STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1392

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 12

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 12 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO STUDY JOINT OR SHARED PHYSICAL AND LEGAL CUSTODY PRESUMPTIONS IN FAMILY LAW AS ENACTED AND APPLIED BY OTHER JURISDICTIONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau to study joint or shared physical and legal custody presumptions in family law as enacted and applied by other jurisdictions.

     Two individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Legislative Reference Bureau, Oahu VOICES, and two individuals submitted comments.

     During the interim, the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House convened a task force to examine issues pertaining to the Hawaii Family Court.  Due to time constraints, the task force was unable to fully explore the issue of whether, in a divorce proceeding, a rebuttable presumption should exist that states that parents should share equally in the parenting of the child.  Task force members are interested in how other states address the issue before determining whether a similar rebuttable presumption should be established in Hawaii Family Court.  This measure will assist the task force in its deliberations.

     Your Committees have amended this measure, based on the Legislative Reference Bureau's testimony, by:

     (1)  Deleting the request that the study include a review and comparison of other countries' statutes relating to joint or shared physical and legal custody presumptions; and

     (2)  Deleting the request that the study include a review of data regarding joint physical and joint legal custody requests in Hawaii Family Court actions.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 12, as amended herein, recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 12, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair