STAND. COM. REP. NO. 804

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 944

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 944 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIFORM PARENTAGE ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to extend and modify the task force established by Act 201, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, to recommend amendments to update existing parentage laws that reflect outdated, cisheteronormative concepts of families, parenthood, and parental rights to December 31, 2024.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Hawai‘i Women Lawyers, Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Rainbow Family 808, Northshore Ko‘olau Diversity Collective, and three individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from three individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary, Department of Health, Donor Sibling Registry, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that existing parentage laws reflect outdated, cisheteronormative concepts of families, parenthood, and parental rights. Under existing law, only male partners of birthing people are afforded the option to volunteer themselves as the other legal parent and establish parenthood on a birth certificate. As a result, non-male LGBTQ+ parents are subject to a "queer parent penalty". That is, female, non-binary, and queer partners are forced to undergo extreme financial and emotional burdens to obtain an adoption decree for legal recognition as their child's parent. This measure updates and extends a task force to recommend amendments to the Hawaii Revised Statutes to update existing paternity laws to reflect modern concepts of family, parenthood, and parental rights.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Rather than extending and modifying the task force established by Act 201, Session Laws of 2021, establishing a new task force for the same purpose;

(2) Specifying that the task force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than forty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025;

(3) Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) 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. 944, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 944, 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