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Supporters tell Senate committee youth fines deepen racial disparities; committee votes to pass HB 16-26 with amendments
Summary
Supporters including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and defenders of youth argued HB 16-26 would replace monetary fines with community service and restorative practices to reduce disproportionate impacts on Native Hawaiian youth; the committee recommended passage with technical amendments and an effective‑date change.
Supporters of HB 16-26 told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on March 20 that financial penalties for young people worsen racial and economic disparities and do little to deter misconduct.
"Native Hawaiian youth are disproportionately represented at multiple stages of Hawaii's juvenile legal system," McDonough Woodward of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs said in testimony, arguing that fines "operate as a poverty penalty rather than a…
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