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Coalitions urge panel to reject $30M jail planning and broader incarceration spending
Summary
Two groups testifying before the Ways and Means committee urged rejection of $30 million for new jail planning and additional incarceration-related funding, and asked the committee to prioritize housing, mental health, and community-based programs instead.
Representatives of the Reimagining Public Safety in Hawaii Coalition testified in opposition to a budget provision that would provide $30,000,000 for planning and design of a new jail to replace OCCC, and said they favor investments in transitional and permanent supportive housing, community-based mental health youth programs, vocational training and restorative justice.
"We stand on our testimony, providing comments only in opposition to provisions within the budget for 30,000,000 new dollars for planning and design of the new jail to replace OCCC which we oppose," the coalition said during testimony.
Leila Bilmes Goldstein, chair of Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice, likewise urged the committee to reject the correctional planning requests and prioritize community services. "The state has already spent approximately 40,000,000 on prison planning, yet critical critical needs remain unaddressed," Goldstein said. She added that recent construction for women's facilities "failed to include essential spaces for education, wellness, and rehabilitation, all proven factors in reducing recidivism," and called for funds to be redirected to education, housing and mental health services.
Those testifying asked the committee to oppose both the $30,000,000 planning appropriation and a separate $62,000,000 request for incarceration-related projects. The committee did not resolve the budget items during the hearing; decisions were deferred to a later session.
