STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1524
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: S.B. No. 944
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health & Homelessness, to which was referred S.B. No. 944, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIFORM PARENTAGE ACT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to establish a task force to recommend amendments to update existing parentage laws.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i,
Hawaii Women Lawyers, Rainbow Family 808, and nine individuals. Your Committee received testimony in
opposition to this measure from Moms for Liberty Honolulu County and numerous
individuals. Your Committee received
comments on this measure from the Judiciary and four individuals.
Your Committee finds
that since the original enactment of the Uniform Parentage Act of 1973, there
have been significant changes in society, law, and medical technology. Your Committee further finds that House Bill
No. 1096, Regular Session of 2021 (H.B. No. 1096), was originally introduced to
address issues of inequitable parentage for LGBTQ+ parents by replacing the
world "paternity" with "parentage" in section 584-3.5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes. The intent of H.B.
1096 was to allow for the expedited establishment of parentage for all unwed
parents of any gender identity. However,
based upon concerns raised by the Department of the Attorney General and Department
of Health that replacing the legal concept of "paternity" with
"parentage" may have unintended consequences, particularly with
respect to public assistance programs, the Legislature ultimately amended and
passed H.B. 1096 as Act 201, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021 (Act 201), which
required the Department of Health to convene a task force to address
inequitable parentage rights for LGBTQ+ parents.
In its report, the
task force noted that the original language of H.B. 1096 would only benefit
couples with a partner capable of gestating and delivering a child, excluding a
number of family groups. Recognizing
this limitation, the task force briefly discussed expanding the scope of the
task force to include surrogacy issues.
However, because of time constraints, the task force was unable to
adequately address these and other issues.
Based on the task
force's findings, your Committee finds that reconvening the task force to
address parentage issues for adopted children and children born via surrogacy
or through the use of other assistive reproductive technology will ensure that
any updates to the State's parentage laws will benefit as many families as
possible.
Accordingly,
your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Requiring the Department of the Attorney
General, rather than the Department of Health, to convene the task force;
(2) Amending the composition of the task force;
(3) Requiring the task force to submit an interim
report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the Regular
Session of 2024;
(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000,
to encourage further discussion; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments
for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 944, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 944, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health & Homelessness,
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____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair |
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