STAND. COM. REP. NO. 73

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 1552

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Veterans, & Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1552 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support best practices for an effective correctional system by:

(1) Establishing the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission;

(2) Consolidating the Reentry Commission and Corrections Population Management Commission into the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission and transferring the rights, powers, functions, and duties of the consolidated commissions to the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission; and

(3) Appropriating funds for the operation of the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Community Alliance on Prisons, and several concerned individuals supported this measure. The Department of Public Safety and The Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Trust offered comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying language authorizing the oversight coordinator to hire staff necessary to accomplish the purpose of the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission and specifying that employees of the oversight coordinator's office shall be exempt from chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, but shall be entitled to any employee benefit plan normally inuring to civil service employees;

(2) Deleting the requirement to transfer employees, as there are currently no positions assigned to and funded for the functions of the Reentry Commission and the Corrections Population Management Commission; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Veterans, & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1552, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1552, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Veterans, & Military Affairs,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair