STAND

 

STAND. COM. REP. 3197

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 537

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 537, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to add sexual orientation as a protected class in the housing discrimination and anti-blockbusting laws.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission (HCRC), Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, American Friends Service Committee Gay Liberation Program, Brigham Young University, Civil Unions-Civil Rights Movement, the First Unitarian Church, Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy Foundation, Hawai'i Citizens for the Separation of State and Church, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Hawaii Reserves, Inc., Hawaii Women's Law Center, Hawaii Women Lawyers, Lambda Aloha, the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Malama Pono-Kauai AIDS Project, PFLAG-Oahu, and twenty-four individuals. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the American Center for Law and Justice of Hawaii, King's Cathedral and Chapels, Pro-Family Hawaii, and eighteen individuals. Comments were submitted by Hawaii Family Forum and Planned Parenthood of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that civil rights is an important issue, and the protection of those rights should be held to the highest standards. Your Committee further finds that our civil rights laws need to be uniform by prohibiting discriminatory practices in real property transactions on the basis of sexual orientation.

Currently, discrimination because of sexual orientation is only prohibited in employment. Your Committee believes that just as a person should not be denied a job because of the person's sexual orientation, a person should not be denied a home because of the person's sexual orientation.

However, your Committee finds that the current language of this measure exempting certain organizations and institutions from discriminatory practices is too broad. Your Committee further finds that if any exception is made, the exception should be very narrowly tailored to make sure that unintended persons or entities are not included in the exception. Testimony was received from the HCRC requesting a narrowing of the exception; but your Committee believes that the language proposed by HCRC is still too broad.

Your Committee was unable to draft adequate language to narrow the exception for discrimination given its time constraints. Thus, your Committee has amended this measure to change the effective date to July 1, 2010 to facilitate further discussion on crafting proper language for the exception to prohibiting discriminatory practices in real property transactions on the basis of sexual orientation.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 537, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 537, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair