STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2393

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2977

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2977 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to assist the child support enforcement agency to implement federally mandated requirements and streamline the child enforcement process in the State.

     Specifically, this measure:

(1)  Clarifies the requirement for notice to custodial parents regarding state income tax refund setoffs;

(2)  Creates an assistant administrator position for policy and planning;

(3)  Clarifies that parties have thirty days to request an administrative hearing for modification;

(4)  Enables the child support enforcement agency to:

(A)  Request an administrative hearing; and

(B)  Sign proposed administrative orders when no request for an administrative hearing is received; and

(5)  Transfer two full-time equivalent positions performing similar functions from the county of Kauai to the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Attorney General.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure to facilitate the transfer of the personnel from the county of Kauai by specifying October 1, 2008 as the effective date of the transfer and made conforming amendments to reflect this transfer date with respect to the transfer of appropriations, records, files, etc. from the family support division of the county of Kauai to the Department of the Attorney General.  Your Committee has also made technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Human Services and Public Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2977, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2977, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Human Services and Public Housing,

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair