STAND. COM. REP. NO. 57

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 254

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 254 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS COURT,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a temporary Veterans Court at the state circuit court level.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one state branch of government, one state agency, and two community organizations.

 

     Your Committee finds that after September 11, 2001, members of the United States Armed Forces and Reserves and the Hawaii National Guard were engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq at an unprecedented pace.  Recent research confirms that a significant number of soldiers--by some estimates, one in five--return home from war with a combat-related mental health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, sexual trauma, substance abuse, or other mental and emotional health conditions.  In addition, judges in Hawaii have reported an increase in cases that involve veterans.

 

     The first Veterans Court was established in 2008 in Buffalo, New York.  Similar models have subsequently emerged across the country.  The goal of these courts is to enhance the effectiveness of the criminal justice system through early intervention and specialized services to guide the veteran through rehabilitation and counseling.  Testimony of the Judiciary indicated that the Judiciary convened a Veterans Court Review Committee in May 2010 to review the issues involved in implementing a Veterans Court.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2012, to allow the Veterans Court Review Committee and the Judiciary time to complete its review and continue collaborations with stakeholders and to allow for further amendments of this measure during the 2012 Regular Session;

 

     (2)  Extending the repeal date of this Act by one year, from June 30, 2020, to June 30, 2021; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 254, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 254, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair