STAND. COM. REP. NO. 599
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 557
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 557 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY COURT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to institute better oversight and accountability with respect to role of custody evaluators in child custody and visitation determinations, regulate and defray the amount of fees charged by experts retained by the parties or the court, and conduct a review of the operations of the Hawaii Family Court.
Specifically, this measure:
(1) Replaces custody evaluators with court appointed fact-finders who only report facts and do not make recommendations concerning child custody or visitation arrangements;
(2) Establishes the Family First Revolving Funds to pay for the expenses of retaining and utilizing an expert in assisting a judge in a custody or visitation dispute; and
(3) Enacts the Family Court Review Commission to conduct an unbiased and public review of the processes and procedures of the Hawaii Family Court, court appointed service providers, and other issues relating to case management in the Family Court, including increasing the use of alternative dispute resolution in family court proceedings.
Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Children's Rights Council, Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and six individuals. The Judiciary offered comments on the measure.
Your Committee finds that better oversight regarding the performance of custody evaluators must be instituted. There is a concern that the recommendations of the custody evaluators are given too much weight by Family Court judges. Therefore, this measure amends the functions of custody evaluators by making them fact-finders. Further your Committee also finds that issues relating to the accountability of custody evaluators and other court appointed personnel warrant further review and discussion.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Endowing the Family Court with the authority to order the parties to pay for all or a portion of the fees charged by an expert or a person retained by a party or the court, as opposed to utilizing the Family First Revolving Fund as the exclusive source of compensation for payment of these fees; and
(2) Removing the Family Court Review Commission from this measure in response to concerns voiced by the Judiciary with respect to a potential separation of powers violation by the Legislature in requiring the Judiciary to administer and conduct an audit of the Judiciary's internal processes, procedures, and personnel. Your Committee recommends that the Committee on Ways and Means obtain a legal opinion from the Senate Majority Office on this issue before proceeding.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 557, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 557, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair |
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