Bill Text: HI SR38 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prison System; Public Private Partnership

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-13 - Referred to PSM/EGH, WAM. [SR38 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-SR38-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	38
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the Governor to enter into a public-private partnership to build a new system of prisons, jails, and halfway homes for Hawai‘i, to be owned and operated by the State and its counties.

 

 

     WHEREAS, it is the duty and obligation of the State to employ and operate a system of prisons and jails that incarcerate and rehabilitate individuals in society who are guilty of crimes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State currently employs and operates a system of prisons and jails that are overcrowded and in some cases old and dilapidated; and

 

     WHEREAS, inadequate facilities have forced the State to send prisoners to private mainland prisons; and

 

     WHEREAS, the practice of sending the State's prisoners to private mainland prisons is a temporary solution that is no longer viable or in the best interests of prisoners, their families, or society as a whole; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State's current prison population, including those incarcerated on the mainland, is over 5,000 and is estimated to exceed 6,000 in the foreseeable future; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Governor and the Legislature agree that the State's prison system needs to be improved to alleviate the conditions that result in the outsourcing of Hawai‘i's prisoners; and

 

     WHEREAS, the practice of sending the State's prisoners to mainland prisons needs to be eliminated as soon as possible; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the promising fiscal condition of the State, it will never be sufficiently positive to allow Hawai‘i to pay the estimated $800,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 that is needed to build a new system of prisons and jails; and

 

     WHEREAS, if the current situation continues, prison conditions will only worsen and potentially lead to federal intervention that will financially burden the State, as seen in California, which resulted in the costly federal oversight of California's prison health care system; and

 

     WHEREAS, federal intervention threatens all other parts of government service, including but not limited to education, welfare, and other aspects of public safety; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety has not provided a concrete plan to rebuild our prisons and jails in response to the burgeoning prison system crisis; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the Governor is urged to enter into a public-private partnership with a company that has the proven capabilities of building a new prison system and to build a new system of prisons, jails, and halfway homes for Hawai‘i, to be owned and operated by the State and its counties; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is urged to achieve the goal of bringing home all of the State's prisoners that are incarcerated on the mainland no later than July 1, 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public-private partnership be in accordance with the Justice Reinvestment Act and that a minimum of seventy percent of the repayment costs for the new system be paid for through cost savings and efficiencies, as compared to the existing system; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public-private partnership thoroughly evaluate refurbishment and expansion of any existing facilities that may have remaining useful life and can be feasibly extended for a minimum of thirty years; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the financial analysis of all proposals, refurbishments, and construction be completed on a whole life methodology; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all proposals include a total cost of ownership analysis, including but not limited to:  first cost of capital, all land and infrastructure costs, building operating costs and maintenance, managerial operating costs including all staff costs, and remaining useful life beyond the thirty-year period; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than May 31, 2014, the relevant state departments put out a request for proposals to the prison building industry; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than December 31, 2014, the State select a private partner to accomplish the goal of providing Hawai‘i with a new, state of the art, system of prisons, jails, and halfway homes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, at the time of the State of the State Address in January 2015, provide the Legislature with a final version of all plans for the new prison system and a complete accounting for how the public-private partnership will implement the plans without increasing taxes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Public Safety, and Director of Finance.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Prison System; Public Private Partnership