STAND. COM. REP. NO. 687

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 677

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 677, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IDENTIFICATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to:

(1) In collaboration with various agencies and upon request of the inmates, assist inmates in obtaining their civil identification card, birth certificate, social security card, and other relevant identification necessary for successful reentry into society, as soon as practicable, but no later than one year before the inmate's parole or release date; and

(2) Initiate the process of obtaining identifying documents for inmates released to work furlough, extended furlough, or community placement programs, by providing the forms necessary for the inmate to obtain civil identification cards and other identifying documents to the inmate as soon as practicable, but no later than ninety days before the inmate's release date.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission; Waikiki Health; Community Alliance on Prisons; Opportunity for Youth Action Hawaiʻi; and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has made progress in collaborating with agencies, including the counties and Social Security Administration, and facilitating access to identification documents. However, significant gaps remain in informing individuals in custody about available assistance, prioritizing support for those within one year of release, adhering to prescribed timelines, and providing forms in the individual's primary language. This measure will improve the timeliness in which individuals in custody are informed of and receive departmental assistance in obtaining applicable identification documents.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 677, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair