STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.542-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2120

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 Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2120 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CHILD-CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to adopt the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) which does the following:

(1) Assigns priority to home state custody;

(2) Provides continuing exclusive jurisdiction to the state that makes the initial custody determination, so long as a party to the original custody determination remains in that state;

(3) Authorizes enforcement proceedings in a state other than the state issuing the custody order;

(4) Provides an expedited process to enforce interstate child custody and visitation orders;

(5) Authorizes the attorney general and prosecutors to locate the child and enforce custody orders; and

(6) Provides uniformity among the states.

The UCCJEA was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1997 in order to replace the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act of 1968, which was codified in chapter 583, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The bill's provisions were designed to be consistent with federal statutes such as the Parental Kidnapping Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill from the Judiciary, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying that the court shall order that the address of a child or party, or other identifying information, not be disclosed in pleadings or other documents when the court determines that an unreasonable risk to the party or child's health, safety, or liberty will result;

(2) Inserting a savings clause in order to preserve existing powers, rights, penalties, and pending proceedings when the UCCJEA becomes effective and chapter 583, HRS, is repealed;

(3) Directing the revisor of statutes to insert the official commentary to the UCCJEA drafted by the NCCUSL, as recommended by the Judiciary in its testimony; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

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 H.B. No. 2120, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2120, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair