HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	261
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO conduct a STUDY on THE REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF JOINT PHYSICAL and lEGAL CUSTODY IN family court CHILD CUSTODY PROCEEDINGS.

     WHEREAS, Senate Resolution No. 10, Regular Session of 2007, authorized the Senate Committee on Human Services and Public Housing to conduct interim hearings on matters related to family court child custody proceedings; and

     WHEREAS, the purpose of these interim hearings was to provide all interested parties with access and information related to the family court system and child custody proceedings; and

     WHEREAS, the interim hearings addressed the issue of shared parenting through joint legal and physical custody with the focus on what the best interest of the child would be; and

     WHEREAS, shared parenting allows the parents and children substantial contact and residential time together and this may provide an opportunity for parents to amicably resolve child custody issues between each other; and

     WHEREAS, it is the policy of this State to assure that minor children have continued contact with their parents who have shown the ability to act in their child's best interest and to encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of rearing their children after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage; and

     WHEREAS, during the course of these interim hearings, several working groups were established and they submitted their findings and recommendations to the larger task force; and

     WHEREAS, the task force adopted the recommendations of the working groups which were later implemented by the Legislature, however, there were other issues that the task force was unable to explore fully; and

     WHEREAS, one issue the task force did not explore is the presumption of joint physical and legal custody of a minor child, in a divorce proceeding, where there is a rebuttable presumption that parents should equally share in the physical and legal parenting of the child; and

     WHEREAS, being unable to fully explore and discuss the presumption of joint physical and legal custody, the task force members are interested in exploring how other states have responded to this issue and whether our State should adopt similar legislation; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study on the presumption of joint or shared physical and legal custody in family court child custody proceedings; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include:

     (1)  A review and comparison of the other states' and countries' statutes and laws relating to the presumption of joint or shared physical and legal child custody;

     (2)  A review of studies conducted, if any, on the impact of the use of the presumption of joint or shared physical and legal child custody in contested and non-contested cases;

     (3)  A review of current Hawaii case law on the use of the foregoing presumptions and the applicable standards of proof; and

     (4)  A review of data regarding joint physical and legal custody requests in family court proceedings in Hawaii, which resulted in either a temporary or permanent court order, involving both contested and non-contested cases; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

REQUESTING STUDY ON JOINT LEGAL AND PHYSICAL CHILD CUSTODY.