Senate committee hears four confirmation nominees; votes deferred to March 12

The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs held a confirmation hearing on nominations to advisory bodies overseeing correctional industries, parole and emergency management and heard testimony from nominees and departmental representatives before adjourning and deferring votes to a rescheduled session.

Chair Fukunaga opened the hearing, set a two-minute limit per testifier and said that if the committee must recess for technical reasons it will reconvene on 2026-03-12 at 3:00 p.m. in Conference Room 016.

Director Johnson, appearing for the department, urged the committee to advise and consent to Shane Doughty’s nomination to the Correctional Industries Advisory Committee, saying Doughty had worked in agricultural operations and as an operations manager and would be a “highly qualified” candidate. Shane Doughty, participating remotely, told the committee he spent 21 years with the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, worked on correctional-industries projects including aquaculture and hydroponics, and said he wants to revive and expand offender workforce-development programs. “I have a great love and a passion for rehabilitation, and for agriculture,” Doughty said.

The committee then considered Raymond Mullins for the same advisory body. Director Johnson described Mullins’ accounting and financial experience as useful for Correctional Industries’ revenue and workforce goals. Mullins told the committee his priorities include increasing staff and inmate morale, streamlining processes to raise inmate participation and using onboarding to explain work opportunities to incoming inmates. He said he has led and participated in ERP implementations and advocated adding clearer information about Correctional Industries opportunities during inmate intake so participants understand the steps needed to qualify for work placements.

Chair Fukunaga next introduced Cheryl Inouye for the Hawaii Paroling Authority. Inouye corrected that she holds a master’s degree in social work (not a doctorate) and described a 35-year career in probation and district and circuit courts, prior Paroling Authority service and a focus on expanding substance-abuse and mental-health treatment slots. “One of the critical things missing is really treatment opportunities for these offenders,” Inouye said, and she advocated for dedicated, steady funding and an integrated statewide criminal-justice data system to reduce duplicated records and enable evaluation of what works.

The committee also heard from Robert Harder, nominated to the Hawaii Advisory Council on Emergency Management. Harder, a recent retiree from the City & County of Honolulu Department of Emergency Management with more than 14 years in emergency management and 30 years of military service, emphasized coordination among state and county agencies, partnerships with private utilities and NGOs and the importance of public preparedness and education. “Emergency management is a team sport,” Harder said, urging community-level preparedness and outreach to children and families.

With safety concerns and other hearings ongoing, Chair Fukunaga adjourned the afternoon session and deferred final action on the nominations to the rescheduled hearing on March 12, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.; staff will file a hearing notice for the new date. No formal votes or committee decisions were recorded at this session.