CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 66

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2011

RE:    H.B. No. 56

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

       C.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 56, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD VISITATION,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this bill is to clarify the process for a petition of grandparents' visitation rights by:

(1)  Permitting the family court to award grandparents reasonable visitation rights; provided that denial of reasonable visitation rights would cause significant demonstrable harm to the child;

(2)  Establishing a rebuttable presumption that a parent's decision regarding visitation is in the best interests of the child; and

(3)  Identifying factors that the family court shall consider when awarding grandparent visitation rights.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by changing its effective date to July 1, 2011.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 56, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 56, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair	____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Co-Chair
____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Co-Chair	____________________________ BLAKE K. OSHIRO, Co-Chair