STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2954

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2848

       H.D. 3

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2848, H.D. 3, entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to reestablish native Hawaiian cultural practices to reduce recidivism, prevent crime, and ensure long-term positive changes by:

     (1)  Establishing a wellness center task force within the Legislature to move forward with the concept of a pu‘uhonua, or wellness center; and

     (2)  Requiring the task force to establish a location for the pu‘uhonua on lands owned or controlled by the State, with preference given to the site formerly used as the Kulani Correctional Facility in East Hawaii.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety; Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Oahu Council; Na Maka O Ka ‘Aina; Buddhist Peace Fellowship, East Hawaii Chapter; Community Alliance on Prisons; Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action; ‘Ohana Ho‘opakele; Na Kupuna Moku O Keawe; and twenty-three individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     Your Committees find that a pu‘uhonua – which is defined in Pukui and Elbert's Hawaiian Dictionary (1986) as a "place of refuge, sanctuary, asylum, place of peace and safety" – would help redirect the lives of incarcerated individuals.  Your Committees also find that a work release pilot program would provide similar benefits to incarcerated individuals.  Such a program will cultivate the work ethic of the individuals in the program, making their reentry into society less traumatic. 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting its contents and inserting the contents of S.B. No. 3016, S.D. 2, which:

          (A)  Requires the Department of Public Safety, in cooperation with ‘Ohana Ho‘opakele and other restorative justice groups, to prepare a plan for the creation of a pu‘uhonua on lands owned or controlled by the State, with preference for the site of the pu‘uhonua given to the former Kulani Correctional Facility site;

          (B)  Requires the Department of Public Safety to submit a report to the Legislature on its plan, findings, and recommendations, including the factors used in determining site selection, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013;

          (C)  Creates a work release pilot program on the Big Island to allow certain incarcerated individuals to work on community projects that benefit the local community and the State; and

          (D)  Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to collaborate with the Department of Public Safety to identify potential community projects on the Big Island that may benefit from inclusion in the pilot program; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to upon approval; provided that the work release pilot program is repealed on June 30, 2015.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2848, H.D. 3, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2848, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,

____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair	____________________________ BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair
	____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair