Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2224 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require state and county agencies having contracts, programs, and services affecting the parental preference law, to report annually to the legislature on the effect of implementation of that law.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from Parents and Children Together, the Hawaii Coalition for Dads, and The Institute for Family Enrichment.

Section 577-7.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), relating to eliminating parental preferences in government contracts, programs, and services, was enacted by Act 301, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2001, and will become effective July 1, 2002.

Your Committees believe that the legislature should be informed of the progress in implementing Act 301, SLH.

Your Committees realize that the mandates of the law could be difficult to implement in the short term, but should be feasible in the long term over a period of time for an internal administrative system to evolve. Furthermore, the law itself is

necessarily based on a somewhat subjective interpretation of the impact of a government contract, program, or service on child-rearing.

Your Committees find that the reporting requirement contained in this measure is the best means of evaluating Act 301, SLH 2001. It is not the intent of your Committees to impose needless administrative reporting requirements on government agencies. Your Committees request that all affected agencies comply with the reporting requirements with a view to promote family integration through proper child-rearing as affected by government contracts, programs, and services.

Your Committees amended this measure by replacing its contents with the contents of S.B. No. 2526, S.D. 1, which includes the judiciary among the agencies that must report to the legislature. In addition, your Committees further amended this measure to delete the requirement that reporting agencies detail every contract, service, or program affected. Your Committees believe that the affected agencies can provide a more general report regarding implementation of the program.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2224, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2224, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.