Bill Text: HI HB1650 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Correctional Facilities Development Study; Appropriation

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-17 - (H) The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred. [HB1650 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-HB1650-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1650
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State can no longer afford to postpone the construction of correctional facilities.  As prison overcrowding continues, the State is placed in a vulnerable position of being subject to charges of civil rights violations and security risks.

     Since 1995, the department of public safety has transported prisoners to facilities in other states, including Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, Minnesota, Arizona, and Tennessee.  Although this is a temporary solution until adequate facilities are built in Hawaii, the State cannot afford to transport inmates to mainland facilities indefinitely.

     Out-of-state placements cost approximately $24,400,000 per year, or $56 per prisoner per day for care, custody, transportation, inmate compensation, and health care.  This arrangement has not been problem-free.  For example, at mainland facilities, there have been allegations of sexual assault of female prisoners, denial of timely medical treatment, and civil rights violations.  Further, the lack of nearby family support, which is an integral part of any successful re-entry into local society, hinders rehabilitation.

     The legislature further finds that a great majority of all prisoners incarcerated by the State were convicted of crimes relating to drug laws or other crimes to support drug habits.  Simple incarceration without treatment will only lead to recidivism and magnify the problem rather than lead to a reduction of the scourge of drug and substance abuse.

     Accordingly, the legislature finds that it is in the public interest to build a new correctional facility that emphasizes programs to treat substance abuse and mental health issues.  This facility should be designed to house one thousand to one thousand two hundred inmates and provide intensive drug- and substance-abuse and other mental health treatment.

     One possible site for a new correctional treatment facility is the undeveloped portion of the site of the Halawa correctional facility.  However, other sites that may be more appropriate or economically feasible should also be considered.

     The purpose of this Act is to direct the department of public safety to initiate the planning and design process to develop a correctional treatment facility to house one thousand to one thousand two hundred inmates on the undeveloped portion of the site of the Halawa correctional facility or other appropriate site, as proposed by the director of public safety.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  Within ninety days of the effective date of this Act, the director of public safety shall enter into a contract with certified or accredited correctional design professionals for the planning and preliminary design for a one thousand to one thousand two hundred bed correctional treatment facility.  The correctional treatment facility shall be a secure correctional facility designed to provide intensive in-house rehabilitation programs for the treatment of chemical dependency and abuse and other mental health problems.

     (b)  The correctional treatment facility shall be designed to be operated by the State or a private operator with the ability to provide a total continuum of care programs addressing education, prevention, treatment, and supervision services following an offender's reentry into the community, and achieve the prevention of drug and substance abuse and the resolution of other mental health problems.  If a private operator is to be selected, it shall have prior successful experience in managing facilities accredited by the American Correctional Association and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

     (c)  No later than February 1, 2012, the director of public safety shall submit a report to the legislature that includes the following:

     (1)  The preliminary design and projected cost of the correctional treatment facility, which shall be designed to be accredited by the American Correctional Association;

     (2)  If the facility is to be constructed by a private developer, a draft request for proposals for the private development of the facility for the State on a turn-key basis;

     (3)  If the facility is to be operated by a private operator, a draft request for proposals for the operation of the correctional treatment facility by a private operator who shall have experience in the successful operation of facilities accredited by the American Correctional Association and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations;

     (4)  If the facility is to be constructed and operated by the same private entity, a draft request for proposals for the development and operation of the facility under the respective requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3);

     (5)  A prioritized list of suitable sites, including the undeveloped portion of the Halawa correctional facility site, other public lands, and private properties, along with the estimated cost of acquisition, the costs for site preparation, and the cost for the provision of all necessary infrastructure to support the proposed facility;

     (6)  A proposal for financing the acquisition of the completed turn-key facility, including the use of general obligation bonds, special purpose revenue bonds, tax-exempted project revenue bonds, certificates of participation, or other forms of financing; and

     (7)  Any proposed legislation required for the implementation of the final design, construction, purchase, and operation of the correctional treatment facility.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall not be construed to prohibit the governor from negotiating or contracting with any person for the development of other in-state correctional facilities pursuant to sections 353-16.35 and 353-16.36, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     SECTION 4.  The director of public safety, with the assistance of the department of business, economic development, and tourism, shall prepare a feasibility and planning study for the future use, disposition, or development of the existing Oahu community correctional center site.  This feasibility and planning study shall include the opportunity for public review and comment by the surrounding community, prior to its completion.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2011-2012 for the planning and design of a correctional treatment facility pursuant to this Act.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2011.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Correctional Facilities Development Study; Appropriation

 

Description:

Directs DPS to prepare preliminary design and request for proposals for the design, development, and operation of a correctional treatment facility and to consider the undeveloped portion on the existing Halawa correctional facility as a possible site for the facility.  Appropriates funds.

 

 

 

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