STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2065

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2629

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2629 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUUHONUA COMMISSION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Create a Puuhonua Commission within the Department of Public Safety to assist formerly incarcerated persons to transition back into society in a beneficial way; and

     (2)  Create a Puuhonua Commission Advisory Committee in each county to inform the Puuhonua Commission of the needs of probationers, parolees, and post-incarcerated persons within the county.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Community Alliance on Prisons; The Chow Project; Ho‘omana Pono, LLC; Blueprint for Change; and three individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Budget and Finance.

     Your Committee finds that the ancient Hawaiian concept of puuhonua, a place of refuge and healing, is applicable to formerly incarcerated persons re-integrating into society.  Formerly incarcerated persons often face significant challenges, and lack of support can increase the likelihood of recidivism.  The purpose of the Puuhonua Commission is to assist formerly incarcerated persons in transitioning into society in a healthy, responsible manner.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the appointing authority of some members of the county Puuhonua Commission Advisory Committees from the Governor to the mayor of the appropriate county; and

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

     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. 2629, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2629, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair