Senate committee postpones bill for anti-drug agency
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
A bill establishing an anti-drug task force on the Big Island through tobacco settlement money has been deferred for the time being by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Ways and Means Vice Chairman Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), said he and Chairman Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully) want to study concerns raised by the attorney general's office and the Hawai'i County Police Department before deciding whether to move it out of committee.
Both Taniguchi and Kokubun said they expected the bill, or some form of it, will be voted on this session.
House Bill 297 HD2 SD1 would tap $600,000 annually to contractually hire retired law enforcement officials to staff the strike force, which would be tasked with raiding drug houses, arresting drug dealers and other drug-related actions. The agency would be attached to the Department of Public Safety.
The measure would also provide financing for crystal methamphetamine treatment and an adolescent treatment center on the
Big Island. It also calls for establishing a drug czar's office within the office of the lieutenant governor.
James Propotnick, interim public safety director, submitted written testimony stating the proposal "does not have a stable funding source for the enforcement component."
Big Island police officials, meanwhile, said they oppose the creation of the strike force. Not only could drug enforcement money be better spent on existing programs, but the use of what essentially amounts to private investigators is also questionable, said Big Island Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna.
Proponents of the bill, most notably House members from the Big Island, say the strike force would focus on areas where police don't have enough manpower.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at 525-8070 or at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.
