STAND. COM. REP. NO. 94

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 204

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 204 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for state programs related to the reintegration of offenders into the general population.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety; Office of Community Services, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Community Alliance on Prisons; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii; Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii; National Association of Reformed Criminals; and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that programs specifically designed to assist the offender population in transitioning to the community in a safe, responsible manner are strengthened through partnerships between the Department of Public Safety and private organizations.  Providing matching funds for holistic treatment and support services designed to enable participants from the ex-offender population to achieve self-sufficiency are important in supporting the reintegration of offenders into the general population.  Funding reintegration programs for related costs such as job training, employment placement, and case management demonstrates Hawaii's commitment to improving outcomes for individuals upon release from prison.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 204 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair