THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3126
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PRISONS.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's prison system houses many more inmates than it was designed to accommodate. Hawaii has a population of approximately five thousand six hundred inmates, costing the State about $52,000 per inmate per year. Reducing recidivism by ten inmates would save the State about $520,000 annually. One reason the prison system is overburdened is that 49.6 per cent of convicted felons return to prison within one year of their release. However, forty-three per cent of people who receive education in prison are less likely to return.

The legislature further finds that in order to reduce recidivism, several states have established programs that include training and mentoring to give inmates an opportunity to learn entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and business skills that will facilitate their reentry into society. The Darden School of Business and University of Virginia have partnered with the Dillwyn Correctional Center to teach eligible and willing inmates business skills to reduce recidivism. Recidivism rates in Virginia are currently about twenty-three per cent while the rate is seventy per cent nationally. Similar programs have been established in other jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia through the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and New York through Columbia Business School. An initial investment in this type of program has the potential for enormous cost savings for the State.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a working group to recommend a pilot program in Hawaii to reduce recidivism by providing inmates with the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce.

SECTION 2. (a) There is created within the department of public safety a working group that shall study the feasibility of establishing a pilot program to reduce recidivism. Members of the working group shall be selected by the director of public safety, who shall serve as chairperson, and shall include, at a minimum, a representative of the University of Hawaii.

(b) In determining the feasibility of a pilot program, the working group shall consider:

(1) A pilot program designed to reduce recidivism by focusing on providing inmates with vocational training, in addition to business, entrepreneurial, and financial literacy education, to set a foundation for the inmates to succeed after their release from incarceration; and

(2) Whether the pilot program should be scalable, beginning with a pilot cohort of individuals, and expanded as appropriate.

(c) The working group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2021.

(d) The working group shall cease to exist on December 31, 2020.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

DPS; Prisons; Recidivism; Working Group; Pilot Program

Description:

Establishes a working group within the department of public safety to study the feasibility of a pilot program to reduce recidivism, focusing on providing inmates with vocational training, in addition to business, entrepreneurial, and financial literacy education. Requires a report to the legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

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