Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 932, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to eliminate any preferences in government contracts, programs, services, and workforce policies that favor one parent over another in the raising of children.

Parents Without Partners; the Hawaii Coalition for Dads; the Senator representing Senatorial District 20; a licensed clinical psychologist; and concerned citizens testified in support of the bill. The Department of Human Services testified in support of the intent of this measure.

Your Committee believes this bill represents a first step toward promoting shared parenting and the joint physical custody of children in Hawaii by eliminating preferential governmental treatment of one parent over the other.

Today, a presumption or preference for joint custody exists in at least 29 states plus the District of Columbia. In some cases, the preference or presumption is for joint legal custody, while in others it is for true shared parenting.

Your Committee will examine this issue in more detail during the legislative interim to determine the feasibility of establishing a joint custody presumption in the State. Ultimately, the true benefactors of this public policy will be families and, most especially, Hawaii's children.

After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and

purpose of S.B. No. 932, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 932, S.D.2, H.D. 2.