Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2443 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a joint legislative task force to determine the visitation rights, if any, of grandparents and hanai individuals with the children they have informally raised while the children's biological parents were unwilling or unable to do so.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Your Committee finds that a task force will examine the issues related to grandparents and hanai individuals informally raising children in Hawaii and make recommendations to the legislature regarding what visitation rights these individuals should have, if any, after the children are reunited with their biological parents.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

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. 2443, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2443, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.