Ige’s budget reflects continued reliance on outdated, ineffective and injurious policies
Inside the governor's supplemental budget proposal are requests for money meant to crack down on the houseless and to explore private prison options.
“Keep public places public”—Governor Ige’s new phrase for keeping the public out of public spaces, per his supplemental budget request. He’s asking for money to beef up security to crack down on the homeless at public locations. Specifically, Ige wants $419,302 for deputy sheriffs positions to “support homeless and illegal camping operations.”
To be fair, he’s also asking for $50 million for homelessness programs like Housing First and rapid rehousing, and $75 million for the affordable housing revolving funds. But any additional funding toward criminalization of poverty is a waste of taxpayer money and a major contributing factor to our overcrowded jail and prison population.
Speaking of prison “highlights,” the governor wants $10 million for Department of Public Safety (DPS) statewide facility master plans. The projects will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible though, so at least we can incarcerate the disabled without worrying about a lawsuit there. Ige also wants an additional $33 million for new prison housing facilities and site assessments on each of the neighbor islands.
Also, embedded in the capital improvement project (CIP) budget, way down at the bottom, is $1 million for planning and assessment of public-private prison partnerships: Because adding a profit incentive to fill prisons with incarcerated individuals is the only thing that could make our criminal justice system worse than it already is.
