2009), requested the office of Hawaiian affairs to contract for a study to examine the disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in Hawaii's criminal justice system. Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No. 27, H.D. 1, on September 28, 2010, the office of Hawaiian affairs released a study entitled, "The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System". The study includes ground‑breaking current research and analysis, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, and includes the voices of Native Hawaiians about the criminal justice system and the effect it has on their lives.

The study shows that the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on Native Hawaiians accumulates at each stage. When controlled for age, gender, and severity of charge, Native Hawaiians are sentenced to more days in prison and receive a longer term of probation than most other racial or ethnic groups.

Collateral consequences of disparate treatment, such as the inability to complete education, find employment, and obtain a driver's license, further increase the likelihood of recidivism and place undue pressure on families. These collateral consequences push the limits of imposing "punishment to fit the crime" and potentially deprive a person convicted of an offense of any chance to start afresh after incarceration.

A first step toward reducing disparate treatment and collateral consequences would be to identify strategies for reducing unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system.

The purpose of this Act is to begin the process of addressing the findings and recommendations of the office of Hawaiian affairs' study by creating a task force to reduce any unnecessary contact by individuals with the criminal justice system.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established a task force to reduce any unnecessary contact by individuals with the criminal justice system, to be attached administratively to the office of Hawaiian affairs. The objective of the task force shall be to formulate policies and procedures to eliminate the disparate treatment of all individuals in Hawaii's criminal justice system, with particular focus on Native Hawaiians, by looking for new strategies to reduce or avoid unnecessary involvement with the criminal justice system.

(b) The task force shall recommend cost-effective mechanisms, legislation, and policies to reduce or prevent individuals' unnecessary involvement with the criminal justice system. These recommendations shall include estimates of cultural and fiscal impact. The task force's work shall include considering and making recommendations on the following strategies:

(1) Reducing arrests by converting low-level, non-violent crimes into civil violations;

(2) Expanding possibilities for deferred acceptance of guilty or no contest pleas on the condition of substance-abuse and mental-health treatment;

(3) Increasing options for cost-effective pretrial release, with consideration given to enrollment and participation in an appropriate social-services or treatment program; and

(4) Implementing trauma-informed services for prisoners to help prevent recidivism.

(1) The attorney general, or the attorney general's designee;

(2) The director of public safety, or the director's designee;

(3) The chief executive officer of the office of Hawaiian affairs, or the chief executive officer's designee;

(4) The administrator of the adult client services branch of the first circuit court, or the administrator's designee;

(5) A circuit court judge to be selected by the chief justice of the Hawaii supreme court;

(6) A criminologist; and

(7) A member of the general public.

(d) The members of the task force shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessary in the performance of their duties.

(e) The members of the task force shall select a chairperson from among its members.

(f) The task force shall submit to the legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2013, a final report of its activities, findings, and recommendations.

(g) The task force shall cease to exist on August 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2011.