HCR 154: 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 CONCURRENT

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, the Senate concurring, 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 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Comptroller.

Report Title: 

Auditor; Comprehensive Audit

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Requesting the auditor to perform a comprehensive forensic 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, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to perform a comprehensive forensic 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 forensic 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 forensic 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 forensic 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 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Comptroller.

Report Title: 

Auditor; Comprehensive Forensic Audit

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1598

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.C.R. No. 154

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 154 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE FORENSIC 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,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used and managed responsibly by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Accounting and General Services with regards to the planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of a new jail to replace the Oahu Community Correctional Center.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the ACLU of Hawaii, Kauai Women's Caucus, and twenty-five individuals. Your Committee received comments from the Office of the Auditor.

     Your Committee finds that the Department of Corrections' plans for expansion and construction for the new Oahu Community Correctional Center have an estimated cost of $1,000,000,000, making it the single largest public works project in state history. Your Committee also notes that this does not include the recurring costs of operation, and that the department has already expended $25,000,000 on planning consultants alone, without providing a full accounting of how past funding relating to the proposed project has been spent.

Your Committee finds that increased transparency with regards to the proposed construction of a new Oahu Community Correctional Center is necessary to improve public trust, eliminate and prevent fraud, examine the realities of the return on taxpayers' investment, and ultimately ensure responsible use of public funds.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)    Replacing "forensic" with "performance, management, and financial" with regards to the descriptors of audit type, per the Office of the Auditor's comments.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 154, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 154, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,