HB 1985 Summary

• Creates a new compensation statute allowing persons wrongfully convicted and imprisoned to seek damages through Hawaii circuit courts based on pardon or reversal of conviction on grounds not inconsistent with innocence.

• Awards minimum $50,000 per year of incarceration plus $25,000 per year on parole/probation/sex offender registry, adjusted for inflation, with consideration of economic and non-economic damages.

• Provides lifetime health care through the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund, tuition reimbursement for community college or University of Hawaii education, and child support arrearages compensation.

• Covers immediate services upon release for up to three years including housing, transportation, vocational training, subsistence assistance, and mental/physical/dental health care.

• Establishes three-year filing deadline from date of pardon or judicial relief (extended for those released before enactment), with mandatory judicial notice of rights and reasonable attorney fees capped at $75,000.