Report Title:

Public Safety; Freedom of Information

 

Description:

Requires out-of-state detention facilities holding Hawaii prisoners under a contract with the State to make public information about the operation of the prison.  (CD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2341

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 1

 

C.D. 1

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that since 1996, Hawaii has transferred prisoners to private prisons on the United States mainland to ease overcrowding in Hawaii state prisons.

     Currently, Hawaii has contracted with one vendor, Corrections Corporation of America, to house and provide services for all prisoners transferred out-of-state, except for those transferred under the Interstate Compact Act.

     The legislature further finds that despite the $50,000,000 in public funds expended annually for this purpose, these contracts have never been posted on the department of public safety's website and information concerning these contracts and their enforcement has never been accessible to the public.

     The purpose of this Act is to provide accountability and transparency to the public regarding the services provided by any vendor for any contract made with the State to house Hawaii prisoners.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 353, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§353‑     Freedom of information requirement; contracts with out-of-state detention facilities.  (a)  Contracts made directly between the State and a nongovernmental entity or through an interstate compact that provide for the incarceration or detention of state prisoners or detainees in a privately owned prison or other out-of-state detention facility shall:

     (1)  Require the contractor to provide access to the same information as is required of the department of public safety in chapter 92F; and

     (2)  Include the same remedies for the failure of contractors to provide information as provided for against government agencies in chapter 92F; provided that these remedies shall not be available for information that is entitled to protection pursuant to section 92F-13 or is a trade secret pursuant to the definition provided in section 482B-2.

     (b)  For purposes of this section, "privately owned prison or other out-of-state detention facility" means any privately owned prison or other out-of-state detention facility that incarcerates or detains prisoners or detainees pursuant to a contract with the State."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.