Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2593 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to clarify that in child protective proceedings under chapter 587, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Child Protective Act, all documents are exempt from filing fee requirements.

The Judiciary testified in support of this bill.

The Judiciary's long-standing practice has been to waive filing fees in child protective proceedings. It appears to your Committee that the need to memorialize the fee waiver in statutory provisions regarding court and witness fees in Family Courts and regarding the Circuit Court fee schedule that applies to documents filed in Family Courts may have been overlooked when the Child Protective Act was enacted in 1983.

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 S.B. No. 2593 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.