Report Title:

Corrections; Inmate Grievance Reform

Description:

Establishes a community oversight panel to reform prison and jail grievances for adult and juvenile offenders.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

355

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

Relating to corrections.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that a constructive example to correctional facility inmates of a civil and orderly process for resolving disputes is to create an effective system for the unbiased arbitration and resolution of their grievances against fellow inmates, employees, and members of the staff, and the policies, practices, or conditions of the prison or jail.

Fundamental fairness in prisons and jails extends to providing inmates with the opportunity to air and resolve grievances. Incarceration brings with it a sense of helplessness and loss of control over many aspects of an inmate’s life. Inmates who are not provided with the means to voice complaints or concerns and get them resolved will likely get the staff’s attention in a much less desirable manner. Unresolved grievances may lead to inmate disturbances and other disruptive behavior. The grievance process should be in writing and inmates should be fully informed of the process.

The internal affairs office conducts administration, criminal, and civil investigations for the department of public safety. The office has full police powers when conducting and responding to investigations within the department. The 2003 department of public safety annual report states that the internal affairs office workload is at maximum capacity.

At the Hawaii youth correctional facility, the administrator handles the disposition of grievances.

The purpose of this Act is to improve the quality of the grievance process in Hawaii’s prisons and jails for incarcerated adult and juvenile offenders by establishing a community oversight panel to assist the internal affairs office in handling the most serious grievances and appeals.

SECTION 2. Chapter 353, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§353-   Community oversight panel; serious grievances; establishment; procedures. (a) A community oversight panel (panel) is established to assist in the resolution of serious grievances filed by inmates at adult correctional facilities and youth correctional facilities. The panel shall be within the department of the attorney general for administrative purposes.

(b) The panel shall be granted the resources necessary to:

(1) Take serious, potentially litigable cases and issues to adjudication; and

(2) Play a more active public role in communicating the social rationale for respecting rights of inmates.

(c) The community oversight panel shall consist of the following three members, who shall be independent of the department of public safety, to be appointed by the governor as provided in section 26-34:

(1) One member from the general public;

(2) One member to be appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the president of the senate; and

(3) One member to be appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(d) The panel shall convene at least quarterly to review the most serious grievances filed by Hawaii inmates involving health issues, civil rights violations, and repeated grievances against a particular staff member, unless a serious case warrants more frequent meetings.

(e) The members of the panel shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.

(f) Minutes of the panel's meetings shall be available for public review within the limits of the law and with names redacted to protect the privacy of people named in the grievance.

(g) Training of the panel shall be conducted by the department of public safety, including alternative dispute resolution.

(h) The panel shall assist the department of public safety in determining the appropriate sanction for serious grievances and appeals involving health issues, civil rights violations, and repeated grievances against a particular staff member. The panel shall:

(1) Convene after the department of public safety and the appropriate correctional facility have performed a thorough investigation of the grievance;

(2) Have access to all documents and investigative reports relating to the case being reviewed;

(3) Have the right to call witnesses or resource people from the respective departments or related agencies for purposes of clarification;

(4) Have the right to meet with the aggrieved inmate or ward;

(5) Have the authority to recommend police intervention for any allegation that could be viewed as a criminal offense;

(6) Have the authority to recommend to the attorney general or the United States Attorney appropriate and lawful action to resolve any grievance or appeal; and

(7) Submit to the legislature twenty days before the commencement of each regular session a report consisting of the number of serious grievances and appeals considered and the resolution of those grievances and appeals.

(i) The basic elements of an adequate grievance system are:

(1) Notice, in plain and understandable language geared to offenders with cognitive limitations or low literacy levels, to the incarcerated person of the availability and explanation of the purpose and scope of the procedure;

(2) A clear and simple procedure for the inmate to present the inmate's grievance to the staff;

(3) Provisions for prompt investigation of the grievance, which shall allow fifteen days for response from the facility and five days for the incarcerated person to respond; provided that if the incarcerated person does not respond within the required time period, the person shall be deemed to have exhausted the inmate or ward's administrative remedies;

(4) The opportunity for the incarcerated person to present a grievance to an impartial panel;

(5) Written notice to the incarcerated person of the decision of the panel;

(6) Appropriate disciplinary sanction to staff if the grievance is found justified;

(7) Written records of the grievance, investigation, decision, and final action taken;

(8) The administrators of the facility where the grievance was lodged shall ensure that no retaliative action is taken against the inmate or ward who initiated the grievance; and

(9) Any person aggrieved by the resolution of a serious grievance, as defined in this section, shall have the right to appeal to the panel.

(j) As used in this section, "serious grievances" include potentially litigable cases involving health issues, civil rights violations, serious misconducts, and repeated grievances against a particular staff member."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2005.

INTRODUCED BY:

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