REPORT TITLE:
Native Hawns; Ho'oponopono


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds for a three-year ho'oponopono counseling
project administered by the family court of the first judicial
circuit.  Allows cases involving child custody and adult custody
disputes to be referred to a haku utilizing the practice of
ho'oponopono.  Defines haku and ho'oponopono.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            1677        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO HO'OPONOPONO.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that ho'oponopono is an
 
 2 effective means of dispute resolution among persons and families
 
 3 of Hawaiian ancestry that complements and enhances the judicial
 
 4 process when applied by a skilled practitioner working in
 
 5 consultation with a judge of the family court.  The legislature
 
 6 further finds that although Hawaii's circuit courts have from
 
 7 time to time referred family court cases to individuals
 
 8 proficient in administering ho'oponopono, there is no central
 
 9 source or pool of ho'oponopono practitioners to provide services
 
10 on a regular basis, and the persons and families that would most
 
11 benefit from these services seldom utilize other more available
 
12 means of dispute resolution.  Utilization of ho'oponopono on a
 
13 regular basis would be a cost-effective means of alleviating some
 
14 of the heavy caseloads currently experienced by all of the courts
 
15 in this State.  Further, ho'oponopono will assist in improving
 
16 social conditions in Hawaii by addressing issues such as poverty,
 
17 alienation, crime, and physical and substance abuse in a manner
 
18 based on traditional Hawaiian values.
 
19      The purposes of this Act are:
 

 
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 1      (1)  To establish a three-year ho'oponopono demonstration
 
 2           project administered by the judiciary with appropriate
 
 3           referrals from the family court of the first judicial
 
 4           circuit; and
 
 5      (2)  To provide an alternative process for resolving
 
 6           disputes by utilizing a haku knowledgeable and trained
 
 7           in the practices and principles of ho'oponopono.
 
 8      SECTION 2.  Section 9-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 9 by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to
 
10 read as follows:
 
11      ""Ho'oponopono" means setting to right; to make right; to
 
12 correct; to restore and maintain good relationships among family
 
13 and family-and-supernatural powers; the specific family
 
14 conference in which relationships were "set right" through
 
15 "pule", discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual
 
16 restitution and forgiveness.  The term "ho'oponopono" is the
 
17 traditional process of dispute resolution utilized by native
 
18 Hawaiians."
 
19      SECTION 3.  Section 571-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted
 
21 and to read as follows:
 
22      ""Haku" means a well-respected unbiased individual who is
 
23 knowledgeable and trained in the practice and principles of
 

 
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 1 ho'oponopono."
 
 2      SECTION 4.  Section 9-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 3 to read as follows:
 
 4      "§9-3 Duties.  The foundation shall:
 
 5      (1)  Assist in coordinating the plans, programs, and
 
 6           activities of individuals, associations, corporations,
 
 7           and agencies concerned with the preservation and
 
 8           furtherance of culture and the arts and history and the
 
 9           humanities;
 
10      (2)  Establish written standards and criteria by which grant
 
11           contracts shall be evaluated;
 
12      (3)  Appraise the availability, adequacy, and accessibility
 
13           of culture and the arts and history and the humanities
 
14           to all persons throughout the State and devise programs
 
15           whereby culture and the arts and history and the
 
16           humanities can be brought to those who would otherwise
 
17           not have the opportunity to participate;
 
18      (4)  Stimulate, guide, and promote culture and the arts and
 
19           history and the humanities throughout the State;
 
20      (5)  Devise and recommend legislative and administrative
 
21           action for the preservation and furtherance of culture
 
22           and the arts and history and the humanities;
 
23      (6)  Study the availability of private and governmental
 

 
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 1           grants for the promotion and furtherance of culture and
 
 2           the arts and history and the humanities;
 
 3      (7)  Through its chairperson:
 
 4           (A)  Administer funds allocated by grant, gift, or
 
 5                bequest to the foundation; accept, hold, disburse,
 
 6                and allocate funds which may become available from
 
 7                other governmental and private sources; provided
 
 8                that all those funds shall be disbursed or
 
 9                allocated in compliance with any specific
 
10                designation stated by the donor and in the absence
 
11                of any designation, the funds shall be disbursed
 
12                or allocated for the promotion and furtherance of
 
13                culture and the arts and history and the
 
14                humanities; and
 
15           (B)  Accept, hold, disburse, and allocate public funds
 
16                that are made available to the foundation by the
 
17                legislature for disbursement or allocation,
 
18                pursuant to the standards and procedures
 
19                established in part II, for the promotion and
 
20                furtherance of culture and the arts and history
 
21                and the humanities;
 
22      (8)  Select and employ a director to serve on a part-time or
 
23           full-time basis who shall be a person who by reason of
 

 
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 1           education or extensive experience is generally
 
 2           recognized as being professionally qualified in the
 
 3           administration of programs in the fields of culture and
 
 4           the arts and history and the humanities, who is
 
 5           familiar with the peoples and cultures of Hawaii, and
 
 6           who shall be exempt from chapters 76 and 77 and select
 
 7           necessary additional staff subject to chapters 76 and
 
 8           77, within available appropriations;
 
 9      (9)  Submit an annual report with recommendations to the
 
10           governor and legislature, prior to February 1, of each
 
11           year.  Annual reports shall include the total number
 
12           and amount of gifts received, payroll disbursements,
 
13           contracts entered into, and progress and
 
14           accomplishments made during the year;
 
15     (10)  Display student art works in public buildings, sponsor
 
16           student art displays, and in other ways encourage the
 
17           development of creative talent among the young people
 
18           of Hawaii;
 
19     (11)  In cooperation with qualified organizations conduct
 
20           research, studies, and investigations in the fields of
 
21           ethnohistory and the humanities; make, publish, and
 
22           distribute works documenting the contributions of
 
23           individual ethnic groups in their relationship to one
 

 
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 1           another and to the whole population of Hawaii; place
 
 2           ethnohistorical and cultural materials developed by the
 
 3           foundation or received by the foundation as gifts and
 
 4           donations in public archives, libraries, and other
 
 5           suitable institutions accessible to the public; and
 
 6           maintain a register of the location of such materials;
 
 7     (12)  Cooperate with and assist the department of land and
 
 8           natural resources and other state agencies in
 
 9           developing and implementing programs relating to
 
10           historic preservation, research, restoration, and
 
11           presentation, as well as museum activities; [and]
 
12     (13)  Establish an individual artist fellowship program to
 
13           encourage artists to remain and work in Hawaii and to
 
14           reaffirm the importance of Hawaii's artists and their
 
15           cultural and economic contributions to the State by:
 
16           (A)  Recognizing and honoring Hawaii's exceptionally
 
17                talented visual and performing artists for their
 
18                outstanding work and commitment in the arts; and
 
19           (B)  Enabling these artists to further their artistic
 
20                goals[.]; and
 
21     (14)  Acknowledge the benefits of and foster and encourage
 
22           the use by the public of ho'oponopono to resolve
 
23           differences whenever practicable."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 5.  Section 571-1,  Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§571-1 Construction and purpose of chapter.  This chapter
 
 4 shall be liberally construed to the end that children and
 
 5 families whose rights and well-being are jeopardized shall be
 
 6 assisted and protected, and secured in those rights through
 
 7 action by the court; that the court may formulate a plan adapted
 
 8 to the requirements of the child and the child's family and the
 
 9 necessary protection of the community, and may utilize all state
 
10 and community resources [to the extent possible in its
 
11 implementation.] including referring the case to a haku utilizing
 
12 the practice of ho'oponopono.
 
13      This chapter creates within this State a system of family
 
14 courts and it shall be a policy and purpose of [said] those
 
15 courts to promote the reconciliation of distressed juveniles with
 
16 their families, foster the rehabilitation of juveniles in
 
17 difficulty, render appropriate punishment to offenders, and
 
18 reduce juvenile delinquency.  The court shall conduct all
 
19 proceedings to the end that no adjudication by the court of the
 
20 status of any child under this chapter shall be deemed a
 
21 conviction; no such adjudication shall impose any civil
 
22 disability ordinarily resulting from conviction; no child shall
 
23 be found guilty or be deemed a criminal by reason of such
 

 
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 1 adjudication; no child shall be charged with crime or be
 
 2 convicted in any court except as otherwise provided in this
 
 3 chapter; and all children found responsible for offenses shall
 
 4 receive dispositions that provide incentive for reform or
 
 5 deterrence from further misconduct, or both.  The disposition
 
 6 made of a child or any evidence given in the court[,] shall not
 
 7 operate to disqualify the child in any civil service or military
 
 8 application or appointment.  Any evidence given in any case under
 
 9 section 571-11 shall not in any civil, criminal, or other cause
 
10 in any court be lawful or proper evidence against the child for
 
11 any purpose whatever except in subsequent cases involving the
 
12 same child under section 571-11."
 
13      SECTION 6.  Section 580-41.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended to read as follows:
 
15      "§580-41.5  Battered spouses; exemption from mediation in
 
16 divorce proceedings.(a)  In contested divorce proceedings where
 
17 there are allegations of spousal abuse, the court shall not
 
18 require a party alleging the spousal abuse to participate in any
 
19 component of any mediation program against the wishes of that
 
20 party.
 
21      (b)  A mediator who receives a referral or order from a
 
22 court to conduct mediation shall screen for the occurrence of
 
23 family violence between the parties.  A mediator shall not engage
 

 
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 1 in mediation when it appears to the mediator or when either party
 
 2 asserts that family violence has occurred unless:
 
 3      (1)  Mediation is authorized by the victim of the alleged
 
 4           family violence;
 
 5      (2)  Mediation is provided in a specialized manner that
 
 6           protects the safety of the victim by a mediator who is
 
 7           trained in family violence; and
 
 8      (3)  The victim is permitted to have in attendance at
 
 9           mediation, a supporting person of the victim's choice
 
10           including but not limited to an attorney or advocate.
 
11           If the victim chooses to exercise such option, any
 
12           other party to the mediation [will] shall be permitted
 
13           to have in attendance at mediation, a supporting person
 
14           of the party's choice including but not limited to an
 
15           attorney or advocate.
 
16      (c)  In a proceeding concerning the custody or visitation of
 
17 a child, if a protective order is in effect, the court shall not
 
18 require a party alleging family violence to participate in any
 
19 component of any mediation program against the wishes of that
 
20 party.
 
21      (d)  In a proceeding concerning the custody or visitation of
 
22 a child, if there is an allegation of family violence and a
 
23 protective order is not in effect, the court may order mediation
 

 
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 1 or refer either party to mediation only if:
 
 2      (1)  Mediation is authorized by the victim of the alleged
 
 3           family violence;
 
 4      (2)  Mediation is provided in a specialized manner that
 
 5           protects the safety of the victim by a mediator who is
 
 6           trained in family violence; and
 
 7      (3)  The victim is permitted to have in attendance at
 
 8           mediation, a supporting person of the victim's choice
 
 9           including but not limited to an attorney or advocate.
 
10           If the victim chooses to exercise such option, any
 
11           other party to the mediation [will] shall be permitted
 
12           to have in attendance at mediation, a supporting person
 
13           of the party's choice including but not limited to an
 
14           attorney or advocate.
 
15      (e)  As used in this section, "mediation program" and
 
16 "mediation" includes ho'oponopono, and "mediator" includes
 
17 "haku"."
 
18      SECTION 7.  Section 587-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended to read as follows: 
 
20      "§587-1 Purpose; construction.  This chapter creates within
 
21 the jurisdiction of the family court a child protective act to
 
22 make paramount the safety and health of children who have been
 
23 harmed or are in life circumstances that threaten harm.
 

 
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 1 Furthermore, this chapter makes provisions for the service,
 
 2 treatment, and permanent plans for these children and their
 
 3 families.
 
