HI SCR33

Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to assist the state in negotiating with the federal government to acquire the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu.

The facility opened in 2001, houses 1,200 beds, and currently operates below capacity while the state leases up to 550 bed spaces at $114 per inmate daily since August 2009.

State prisons and jails designed for 2,491 inmates currently hold over 4,100 inmates, with replacement or refurbishment estimated to cost $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

State acquisition would relieve overcrowding, allow return of inmates from Arizona private correctional facility, and reduce staffing costs by retaining existing federal facility employees.

Negotiations should consider continued housing of federal pre-trial detainees and federal inmates serving brief sentences under terms favorable to the federal Bureau of Prisons as a condition of state acquisition.