STAND. COM. REP. NO. 596

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 630

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 630 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish that every judgment for child support is enforceable until paid in full.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that the costs associated with raising a child are extensive and persist for many years. Your Committee further finds that in the case of couples with children who are separated or divorced, these costs can be borne primarily by one of the parents. Your Committee additionally finds that unpaid child support obligations impose an unjust burden on parents who are the sole or primary caretaker of their child or children, and that if child support judgments expire over time, parents in arrears may be incentivized to avoid making payment.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that judgments for child support are enforceable until paid in full notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 630, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 630, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair