HB 1517 Summary

• Transfers authority to determine minimum terms of imprisonment from the Hawaii paroling authority to sentencing judges at the time of sentencing.

• Requires judges to consider pre-sentence correctional diagnosis reports and other appropriate information when fixing minimum terms for offenders sentenced to indeterminate or extended terms of imprisonment.

• Consolidates sentencing and minimum term hearings into a single court proceeding, allowing crime victims and their families to present input in court rather than at separate paroling authority hearings.

• Prohibits the paroling authority from reducing minimum terms fixed by the court, though the authority may still reduce minimum terms it previously set and may impose special conditions requiring exemplary behavior.

• Takes effect January 1, 2018, with retroactive application to cases where sentencing occurs after December 31, 2017, regardless of when the offense was committed.