STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.219

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1423

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1423 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A COMMISSION ON FATHERHOOD,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a Commission on Fatherhood within the Office of the Governor, to provide for a statewide program, on a permanent and continuing basis, to promote healthy family relationships between parents and children that are father-friendly and inclusive.

The measure also requires the Office of the Governor to provide staff and administrative support to the Commission.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Coalition for Dads; Parents and Children Together; and the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. Testimony in support of the intent of this measure was submitted by the Judiciary. The Office of Information Practices submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that government on all levels can and should take immediate action to encourage the active participation by fathers of all ages in raising their children and to develop and implement comprehensive strategies to strengthen the role of fathers in their children's lives. Additional investment in fatherhood would broaden the population served; provided that there is support of and coordination between existing programs, and that these new initiatives are not funded at the expense of another vital human service program.

Your Committee further finds that, through the establishment of this Commission, Hawaii will join a growing national fatherhood movement and position itself to leverage federal support for fatherhood initiatives, as proposed by President Bush.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the Judiciary representative from the Commission, in response to testimony from the Judiciary declining participation, as the Commission will be a policy-making body, which is strictly a legislative/executive function;

(2) Clarifying that the Commission meetings shall be subject to the requirements of the Sunshine Law, Chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(3) Making other technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1423, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1423, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

		____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair