Bill > HCR16

This Concurrent Resolution requests the Judicial Council, a body established by Hawaii law, to form a committee to review and suggest changes to the Hawaii Penal Code, which is the set of laws defining crimes and their punishments. The resolution highlights concerns that judges are not consistently or fairly applying their discretion when sentencing repeat offenders, leading to vastly different outcomes for similar cases, and points to a specific instance of an individual with numerous convictions over fifteen years as evidence that current laws may not adequately address repeat offenders. The proposed committee will include representatives from various branches of government, legal professionals, social workers, and community members, with the goal of ensuring that sentencing is fair, consistent, and proportionate to the crime, and will specifically examine programs like HOPE Probation (Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement), which uses swift sanctions to deter probation violations. The committee is tasked with submitting its findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by early 2023.