HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 149 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 H.D. 1 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE, MANAGEMENT, AND FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION AND DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES REGARDING SPENDING RELATED TO THE PLANNING, DESIGN, FINANCING, CONSTRUCTION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A NEW JAIL TO REPLACE THE OAHU COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL CENTER.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 149
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.R. NO.
149
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE, MANAGEMENT, AND FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION AND DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES REGARDING SPENDING RELATED TO THE PLANNING, DESIGN, FINANCING, CONSTRUCTION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A NEW JAIL TO REPLACE THE OAHU COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL CENTER.
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation oversees eight correctional facilities throughout the State: Halawa Correctional Facility, Hawaii Community Correctional Center, Kauai Community Correctional Center, Kulani Correctional Facility, Maui Community Correctional Center, Oahu Community Correctional Center, Waiawa Correctional Facility, and Women's Community Correctional Center; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation contracts with CoreCivic to transfer and incarcerate nine hundred thirty-eight males at Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona, despite the availability of open beds at Waiawa Correctional Facility and Kulani Correctional Facility in Hawaiʻi; and WHEREAS, some correctional facilities throughout the State face issues of overcrowding and understaffing, which impacts the safety and well-being of incarcerated individuals and corrections staff; and WHEREAS, as of December 2024, there were nine hundred forty-seven individuals incarcerated at the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported that from 2021 to 2023, approximately thirty to forty percent of inmates incarcerated in the State's correctional facilities were homeless immediately before entry, and an even larger percentage exit to homelessness; and WHEREAS, the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission reported that eighty-six percent of the inmate population needs substance abuse treatment at some level, Native Hawaiians are disproportionately incarcerated, and many in the State's correctional facilities need mental health services; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with the support of the Department of Accounting and General Services, is proposing to construct a new, expanded one thousand three hundred bed jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center through a public-private partnership; and WHEREAS, the estimated cost to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's plans for expansion and construction, is $1,000,000,000; and WHEREAS, this proposed new jail would make it the single largest public works project in state history and does not include the recurring costs of operation; and WHEREAS, to date, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has expended approximately $25,000,000 on planning consultants, including public relations professionals, on this proposed project; and WHEREAS, the expenditure of taxpayer dollars on this proposed project is proceeding even though the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has made no discernable effort to maintain and repair existing facilities, including at the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not immediately implemented actionable changes at the Oahu Community Correctional Center that do not require new construction, despite requests by the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission; and WHEREAS, existing efforts, such as recommendations made by the University of Hawaii Community Design Center, are advisory in nature only and do not represent a commitment by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to an improved model of carceral justice; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation should work collaboratively with justice system partners, beginning on Oahu, to increase diversion infrastructure to substantially reduce incarceration levels in the State's jails, address the root causes of individuals' involvement with the criminal legal system, and decrease pre-trial detention times to six months or less; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has also not provided a full accounting of how past funding relating to the proposed project has been spent; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is proceeding with this project without a current comprehensive system-wide approach to master planning; and WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is requesting another $30,000,000 to issue a request for proposals to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center even though the Department's last ten-year master plan update was completed in 2003; and WHEREAS, the last report lacked an analysis of data-driven systems strategies to significantly reduce the number of individuals who hold pretrial status in the State's jails and divert those who are houseless, poor, and in need of mental health care or substance use treatment to the appropriate service providers; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Auditor is requested to perform a comprehensive performance, management and financial audit of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services regarding spending related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit is requested to include, at a minimum: (1) A review of accountability measures within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services related to the planning of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; (2) An analysis of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's budget and whether the expenditure of funds related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center is in accordance with the funding's original purpose; (3) An examination of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's and Department of Accounting and General Services' compliance with procurement laws related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; (4) A list of all contractors and subcontractors, the dates of the contractors' and subcontractors' duties, and the completion of the contractors' and subcontractors' duties related to the proposed construction of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and (5) Any other matters that the Auditor deems necessary or appropriate; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services are urged to fully cooperate with and provide any necessary assistance requested by the Auditor with respect to the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit and respond promptly to all requests from the Auditor, including providing records and other information that may be requested during the course of the audit; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report of the findings of the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Comptroller.
