Report Title:

Hawaii National Guard; Drug Treatment

 

Description:

Appropriates funds to the Hawaii national guard to enable its members who self report their drug use to receive drug treatment.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1677

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

Relating to the Hawaii national guard.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Army and Air national guard are primary components of the State's military forces. Both are required by federal military regulations to conduct random drug testing of all their members. Individuals who test positive are subject to discharge not only from the Hawaii Army and Air national guard, but also from the United States Army and Air Force respectively. The legislature finds there is good reason to conduct drug testing of members of the national guard. Service members discharged from the Hawaii national guard in recent years have included aviation mechanics, wheeled vehicle mechanics, combat engineers, and members of the rifle and mortar platoons.

A discharge for drug use in all but the most unusual of cases would be a military career ending disciplinary action. At the same time, however, it also means that the military forces lose forever the services of individuals whom they have trained at considerable effort and expense and who, in many cases, have otherwise performed exceptionally well. Furthermore, with respect to the Hawaii national guard, the State as a whole loses the services of trained individuals for purposes of any of the usual missions performed by the Hawaii national guard, including disaster relief and assistance to civilian authorities.

The legislature further finds that military regulations provide specifically for junior enlisted persons to be given a second chance if they recognize their drug use, admit it to their commander, and ask to be referred to a drug treatment program. Once self-referral occurs, the individual is given time to receive the necessary treatment. In the active military forces, this treatment is available at no expense to the individual enlisted person. By comparison, the Hawaii national guard has no such treatment facilities available as part of the state military system. Consequently, individual members of the Hawaii national guard who would be willing to acknowledge their drug problems have no real option other than to choose between paying for the cost of private drug treatment themselves or being discharged from the service when they are eventually found out. The legislature recognizes the detrimental effect on the Hawaii national guard specifically, and the State generally, of the loss of its trained members and the need to provide drug treatment for them.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the Hawaii national guard to enable its junior enlisted members who self report their drug use to receive drug treatment.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002-2003, to the Hawaii national guard to provide or obtain drug treatment services for junior enlisted members who self report their drug use.

SECTION 3. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of defense for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

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