THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2532
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PRISONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's prison system houses many more inmates than it was designed to accommodate. One reason the prison system is overburdened is that 49.6 per cent of convicted felons return to prison within one year of their release. However, forty-three per cent of inmates who seek and attain education in prison are less likely to return. Hawaii has a population of approximately five thousand six hundred inmates, costing the State about $52,000 per inmate per year. Accordingly, reducing recidivism by ten inmates will save the State approximately $520,000 annually.

The legislature further finds that in order to reduce recidivism, several states have established programs that include training and mentoring to give inmates an opportunity to learn entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and business skills that will facilitate their reentry into society. For example, the Darden School of Business and the University of Virginia have partnered with the Dillwyn Correctional Center to teach eligible and willing inmate students business skills that reduce recidivism. Recidivism rates in Virginia are currently approximately twenty-three per cent, one of the lowest recidivism rates in the nation. Similar programs have been established in other jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia through the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and New York through the Columbia Business School. An initial investment in this type of program has potential for enormous cost savings for the State.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a working group to create a pilot program designed to reduce recidivism by providing inmates with business and entrepreneurial skills and financial literacy education to establish a foundation for the inmates to succeed after their release from incarceration.

SECTION 2. (a) The department of public safety shall establish a working group that shall create a pilot program designed to reduce recidivism. The pilot program shall focus on providing inmates with business and entrepreneurial skills and financial literacy education to establish a foundation for the inmates to succeed after their release from incarceration.

(b) The department of public safety shall contract with an accredited post-secondary educational institution to provide incarcerated persons with high-quality instruction that meets the requirements of the pilot program created pursuant to subsection (a).

(c) The working group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including a recommendation on whether the pilot program should be extended or made permanent and any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2025.

(d) The working group shall cease to exist on June 30, 2025.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for the pilot program established pursuant to section 2 of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

PSD; Prisons; Recidivism; Working Group; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the department of public safety to establish a working group to create a pilot program designed to reduce recidivism by providing business education to inmates. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates moneys. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.