HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

47

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Department of Public Safety to conduct a study on the effects of felony disenfranchisement, particularly the effects on minority groups.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, disenfranchisement of persons following felony criminal convictions undermines democratic ideals by depriving otherwise-qualified citizens of their right to vote; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, disenfranchisement based on criminal conviction has a disproportionate effect on communities of color, which often experience a higher incarceration rate than white communities; and

 

     WHEREAS, many of the state laws that bar people with felony convictions from voting stem from a time in America's history where southern states were working to neutralize the black electorate; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2010, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs released the study "The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System," which found that Native Hawaiians make up thirty-nine percent of the incarcerated population, but only twenty-four percent of the general population and twenty-five percent of arrestees; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Public Safety is requested to conduct a study on the effects of felony disenfranchisement, particularly the effects on minority groups; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety submit a report of its findings, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Director of Public Safety.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Felony Disenfranchisement; Minority Groups; Study; DPS