STAND. COM. REP. NO.  911-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 1638

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate supplemental funds for the operating and capital improvement costs of the Judicial Branch for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-2015.

The State of Hawaii Judiciary and Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, County of Hawaii testified in support of this measure.  The County of Hawaii Office of the Mayor, West Hawaii Bar Association, Hawaii State Bar Association, PHOCUSED, and an individual provided comments.

     Your Committee supports the Judiciary's efforts to increase services to the public and has appropriated the following amounts:

     (1)  $789,000 to the First Circuit for purchase of service contracts to provide essential treatment to adult and juvenile offenders and their victims;

     (2)  $70,000 to the Second Circuit to increase guardian ad litem and legal counsel services for indigent parties;

     (3)  $198,493 and two social worker positions to expand mental health programs that serve clients with serious mental illness or with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders;

     (4)  $152,788 and two social worker assistant positions to ensure continuation of periodic drug testing of offenders in the Judiciary's project Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement Program;

     (5)  $94,900 to replace equipment used to interview children who are victims of or are affected by domestic violence, custody, or safety issues; and

     (6)  $1,700,000 to restructure the budget of the Judiciary to facilitate reclassification of critical positions, eliminate vacancies, and restore operational stability.

Your Committee also recommends total appropriations for the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium of $54,015,000 in general obligation bonds.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair