Bill Text: HI SCR96 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Drug Policies; Study

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-17 - (S) Referred to PGM/JDL, WAM. [SCR96 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-SCR96-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	96
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONTRACT WITH INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS TO REVIEW HAWAII'S DRUG POLICIES AND EVALUATE THEIR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, substance abuse and addiction is a public health issue; and

 

     WHEREAS, complete, accurate, and current data on substance abuse and addiction to develop effective and fiscally responsible policies is not readily available; and

 

     WHEREAS, substance abuse and addiction issues intersect with many other issues in the community, including homelessness, violence in the home, incarceration, property crime, foster care, judiciary costs, health care, employment, and after-school programs; and

 

     WHEREAS, a report published in 2009 by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University provided a breakdown of state spending related to substance abuse and addiction as follows: justice forty-one per cent; education thirty-two per cent; health sixteen per cent; child and family assistance nine per cent; state workforce one per cent; mental health and developmental disabilities less than one per cent; and public safety less than one per cent; and

 

     WHEREAS, a report published in 2010 by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs revealed that, in 2009, Native Hawaiians represented the largest percentage of people admitted to prison for drug offenses, despite the fact that Native Hawaiians do not use drugs and are not arrested at drastically different rates than other ethnicities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the complexity of substance abuse and addiction combined with the number of state and county departments responsible for implementing programs has resulted in conflicting and ineffective plans of action among the various departments; and

 

     WHEREAS, the development of a comprehensive state drug policy should be based on accurate data, an assessment of the effectiveness of current programs, and fair treatment by the justice system to lessen the impacts on any particular group; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Attorney General is requested to contract with independent public policy researchers to conduct a study of Hawaii's drug policies and evaluate their impacts; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study is requested to include the following:

 

     (1)  Demographics of substance abusers and addicts, including education levels, types of drug convictions, duration of sentences, drug assessments, participation in and effectiveness of drug programs, and recidivism rates;

 

     (2)  Number of children in foster-care or adopted as a result of issues relating to substance abuse, addiction, or incarceration;

 

     (3)  Per cent of homeless people with substance abuse or addiction problems and whether drug use affects finding available homes;

 

     (4)  Number of students turned down for higher education loans due to drug convictions;

 

     (5)  Analysis of employment drug policies, including the number of organizations with zero tolerance policies, and the number of employees terminated, turned down for employment or promotion, or provided with drug treatment programs due to a positive drug test or drug-related conviction;

 

     (6)  Types and capabilities of treatment programs, including availability of beds, duration of applicable waiting lists, number of applicant refusals and reasons therefore, and any special needs requirements of patients;

 

     (7)  Judiciary costs related to drug offenses;

 

     (8)  Law enforcement costs related to drug offenses; and

 

     (9)  Cost effectiveness of the various programs over the immediately preceding five years; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Attorney General, Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Director of Human Services, Executive Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, Chairperson of the Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Chief of Police and Prosecuting Attorney for the city and county of Honolulu, and the counties of Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii, State Senate President, and State Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Drug Policies; Study