STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2666

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2836

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2836 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JUVENILE JUSTICE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Judiciary to create a separate employment classification for juvenile probation officers;

(2) Establish minimum procedures for the appointment of juvenile probation officers; and

(3) Require reports to the Legislature on the status of the implementation of this Act.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; Adult Friends for Youth; and eleven individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committees find that the duties performed by juvenile probation officers are essential and vital to the State's juvenile justice system. Juvenile probation officers address a wide range of complex issues that impact the wellbeing of the State's youth and their families. Their efforts to transform the juvenile justice system have resulted in a significant reduction in juvenile crime across the State. Your Committees also find that juvenile probation officers are currently classified as social workers within the Judiciary's hiring system. This classification has created confusion about the role and authority of juvenile probation officers, including their ability to take minors into custody, administer drug tests, and establish reporting requirements for earned discharge from probation. Juvenile probation officers do not currently have access to annual safety training and do not possess sufficient identification, such as badges, to ensure their safety in the field. This measure will provide juvenile probation officers with the necessary tools and training that they need to adequately perform their duties assigned.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 30, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor, Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2836, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2836, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair