STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3409

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2421

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2421, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WOMEN'S COURT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a three-year women's court pilot program in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, which is intended to acknowledge the distinct pathways that lead women into the criminal justice system and address their individualized needs.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Department of Human Services, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii State Bar Association, Hawai‘i Women Lawyers, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that there has been a significant increase in the number of women in Hawai‘i jails and prisons over the past forty years, resulting in a higher proportion of women who are incarcerated. Nationally, women have been outpacing men in the numbers entering the prison population since 1980, at a rate of seven hundred percent compared to fifty percent for men. Research has shown that for women, histories of abuse, trauma, poverty, mental illness, substance use disorders, and unhealthy relationships intersect with their entry into criminal behavior. Your Committee believes that if these issues are not addressed, the outcome is that these women risk reentering the system, which creates a cycle of suffering not only for themselves but for their families and their community. This measure will benefit Hawai‘i women and their families by establishing a three-year women's court pilot program in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit to acknowledge the distinct pathways that lead women into the criminal justice system and be responsive to their individualized needs.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an appropriation of $695,236 in general funds for fiscal year 2022-2023, allocated for the women's court pilot program as follows:

(A) $62,136 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) social worker V position;

(B) $52,200 each for four full-time equivalent (4.0 FTE) social worker IV positions;

(C) $46,200for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) circuit court clerk II position; and

(D) $41,100 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) judicial clerk position;

(2) Requiring the Judiciary to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature no later than forty days prior to the convening of the Regular Sessions of 2023, 2024, and 2025; 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2421, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2421, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair