STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1314
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: H.B. No. 1073
H.D. 1
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 Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1073, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FEES FOR MARRIAGE LICENSES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Amend
the marriage license fee and compensation for a marriage license agent per
license;
(2) Authorize
deposits of marriage license fees into the Vital Statistics Improvement Special
Fund; and
(3) Adjust the distribution of the marriage license fee among various domestic violence prevention special funds.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Domestic Violence Action Center, and one individual.
Your Committee finds that there are approximately twenty
thousand marriage licenses issued every year by the Department of Health's Office
of Health Status Monitoring at a fee of $60 per license. The $60 fee is currently disbursed to the
general fund, Spouse and Child Abuse Special Fund administered by the Department
of Human Services, Spouse and Child Abuse Special Account
administered by the Judiciary, and Birth Defects Special Fund administered by
the Department of Health. Private marriage license agents appointed by the
Department of Health also receive $9 per license issued, as benefit and
compensation. Your Committee further
finds that despite performing all the work necessary to issue marriage
licenses, the Office of Health Status Monitoring does not receive any portion
of the collected fees. Furthermore, compensation
for the private agents have not been increased for more than twenty-five
years. This measure therefore
increases the marriage license fee to allow for
modernization, quality improvement, and customer satisfaction activities within
the Office of Health Status Monitoring.
Your Committee notes that this measure, as currently drafted, does not specify the amended marriage license fee, compensation for the marriage license agent, and distribution amounts to the various funds and accounts. Your Committee further notes that the companion to this measure, S.B. No. 1371, S.D. 1 (2023), which was previously deliberated and recommended for passage by your Committee, specifies all of these amounts. It is therefore necessary to amend this measure to incorporate the amounts set forth in S.B. No. 1371, S.D. 1.
Accordingly,
your Committee has amended this measure by:
(2) Inserting
the following amounts; provided that the marriage license agent is not a civil
service employee:
(A) $15 as the portion of the collected marriage license fee to be retained by the marriage license agent for the agent's benefit and compensation;
(B) $85 as the portion of the collected marriage license fee to be remitted to the Director of Health;
(C) $35 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the general fund of the State;
(D) $5 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Spouse and Child Abuse Special Fund;
(E) $5 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Spouse and Child Abuse Special Account;
(F) $20 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Birth Defects Special Fund; and
(G) language that requires the Director of Heath to deposit $20 of the remitted fees to the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund;
(3) Inserting
the following amounts; provided that the marriage license agent is a civil
service employee:
(A) $44 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Spouse and Child Abuse Special Fund;
(B) $5 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Spouse and Child Abuse Special Fund;
(C) $5 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Spouse and Child Abuse Special Account;
(D) $20 as the portion of the remitted fees that the Director of Health shall deposit to the credit of the Birth Defects Special Fund; and
(E) Language
that requires the Director of Heath to deposit $26 of the remitted fees to the Vital Statistics Improvement
Special Fund;
(4) Making
it effective upon its approval; and
(5) 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 Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1073, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1073, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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