SR 139: REQUESTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING TO INCREASE COMPENSATION FOR ADULT CORRECTIONS OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY THE STATE OF HAWAII'S DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION.

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING TO INCREASE COMPENSATION FOR ADULT CORRECTIONS OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY THE STATE OF HAWAII'S DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION.

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Department) is responsible for maintaining safe, secure, and humane correctional facilities and for protecting the safety of staff, incarcerated individuals, and the broader community; and

     WHEREAS, adult corrections officers are essential frontline public-safety professionals who perform high-risk duties under challenging conditions, including staffing shortages, mandatory overtime, and increased workplace violence; and

     WHEREAS, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Annual Report, the adult corrections officer vacancy rate has remained at approximately twenty-four percent, even after aggressive recruitment efforts, which reflects a persistent and severe staffing shortfall across the State of Hawaii's correctional facilities; and

     WHEREAS, the Annual Report further reflects that the Department has been required to rely on emergency hires and repeated recruit classes to offset high attrition and unfilled permanent positions, which demonstrates that recruitment alone has been insufficient to stabilize the workforce without improved compensation and retention incentives; and

     WHEREAS, low pay relative to the cost of living in Hawaii, combined with the demanding and dangerous nature of correctional work, contributes significantly to ongoing attrition and difficulties attracting qualified applicants to adult corrections officer positions; and

     WHEREAS, chronic understaffing in correctional facilities increases safety risks, strains existing staff, undermines rehabilitative programming, and threatens compliance with constitutional and statutory standards of care; and

     WHEREAS, the federal government has recognized nationwide law enforcement and public safety staffing crises and has, in recent years, provided supplemental funding to states through public safety, justice assistance, and workforce stabilization programs; and

     WHEREAS, targeted federal assistance to support competitive compensation for state adult corrections officers would directly advance public safety, reduce turnover, and strengthen the State of Hawaii's correctional system without shifting the full fiscal burden to state taxpayers; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the federal government is respectfully requested to:

     (1)  Provide supplemental funding to increase compensation for adult corrections officers employed by the State of Hawaii's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and

     (2)  Structure the federal funding to support recruitment and long-term retention, including base pay adjustments, differential pay, and other compensation mechanisms necessary to address persistent vacancy and attrition rates; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Federal Government; Funding; State Adult Corrections Officers