STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3423

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 60

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 60 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE FINDINGS OF THE PROOF OF CONCEPT STUDY TITLED BREAKING CYCLES: ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF REHABILITATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE ON OʻAHU,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide an update on the findings of the proof of concept study titled Breaking Cycles: Alternative Models of Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice on Oʻahu.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, Aliʻi Pauahi Hawaiian Civic Club, Community Alliance on Prisons, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that The Breaking Cycles: Alternative Models of Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice on Oʻahu Study (Breaking Cycles Study) was the result of engagement among students, community advocates, incarcerated individuals, and many others. The Break Cycles Study, which emphasized a shift away from a traditional carceral model toward a continuum of care, recommended transformative principles, such as rehabilitation, community integration, cultural connection, and reduced reliance on incarceration. These principles are essential for transforming the State's correctional system to reduce recidivism and improve long-term outcomes for individuals and communities. However, transparency and accountability are essential to ensuring that the recommendations of the Breaking Cycles Study are implemented as intended. This measure takes a critical step toward a more rehabilitative and restorative correctional system by requesting the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide an update on the findings of the Breaking Cycles Study.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language requesting that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation include the following in its report to the Legislature:

(A) Specific and detailed explanations of how each major recommendation from the Breaking Cycles Study has been incorporated into the current design, planning, and operational model of the new facility;

(B) Identification of any recommendations that have not been adopted and a clear justification for not adopting the recommendations;

(C) Clarification on whether the current plan reflects a rehabilitative, treatment-centered model or a traditional custodial expansion;

(D) Meaningful discussion of how the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is incorporating cultural practices and community-based reentry supports, particularly for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations who are disproportionately represented in the correctional system; and

(E) Ongoing opportunities for stakeholder and community input, including input from those directly affected by incarceration;

(2) Inserting language requesting that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, Aiea-Halawa community members, and other stakeholders provide quarterly informational briefing updates to the Legislature on the implementation of the recommendations of the Breaking Cycles Study beginning in April of 2026 and occurring no later than July 30 and October 31 of 2026; 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 Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 60, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 60, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair