STAND. COM. REP. NO. 644

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 711

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 711 entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require 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 Committees 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 Hawai‘i, and twelve individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committees find that existing law requires parity in the programming offered to women and men incarcerated in the State's correctional facilities. However, based on the information provided in the Department of Public Safety's December 2021 report to the Legislature 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. Your Committees believe that more research is needed to determine what programs are needed to address any gaps in parity that exist between programs offered to men and women incarcerated in the State. This measure will address any gaps and shortfalls in the range and quality of programming currently offered to incarcerated women by appropriating funds to the Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice and Women's Prison Project as a grant to conduct a comparative study of all programming offered to persons incarcerated at correctional facilities in the United States.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required 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;

(2) Inserting an appropriation of $120,000 to the Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice and Women's Prison Project as a grant pursuant to chapter 42F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to conduct a study of programming offered to persons incarcerated at correctional facilities and convene a group of incarcerated women for the purpose of identifying gaps in programming offered to female inmates;

(3) Deleting language that would have appropriated funds to the University of Hawaii to conduct the comparative study;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 711, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 711, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Higher Education,

________________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair