Electronic monitoring expensive

Unsure of the estimated cost of electronically monitoring persons convicted of violating a temporary restraining order, lawmakers will wait until tomorrow to decide the fate of SB 2218. In previous hearings the budget cost was determined to be $200, 000 per year, but in a recent study the state Judiciary predicted $1.4 million. The cost prediction provides for all convicted defendants not just indigent persons. Rep. Shimabukuro suggested changing the language of the bill to include a predetermined money cap. The Department of the Attorney General questioned language that would require a defendant to wear an electronic monitoring device even if the location of the protected person is unknown.