Stop veto - SB 539

Urge Governor Lingle to Pass S.B. 539, which Supports Re-entry and Rehabilitation Programs for Prisoners

July 10, 2009

The Governor has announced her intent to veto Senate Bill 539 (“SB 539”). SB 539 supplements the Community Safety Act of 2007, our comprehensive reentry and rehabilitation system for criminal offenders, and:

• Renames the Department of Public Safety’s Intake Service Center Division to the Reentry Intake Service Center Division;

• Directs the reentry intake service centers to work closely and collaborate with the work furlough programs in each county, the Hawaii paroling authority, and the correction program services division to ensure that the reentry needs of inmates are being met; and

• Establishes an oversight committee and reentry commission.

The Governor has until July 15, 2009 to sign or veto the bill. We need your help to convince the Governor to pass this important bill and provide Hawaii’s inmates with the support and services they need to become productive and responsible community members.

Here is what you can do:
• Write, email and/or call Governor Lingle and ask her to please sign SB 539. Click on "more" below for contact information and sample text for a letter/email.

• Forward this information to your friends and family and encourage them to ask the Governor to please sign SB 539.

The Honorable Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawaii
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Fax: (808) 586-0006
Phone: (808) 586-0034
Email: gov.policy@hawaii.gov

Take Action Today! Contact Governor Lingle Now!
Questions, comments, concerns? Please contact:
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i
P.O. Box 3410
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96801
T: 808.522-5900
F: 808.522-5909
E: legislative@acluhawaii.org
www.acluhawaii.org

Dear Governor Lingle:

I urge you to sign SB 539, SD1, HD1, CD1 or allow it to become law without your signature.

I support every effort to develop a more effective comprehensive rehabilitation and reentry system. Reentry programs are far more cost-effective – and far more effective at reducing recidivism – than incarceration.

First, renaming the Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) Intake Service Center Division to the Reentry Intake Service Center Division will help to refocus the Division on reintegration and rehabilitation and facilitate the development of a division philosophy centered on providing Hawaii’s inmates with the support and services they need to become productive and responsible community members.

Second, establishing an oversight committee and reentry commission is absolutely essential to ensuring that the Division follows the mandates established in Act 8, the Community Safety Act of 2007. Establishment of an oversight committee and reentry commission will have a negligible financial impact on the Department of Public Safety in the short term, but it will lead to significant long-term cost savings by insuring that the State is not paying to incarcerate individuals who could be in much less expensive programs (such as drug treatment, work furlough, and other parole programs). Further, given the $3.5 million allocated for these programs and DPS’ consistent opposition to implementing them, it is imperative that we hold DPS accountable for the programs’ implementation and management through an oversight committee and a reentry commission that include a broad range of community members and organizations.

Please pass SB 539: it will allow Hawaii’s agencies to work together more effectively – helping Hawaii’s inmates and their families – while saving long-term costs.

Respectfully submitted,
[Name]
[City, State]

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