§353-62  Hawaii paroling authority; responsibilities and duties; operations; records, reports, staff.  (a)  In addition to any other responsibility or duty prescribed by law for the Hawaii paroling authority, the paroling authority shall:

     (1)  Serve as the central paroling authority for the State;

     (2)  In selecting individuals for parole, consider for parole all committed persons, except in cases where the penalty of life imprisonment not subject to parole has been imposed, regardless of the nature of the offense committed;

     (3)  Determine the time at which parole shall be granted to any eligible individual as that time at which maximum benefits of the correctional institutions to the individual have been reached and the element of risk to the community is minimal;

     (4)  Establish rules of operation to determine conditions of parole applicable to any individual granted parole;

     (5)  Provide continuing custody, control, and supervision of paroled individuals;

     (6)  Revoke or suspend parole and provide for the authorization of return to a correctional institution for any individual who violates parole or any condition of parole when, in the opinion of the Hawaii paroling authority, the violation presents a risk to community safety or a significant deviation from any condition of parole;

     (7)  Discharge an individual from parole when supervision is no longer needed;

     (8)  Interpret the parole program to the public in order to develop a broad base of public understanding and support;

     (9)  Recommend to the legislature sound parole legislation and recommend to the governor sound parole administration; and

    (10)  Notify individuals on parole of their eligibility to vote and provide them with information on how to register and vote.

     (b)  In its operations, the paroling authority shall:

     (1)  Keep and maintain a record of all meetings and proceedings;

     (2)  Make public no more than thirty days after a parole release hearing the following information:

          (A)  The prisoner's name; and

          (B)  Whether the parole request was approved or denied;

     (3)  Send a detailed report of its operations to the governor every three months;

     (4)  In promulgating rules, conform to chapter 91;

     (5)  Allow each prisoner a hearing before a panel of three of its members, which shall act by a majority of the panel members; provided that if it is determined immediately preceding or during the course of a hearing that a sitting panel member must be recused due to a conflict of interest or illness, the panel may proceed with two members; and

     (6)  Appoint an administrative secretary and such other clerical and other assistants as may be necessary within the limits of available appropriations, subject to any applicable salary classification and civil service schedules, laws, and rules. [L 1931, c 129, pt of §1; RL 1935, §6414; am L 1939, c 203, pt of §6; am L 1941, c 146, §1; RL 1945, §3915; RL 1955, §83-61; HRS §353-62; am L 1976, c 92, §3; am L 1987, c 338, §5; am L 1988, c 141, §33; am L 2013, c 117, §2; am L 2021, c 213, §45]

Case Notes

  Neither chapter 706 nor chapter 353 prohibits the Hawaii paroling authority from setting a prisoner's minimum term at a period equal to his or her maximum sentence.  97 H. 183, 35 P.3d 210 (2001).

  As no Hawaii statute governing parole requires a parolee’s parole to be automatically revoked upon the parolee’s conviction and sentence to imprisonment for a crime committed while on parole, and this section appears to vest Hawaii paroling authority with discretion to revoke parole, parolee’s due process right violated when authority summarily revoked parole without giving parolee a final revocation hearing.  88 H. 229 (App.), 965 P.2d 162 (1998).