STAND. COM. REP. NO. 206-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 1954

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1954 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH COURT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permanently establish and appropriate funds for the Community Outreach Court as a division of the District Court of the First Circuit.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness; Judiciary; Department of Human Services; Office of the Public Defender; Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center; NAMI Hawaii; The Institute for Human Services, Inc.; and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that the Community Court Outreach Project was established in 2017 as a mobile justice system that travels to neighborhoods to resolve nonviolent offenses and provides an alternative for individuals whose personal circumstances might preclude them from appearing for court in a traditional setting. Your Committee further finds that the Community Court Outreach Project is an efficient use of resources to identify and meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. Since its inception, four hundred seventy people have participated in the project, 7,663 cases have been cleared, and 5,645 community service hours have been completed. Your Committee believes that formally codifying the Community Outreach Court Project, as proposed by this measure, will provide much needed resources and funding for the project and allow the project to serve a larger number of the homeless individuals under the jurisdiction of the courts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Supreme Court to adopt rules regarding the administration, operation, and procedures of the Community Outreach Court;

(2) Changing the appropriations to unspecified amounts;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of:

(1) $854,900 to the Judiciary to establish permanent positions in support of the Community Outreach Court, including:

(A) $96,100 each for four full-time equivalent (4.0 FTE) court clerk positions;

(B) $72,500 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) court bailiff position;

(D) $105,500 each for three full-time equivalent (3.0 FTE) adult client services positions;

(2) $250,000 to the Department of Law Enforcement for two full-time equivalent (2.0 FTE) deputy sheriff positions to support the Community Outreach Court;

(3) $288,500 to the Office of the Public Defender for permanent positions in support of the Community Outreach Court, including:

(A) $131,000 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) deputy public defender;

(B) $87,500 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) paralegal; and

(C) $70,000 for one full-time equivalent (1.0) FTE) social worker or mental health worker, assigned to the Office of the Public Defender;

(4) $310,000 to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu for permanent positions in support of the Community Outreach Court, including:

(A) $170,000 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) deputy prosecuting attorney;

(B) $80,000 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) paralegal; and

(5) $40,000 to the Judiciary for the operations of the Community Outreach Court, including security, equipment, training, and other operational needs.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1954, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1954, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health & Homelessness,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair