STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1504

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

 

RE:   S.B. No. 1358

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1358, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to, among other things, have the Department of Public Safety (PSD):

 

     (1)  Formulate a plan to reopen the Kulani Correctional Facility, including a process to return the inmates that were transferred out when the facility closed in 2009;

    

     (2)  Assist the State Department of Defense (DOD) in identifying alternative sites for the Kulani Youth Challenge Academy, which is a successful residential program designed for at-risk/non-traditional students; and

 

     (3)  Upon the reopening of Kulani Correctional Facility, consider reinstating or transferring of former Kulani employees, who were terminated or transferred to another facility due to the closing of Kulani.

 

     PSD; Mayor of the County of Hawaii; a Councilmember of the County of Maui; Community Alliance on Prisons; the Drug Policy Action Group; United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO; The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii; Ohana Hoopakele; National Association of Reformed Criminals; and many concerned individuals supported this measure.  Several concerned individuals opposed this measure.  Several concerned individuals offered comments.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Requiring PSD to:

 

          (A)  Staff the Kulani Correctional Facility upon its reopening with former Kulani employees in the positions they held prior to the closing of the facility; and

         

          (B)  Reinstate or transfer all interested former Kulani and Hawaii Community Correctional Center employees who were bumped, terminated, or accepted employment in a new location regardless of any agreements made between the employee and the employer regarding transferring back to their original workplace;

 

     (2)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2030, to encourage further discussion; and

 

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

 

     Your Committee notes that all stakeholders, such as the State DOD, PSD, and others, are strongly encouraged to find a site to keep the Kulani Youth Challenge Academy operational.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1358, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1358, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair