STAND. COM. REP. NO.139-02
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: H.B. No. 2101
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2101 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VISITATION,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to allow visitation rights for siblings. Specifically, this bill:
(1) Allows a sibling to petition the court for reasonable visitation rights; and
(2) Allows the court to award reasonable visitation rights if certain criteria are met.
Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, Blueprint for Change, and Hawaii Foster Youth Coalition testified in support of this measure. The Department of Human Services opposed this measure. The Judiciary submitted comments.
Your Committee heard compelling testimony that siblings are often separated in the process of adoption or foster care, and that the siblings often want to keep in contact with each other, but do not have the means.
Your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Clarifying that Hawaii must be the home state of both the petitioning child and the sibling;
(2) Clarifying that visitation rights are primarily in the best interest of the child in foster or adoptive care, and not the petitioning sibling; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2101, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2101, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Housing,
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____________________________ MICHAEL P. KAHIKINA, Chair |
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