STAND. COM. REP. NO. 544-04
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: H.B. No. 1901
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1901 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PROTECTION,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of the bill is to provide immunity from:
(1) Prosecution for leaving an unharmed newborn at a hospital, fire station, or police station within 72 hours of birth; and
(2) Liability for hospitals, fire stations, and police stations, and their personnel for receiving a newborn.
Testimony in support of the measure was provided by the National Council for Adoption with concerns and the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women. The Department of Human Services and a concerned individual opposed the measure.
Your Committee finds that this measure will provide an alternative to mothers contemplating abandoning their newborns in unsafe public places.
Your Committee has amended the bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style and clarity.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1901, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1901, H.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
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____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |
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