HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-31 Letter to Jill Tokuda re HB 478 HD1 SD1 relating to public safety
WilOkabe
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 (808) 961-8211 Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy., Bldg. C Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 323-4444Fax (808) 323-4440
March 31, 2017
Senator Jill N. Tokuda, Chair
Committee on Ways and Means
Hawai'iState Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
RE:HB 478 HD1, SD1
Relating to Public Safety
Thank you for this opportunity to support an agricultural program at the Kulani
Correctional Facility, part of HB 478.
Although Corrections is the kuleana of the State, I have long believed that the
County should take an active interest in the treatment of, and opportunities afforded to,
individuals who have been incarcerated. For that reason, in my first term as Mayor, I
recruited State and community partners and established the Going Home program,
which continues to operate informally today.
It is in everyone’s interest that inmates, who are returning to their communities
after serving their time, are as well prepared aspossible to be productive members of
society. The kind of training that a robust agricultural program could provide at Kulani
would seem to be a perfect fit.
I encourage passage of HB 478 with adequate funding to give the program a
chance to prove its value.
Respectfully submitted,
Harry Kim
Mayor
County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.