REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR'S SENIOR ADVISOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO FORMULATE A PLAN TO INCREASE ACCESS TO THE HAWAII STATE HOSPITAL FOR CERTAIN MENTALLY ILL- CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS.

SR59

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

59

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR'S SENIOR ADVISOR FOR MENTAL
HEALTH AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO FORMULATE A PLAN TO INCREASE ACCESS TO THE HAWAII
STATE HOSPITAL FOR CERTAIN MENTALLY ILL- CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS
.

����
WHEREAS, on February
5, 2024, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and the House
Committee on Health and Homelessness held a joint hearing to discuss, among
other things, the use of behavioral health centers and hospitals to house mentally
ill criminal defendants; and

����
WHEREAS, at
the joint hearing, the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the
Justice System presented the Sequential Intercept Model, which illustrated points
in the system at which individuals with mental health issues move from the care
system into the criminal justice system, including a person's initial contact
with police, incarceration, and release; and

����
WHEREAS, in
recent years, the Legislature has made various efforts to fund intercept
programs, including the Honolulu Police Department's Health Threat Assessment Team
and the Judiciary's Community Outreach Court, but due to limited coordination
between State agencies, these programs have resulted in no meaningful reduction
in the State's jail population; and

����
WHEREAS, according
to updates provided by the Department of Health's Adult Mental Health Division,
despite having the legal framework and funding in place for new, court-ordered
treatment pathways, few individuals have successfully moved through the
programs, and only one person was successfully diverted from the criminal
justice system; and

����
WHEREAS, at an
October 20, 2025, hearing of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services,
the Administrator of the Hawaii State Hospital testified that the number of
patients at the Hawaii State Hospital exceeded the hospital's planned capacity;
and

����
WHEREAS, at
that hearing, the Administrator of the Hawaii State Hospital also testified
that seventy-eight percent of the hospital's population was either being
evaluated for fitness to proceed to trial, or had been determined unfit to
proceed to trial; and

����
WHEREAS, in
2026, Senate Bill No. 3142 was introduced as part of the Governor's package to
provide for civil protective custody in lieu of arrest for the crime of
dangerous intoxication, and for mandatory treatment for the crime of dangerous
habitual intoxication; and

����
WHEREAS, at a
hearing on the measure, concerns were expressed regarding the lack of suitable
placements for persons who are civilly committed or in civil protective custody,
given the full capacity at the Hawaii State Hospital; and

����
WHEREAS, the
Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System is uniquely
positioned to organize the appropriate state agencies to formulate a plan to create
placements for:

����
(1)
�
Mentally ill individuals in the State's criminal justice system,
regardless of whether the person is being evaluated to determine the person's
fitness to proceed to trial; and

����
(2)
�
Persons recently released from the Hawaii State Hospital who are at
risk of recidivism; now, therefor,

����
BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, that the Governor's Senior Advisor on Mental Health and
the Justice System is requested to formulate a plan to create places of shelter
for persons under civil commitment and for persons who have been recently
released from the Hawaii State Hospital and are at risk of recidivism; and

����
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the Governor's Senior Advisor on Mental Health and the Justice
System is requested to submit a report of any findings and recommendations,
including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty
days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027; and

����
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Governor's Senior Advisor on Mental Health and the Justice System, Director of the
Hawaii State Hospital, and Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Governor's
Senior Advisor on Mental Health; and the Justice System; Hawaii State Hospital;
Civil Commitments; Recidivism; Report