Bill Text: HI HB2266 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prison Rape
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-07-07 - (S) Became law without the Governor's signature, Act 194, 7/6/2010, (Gov. Msg. No. 686). [HB2266 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-HB2266-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2266 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to corrections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that rape is a violent, destructive crime--no less so when the victim is incarcerated. Until recently, however, the public has viewed sexual abuse as an inevitable feature of confinement. Even as courts and human rights standards increasingly confirm that prisoners have the same fundamental rights to safety, dignity, and justice as individuals living at liberty in the community, vulnerable men, women, and children continue to be sexually victimized by other prisoners and corrections staff. Tolerance of sexual abuse of prisoners in the government's custody is totally incompatible with American values.
The United States Congress affirmed the duty to protect incarcerated individuals from sexual abuse by unanimously enacting the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. The Act called for the creation of a national commission to study the causes and consequences of sexual abuse in confinement and to develop standards for correctional facilities nationwide that would set in motion a process considered impossible: the elimination of prison rape.
The purpose of this Act is to establish policies and standards to provide appropriate treatment to victims of prison rape and to prevent the occurrence of prison rape.
SECTION 2. The department of public safety, to the best of the department's ability, shall address sexual assault in prison and make every effort to seek grant moneys from the federal government to implement those efforts. The department shall place priority upon establishing:
(1) Appropriate counseling services for sexual assault, to be made available to victims of prison rape within twenty-four hours of the report of an assault; and
(2) Development of policies and standards of transparency to achieve a zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault.
SECTION 3. The department of public safety, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, shall annually report data to the legislature regarding:
(1) Sexual assault by persons in custody against other persons in custody;
(2) Sexual assault by correctional staff against persons in custody;
(3) Non-criminal sexual misconduct by staff including but not limited to sexual harassment of persons in custody
(4) Criminal cases initiated and closed by dismissal, plea, or verdict for sexual assaults by or upon a person in custody; and
(5) Civil claims filed and closed by dismissal, settlement, or verdict for sexual assaults by or upon a person in custody.
SECTION 4. The department of public safety shall report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2011 Regular Session on its efforts to implement the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act in state correctional facilities under the department's jurisdiction.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Prison Rape
Description:
Requires the department of public safety to address sexual assault in prison. Requires the department to provide annual data regarding acts of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Requires the department to report to the legislature on any implementation of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
