HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

199

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the auditor to conduct a private prison performance audit of saguaro correctional center.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, Hawaii's prison population has dramatically increased since the passage of mandatory minimum sentences for crystal methamphetamine; and

 

     WHEREAS, the rise in the incarcerated population has caused Hawaii to contract with out-of-state private prisons to ease overcrowding; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety's 2007 annual report states that, at the end of the fiscal year, Hawaii had over two thousand prisoners serving their sentences in prisons in Arizona and Kentucky operated by the Corrections Corporation of America; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite a March 2008 Time magazine story reporting allegations that Corrections Corporation of America "began keeping two sets of books -- one for internal use that described prison deficiencies in telling detail, and a second set [described as] 'doctored' for public consumption, to limit bad publicity, litigation or fines that could derail [Corrections Corporation of America's] multimillion dollar contracts with federal, state or local agencies[,]" there has never been an audit of the private prisons with which Hawaii has a contract; and

 

     WHEREAS, preliminary findings from the Department of Public Safety's consultant, Criminal Justice Institute, Inc., hired to conduct a reclassification of all Hawaii's incarcerated individuals, reveal that Hawaii has been over-classifying its incarcerated population; and

 

     WHEREAS, many problems exist at Saguaro Correctional Center, the Corrections Corporation of America multi-level security prison built in Eloy, Arizona, for Hawaii inmates as a program-intensive prison, including lack of programming, poor medical care, and two deaths since August 2008, all of which have increased the State's liability; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is fiscally responsible and sound policy to perform independent audits of prisons holding state prisoners to ensure that Hawaii prisoners serving their sentences in the Corrections Corporation of America facilities in Arizona are receiving the appropriate services paid for by taxpayer; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a performance audit of the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to include, as part of the requested performance audit, information regarding:

 

     (1)  Treatment and services the Corrections Corporation of America is providing to Hawaii inmates, including but not limited to:

 

          (A)  Medical, mental health, and substance abuse treatment, including but not limited to the number of individuals receiving medical or mental health care, the nature of the reported illnesses, the accessibility of medical care, the length of time between a request for medical care and the delivery of those services, the medical emergency plan for the facilities, and the number of serious illnesses and deaths that have occurred over the past year;

 

          (B)  Education and vocational training, including but not limited to the number of individuals participating in each program, the number of individuals on waiting lists for each program, the criteria for entry into each program, and the accessibility for individuals to register for each program;

 

          (C)  Special holding facilities, including:

 

              (i)  The special housing intensive program, including but not limited to the total number of beds in the special housing intensive program, the criteria for entering the program, clarification on whether the program is voluntary or mandated, the duration of the program, with a description of how an individual moves through the phases of the program, and the criteria for write-ups that send numerous Hawaii inmates into administrative segregation, only to have the charges dismissed after serving time there; and

 

             (ii)  Administrative segregation, including the number of administrative segregation units, the number of Hawaii inmates serving time in these units, as well as the length of time served and the nature of the disposition of the offense that sent the individual into the unit; and

 

          (D)  Food services, including but not limited to the number of special diets ordered by the dietician, complaints about special medically-ordered diets not provided, and the frequency of providing fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet of Hawaii inmates;

 

     (2)  Facilitation of family and community connections, including but not limited to:

 

          (A)  Visitation, including but not limited to the criteria and process for visitation, as well as the process for and frequency of updating visitor lists;

 

          (B)  Videoconferencing, including but not limited to the criteria and process for videoconferencing, as well as the process for and frequency of updating videoconferencing lists;

 

          (C)  Telephone communication, including attorney calls made by the individual inmate or from an attorney to the client, and also including but not limited to the criteria and process for telephone communication, as well as the process for and frequency of updating telephone lists; and

 

          (D)  Mail, including legal mail and the constitutional right to privacy between attorney and client; and

 

     (3)  The Department of Public Safety's responsibilities, including but not limited to:

 

          (A)  Monitoring of private prisons, including but not limited to the frequency and nature of monitor visits, the names of all monitors on the various teams (contract, medical, educational, and program), and all monitors' and audit reports;

 

          (B)  Enforcement of contract provisions, including but not limited to all contract or other violations by Corrections Corporation of America and the nature of these violations and fines assessed or other remedies for those violations; and

 

          (C)  Public access to contracts and all monitoring and audit reports; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Department of Public Safety, and the Legislature no later than four months prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Public Safety is requested to:

 

     (1)  Implement the recommendations of the Auditor upon receipt of the Auditor's report; and

 

     (2)  Submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report explaining how the Auditor's recommendations were implemented, or why they were not, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, the Director of Public Safety, and the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Corrections Corporation of America.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Private Prison Performance Audit