While lawmakers in both chambers continue to look for ways to support meaningful, systemic prison reform, a guided tour of the Halawa Correctional Facility, Oahu Community Correctional Center and Laumaka Work Furlough Center on Tuesday made a compelling argument for immediate practical attention.

What You Need To Know

  • Members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs visited the facilities 

  • The legislators took part in discussions with budget and finance director Luis Salaveria regarding options for financing a new OCCC; public safety director Tommy Johnson and comptroller Keith Regan about the future of the new Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and planning and sustainable development director Mary Alice Evans and transit-oriented development program manager Harrison Rue about the potential use of the current OCCC for transit-oriented development

  • Over the last few legislative cycles, lawmakers have advanced numerous initiatives to promote alternatives to incarceration and reduce recidivism

  • The environmental impact statement for the new OCCC facility was formally accepted in 2018, and the Honolulu City Council approved the planning and review use permit in 2020

Members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs visited the facilities and took part in discussions with budget and finance director Luis Salaveria regarding options for financing a new OCCC; public safety director Tommy Johnson and comptroller Keith Regan about the future of the new Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and planning and sustainable development director Mary Alice Evans and transit-oriented development program manager Harrison Rue about the potential use of the current OCCC for transit-oriented development.

“Our visit to OCCC confirmed that the Senate’s $10 million allocation of funds in Fiscal Year 2025 for the relocation of the facility to a new site in Halawa Valley is a prudent one and will get this project moving,” says Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the ways and means committee. “Overcrowding, aging facilities and outdated security infrastructure at OCCC are putting inmates and our public safety personnel at risk, and we need to move with urgency to get a new and modern facility built.

“We are encouraged to know that under director Tommy Johnson’s leadership, he is working closely with the governor, Budget and Finance, Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Agriculture to move quickly on putting out a request for qualifications so that we can determine financing options that the state can move forward with and get this project underway and built,” Dela Cruz said.

The environmental impact statement for the new OCCC facility was formally accepted in 2018, and the Honolulu City Council approved the planning and review use permit in 2020. The request for qualifications is now awaiting Salaveria’s approval.

Sen. Glenn Wakai, chair of the public safety and intergovernmental and military affairs committee, underscored the urgency of the situation.

“We saw deplorable conditions in our jail and prison — everything from overcrowding and lack of lighting to a leaking roof and damaged floors,” he said. “Both facilities have glaring deficiencies, covered by decades of band aids. Ignoring the situation could lead to the feds mandating upgrades and the costs to taxpayers will skyrocket.”

Over the last few legislative cycles, lawmakers have advanced numerous initiatives to promote alternatives to incarceration and reduce recidivism, including the statewide expansion of Alternative Learning Programs within the Department of Education, the creation of the Office of Wellness and Resilience, and the continuation of the Ohana Zones Program.

“We plan to refocus and shift from what some may see as a punitive incarceration model to a model focused on treatment, education, and successful re-entry via wrap-around services,” Johnson said. “It is critical to establish diversions at the front of pipelines to prison to reduce the burden on our enforcement and correctional facilities.”

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.