STAND. COM. REP. NO. 358

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: H.B. No. 1131

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Corrections, Military & Veterans, to which was referred H.B. No. 1131 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GENDER PARITY IN PROGRAMS FOR INCARCERATED WOMEN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require and appropriate funds for the University of Hawaii to conduct a comparative study of all programming offered to persons incarcerated at correctional facilities in the State for the purpose of identifying gaps in programming offered to female inmates.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety, University of Hawai‘i System, Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Women's Prison Project, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that existing state laws require parity in the programming offered to women and men incarcerated in the State's correctional facilities. However, based on the information provided by the Department of Public Safety's December 2021 report on gender responsive community-based programs for women, parity does not appear to exist with respect to the range and quality of programming that is currently available to female and male inmates in the State. This measure would require a comparative study of all programming offered to persons incarcerated at correctional facilities in the State to address this discrepancy and identify gaps in programming offered to female inmates.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that the comparative study shall include input from the Interagency Council on Intermediate Sanctions Correctional Program Checklist Committee;

(2) Requiring the comparative study to include a program assessment coordinated by the Department of Public Safety and recommendations of potential sources of funding that require approval from the Department and a competitive request for proposal process;

(3) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(4) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) 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 $120,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Corrections, Military & Veterans that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1131, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1131, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Corrections, Military & Veterans,

____________________________

MARK J. HASHEM, Chair