THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	134
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO ASSIST THE STATE IN NEGOTIATING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THE FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER in HONOLULU.

WHEREAS, in 2001, the federal Bureau of Prisons opened the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu (Honolulu Federal Detention Center); and

WHEREAS, located on the west side of the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, the Honolulu Federal Detention Center houses male and female federal pre-trial detainees, sentenced felons nearing completion of their prison terms, and Hawaii inmates who are awaiting trial in state court, at an occupancy rate far below the facility's total capacity of one thousand two hundred beds; and

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Federal Detention Center has an efficient vertical design that requires fewer workers to operate, includes integrated state-of-the-art surveillance and management technologies, and accommodates a wide variety of uses including inmate cells, office areas, medical facilities, recreational areas, storage rooms, food preparation areas, laundry areas, mechanical rooms, security systems, and communications systems; and

WHEREAS, the State has struggled for years to find additional capacity for its overcrowded jails and prisons, which were designed to hold a combined total of 2,491 inmates but are currently exceeding capacity by housing 3,527 inmates; and

WHEREAS, replacing or refurbishing state prisons and jails to meet the current demand for adequate space and services would cost an estimated $1,500,000,000 to $2,000,000,000; and

WHEREAS, since June 2001, the State has leased bed space at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center to relieve jail overcrowding--for example, in September 2019, the Honolulu Federal Detention Center housed one hundred eighty-six male and female inmates under the department of public safety's jurisdiction at a daily cost of $129.48 per inmate; and

WHEREAS, as anticipated, the number of Honolulu Federal Detention Center inmates has decreased since the passage of the First Step Act of 2018, a bipartisan criminal justice reform effort that, in part, aimed to reduce recidivism and decrease the number of inmates housed in federal correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS, state acquisition of the Honolulu Federal Detention Center would enable its use as a replacement for a new Oahu community correctional center, eliminate the immediate financial burden of building a new state correctional facility, and allow the current site of the Oahu community correctional center to be vacated by the department of public safety and redesignated for a non‑correctional use; and

WHEREAS, interest in acquiring the Honolulu Federal Detention Center dates as far back as the Regular Session of 2016, when the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 33, which requested Hawaii's congressional delegation to assist the State in negotiating with the federal government for the acquisition of the Honolulu Federal Detention Center; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to assist the State in negotiating with the federal government for the acquisition of the Honolulu Federal Detention Center; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that parties to the negotiations are requested to consider the continued housing of federal pre-trial detainees and federal inmates serving short sentences at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center, under terms favorable to the federal Bureau of Prisons, as a condition of the State's acquisition of the facility; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Director of Public Safety.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Federal Detention Center in Honolulu; Hawaii Congressional Delegation