 4      The legislature finds that children deserve and require
 
 5 competent, responsible parenting and safe, secure, loving, and
 
 6 nurturing homes.  The legislature finds that children who have
 
 7 been harmed or are threatened with harm are less likely than
 
 8 other children to realize their full educational, vocational, and
 
 9 emotional potential, and become law-abiding, productive, self-
 
10 sufficient citizens, and are more likely to become involved with
 
11 the mental health system, the juvenile justice system, or the
 
12 criminal justice system, as well as become an economic burden on
 
13 the State.  The legislature finds that prompt identification,
 
14 reporting, investigation, services, treatment, adjudication, and
 
15 disposition of cases involving children who have been harmed or
 
16 are threatened with harm are in the children's, their families',
 
17 and society's best interests because the children are
 
18 defenseless, exploitable, and vulnerable.
 
19      The policy and purpose of this chapter is to provide
 
20 children with prompt and ample protection from the harms detailed
 
21 herein, with an opportunity for timely reconciliation with their
 
22 families if the families can provide safe family homes, and with
 
23 timely and appropriate service or permanent plans to ensure the
 

 
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 1 safety of the child so they may develop and mature into
 
 2 responsible, self-sufficient, law-abiding citizens.  The service
 
 3 plan shall effectuate the child's remaining in the family home,
 
 4 when the family home can be immediately made safe with services,
 
 5 or the child's returning to a safe family home.  The service plan
 
 6 should be carefully formulated with the family in a timely
 
 7 manner.  Every reasonable opportunity should be provided to help
 
 8 the child's legal custodian to succeed in remedying the problems
 
 9 which put the child at substantial risk of being harmed in the
 
10 family home.  Each appropriate resource, public and private,
 
11 family and friend, should be considered and used to maximize the
 
12 legal custodian's potential for providing a safe family home for
 
13 the child.  Full and careful consideration should be given to the
 
14 religious, cultural, and ethnic values of the child's legal
 
15 custodian when service plans are being discussed and formulated.
 
16 The family court may refer the case to a haku utilizing the
 
17 practice of ho'oponopono.  Where the court has determined, by
 
18 clear and convincing evidence, that the child cannot be returned
 
19 to a safe family home, the child will be permanently placed in a
 
20 timely manner.
 
21      The department's child protective services provided under
 
22 this chapter shall make every reasonable effort to be open,
 
23 accessible, and communicative to the persons affected in any
 

 
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 1 manner by a child protective proceeding; provided that the safety
 
 2 and best interests of the child under this chapter shall not be
 
 3 endangered in the process.
 
 4      This chapter shall be liberally construed to serve the best
 
 5 interests of the children and the purposes set out in this
 
 6 chapter."
 
 7      SECTION 8.  Section 587-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "§587-11  Jurisdiction.  Pursuant to subsection 571-11(9),
 
10 the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in a child
 
11 protective proceeding concerning any child who was or is found
 
12 within the State at the time the facts and circumstances
 
13 occurred, are discovered, or are reported to the department,
 
14 which facts and circumstances constitute the basis for the
 
15 finding that the child is a child whose physical or psychological
 
16 health or welfare is subject to imminent harm, has been harmed,
 
17 or is subject to threatened harm by the acts or omissions of the
 
18 child's family.  The court may refer the case to a haku utilizing
 
19 the practice of ho'oponopono."
 
20      SECTION 9.  There is established a three-year ho'oponopono
 
21 demonstration project administered by the judiciary with
 
22 appropriate referrals from the family court of the first judicial
 
23 circuit.  Ho'oponopono will be used in disputed child and adult
 

 
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 1 custody cases involving clientele of Hawaiian ancestry.  In
 
 2 addition, the demonstration project shall recruit and train
 
 3 within a three-year period a sufficient number of persons as haku
 
 4 (well-respected unbiased individuals) to perform ho'oponopono
 
 5 services for individuals, families, or both referred by the
 
 6 family court of the first circuit.
 
 7      SECTION 10.  No general fund revenues shall be expended for
 
 8 the ho'oponopono demonstration project.  The project shall be
 
 9 funded through private donations and other private moneys raised
 
10 by the judiciary, and may be funded with donations and grants
 
11 from the office of Hawaiian affairs.
 
12      SECTION 11.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 12.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
15 
 
16                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________