HB1552 Summary

• Establishes the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission with five members appointed by the governor, senate president, house speaker, chief justice, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs board chair to oversee the state's correctional system and monitor inmate population limits.

• Creates the position of Oversight Coordinator, paid at 100% of the director of human resources development's salary, to administer the commission and conduct ongoing studies of correctional system operations and administration.

• Consolidates and transfers all rights, powers, functions, and duties of the Reentry Commission and Corrections Population Management Commission to the new Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, effective January 1, 2020.

• Implements criminal pretrial task force recommendations by requiring pretrial risk assessments within three working days of detention, establishing statewide 24/7 bail posting, requiring prompt bail hearings, and creating conditions of release that are least restrictive necessary to ensure appearance and public safety.

• Establishes a Criminal Justice Research Institute under the chief justice to collect data, monitor evidence-based practices, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and maintain a centralized statewide criminal pretrial data reporting system; appropriates $158,946 for FY 2019-2020 and $330,000 for FY 2020-2021 for the oversight commission, plus additional funding for the research institute and intake service centers.