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation oversees eight correctional facilities throughout the State: Halawa Correctional Facility, Hawaii Community Correctional Center, Kauai Community Correctional Center, Kulani Correctional Facility, Maui Community Correctional Center, Oahu Community Correctional Center, Waiawa Correctional Facility, and Women's Community Correctional Center; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation contracts with CoreCivic to transfer and incarcerate nine hundred thirty-eight males at Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona, despite the availability of open beds at Waiawa Correctional Facility and Kulani Correctional Facility in Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, some correctional facilities throughout the State face issues of overcrowding and understaffing, which impacts the safety and well-being of incarcerated individuals and corrections staff; and
WHEREAS, as of December 2024, there were nine hundred forty-seven individuals incarcerated at the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported that from 2021 to 2023, approximately thirty to forty percent of inmates incarcerated in the State's correctional facilities were homeless immediately before entry, and an even larger percentage exit to homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission reported that eighty-six percent of the inmate population needs substance abuse treatment at some level, Native Hawaiians are disproportionately incarcerated, and many in the State's correctional facilities need mental health services; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with the support of the Department of Accounting and General Services, is proposing to construct a new, expanded one thousand three hundred bed jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center through a public-private partnership; and
WHEREAS, the estimated cost to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's plans for expansion and construction, is $1,000,000,000; and
WHEREAS, this proposed new jail would make it the single largest public works project in state history and does not include the recurring costs of operation; and
WHEREAS, to date, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has expended approximately $25,000,000 on planning consultants, including public relations professionals, on this proposed project; and
WHEREAS, the expenditure of taxpayer dollars on this proposed project is proceeding even though the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has made no discernable effort to maintain and repair existing facilities, including at the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not immediately implemented actionable changes at the Oahu Community Correctional Center that do not require new construction, despite requests by the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission; and
WHEREAS, existing efforts, such as recommendations made by the University of Hawaii Community Design Center, are advisory in nature only and do not represent a commitment by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to an improved model of carceral justice; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation should work collaboratively with justice system partners, beginning on Oahu, to increase diversion infrastructure to substantially reduce incarceration levels in the State's jails, address the root causes of individuals' involvement with the criminal legal system, and decrease pre-trial detention times to six months or less; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has also not provided a full accounting of how past funding relating to the proposed project has been spent; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is proceeding with this project without a current comprehensive system-wide approach to master planning; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is requesting another $30,000,000 to issue a request for proposals to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center even though the Department's last ten-year master plan update was completed in 2003; and
WHEREAS, the last report lacked an analysis of data-driven systems strategies to significantly reduce the number of individuals who hold pretrial status in the State's jails and divert those who are houseless, poor, and in need of mental health care or substance use treatment to the appropriate service providers; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Auditor is requested to perform a comprehensive performance, management and financial audit of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services regarding spending related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit is requested to include, at a minimum:
(1) A review of accountability measures within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services related to the planning of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center;
(2) An analysis of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's budget and whether the expenditure of funds related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center is in accordance with the funding's original purpose;
(3) An examination of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's and Department of Accounting and General Services' compliance with procurement laws related to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center;
(4) A list of all contractors and subcontractors, the dates of the contractors' and subcontractors' duties, and the completion of the contractors' and subcontractors' duties related to the proposed construction of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and
(5) Any other matters that the Auditor deems necessary or appropriate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Accounting and General Services are urged to fully cooperate with and provide any necessary assistance requested by the Auditor with respect to the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit and respond promptly to all requests from the Auditor, including providing records and other information that may be requested during the course of the audit; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report of the findings of the comprehensive performance, management and financial audit and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Comptroller.
Report Title: Auditor; Comprehensive Audit
Report Title:
Auditor; Comprehensive Audit