STAND. COM. REP. NO. 506-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: H.B. No. 2160

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Health & Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2160 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INCARCERATED PARENTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to acknowledge adverse experiences faced by children of incarcerated parents and encourage continued efforts and engagement between the Department of Human Services, Department of Public Safety, the Family Reunification Working Group, and other community stakeholders by:

(1) Requiring the establishment of a pilot visitation center for children of incarcerated parents at one or more correctional facilities in the State and a plan for visitation centers at all state operated correctional facilities; and

(2) Appropriating funds to establish, develop, and implement the visitation centers.

The Office of the Public Defender, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Ho‘omanapono Political Action Committee, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, YWCA O‘ahu, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice, Blueprint for Change, Hawaii Children's Action Network, Hawai‘i Justice Coalition, and many concerned individuals supported this measure. The Department of Public Safety and Department of Human Services offered comments.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation amount from $300,000 for fiscal year 2018-2019 to an unspecified amount; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

Should the Committee on Finance deliberate further on this measure, your Committees respectfully request that it consider appropriating $300,000 for fiscal year 2018-2019 for work necessary to establish, develop, and implement the visitation centers.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Health & Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2160, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2160, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety and Health & Human Services,

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair

____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair