RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee was established in 1986 by section 560:5-610, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and is administratively attached to the Disability and Communication Access Board, which is attached to the Department of Health; and

WHEREAS, the statute provides that an incapacitated person for whom a guardian of the person has been appointed and who, because of the terms of the appointment of the guardian, lacks the legal power to consent to sterilization, and who has attained the age of eighteen years, has the legal right to be sterilized provided that in non-emergency situations, the person cannot be sterilized without court approval; and

WHEREAS, the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee was established to provide clinical and technical support to the Family Court when it has a hearing on such a petition but such support is up to the individual Family Court judge's discretion; and

WHEREAS, the committee does not meet unless it receives a request for a technical consultation from the court, and even though two petitions were presented and withdrawn since 2000, the committee has not been required to review a petition in its entirety since 1995; and

WHEREAS, there have been no significant monetary costs to operate the committee because of its lack of activity, but this lack of activity also makes it difficult to attract suitable members and retain their interest in the committee; and

WHEREAS, in 1996, funding for the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee was eliminated with the understanding that the Department of Health would provide it with staff resources and that only incidental expenses would be required to support the committee's functions; and

WHEREAS, a staff person in the Department of Health's Health Information Systems Office provides procedural and logistical support and the Disability and Communications Access Board provides general oversight and fiscal support for the committee; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study and make recommendations on the future of the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee, including any recommended statutory changes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in its review, the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to, at a minimum, seek input from the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee, the Department of Health, the Disability and Communication Access Board, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Family Court; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Reproductive Rights Protection Committee, the Chairperson and the Executive Director of the Disability and Communication Access Board, the Chairperson and the Executive Administrator of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Senior Judge of the Family Court and the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Report Title:

Reproductive Rights Protection Committee