STAND. COM. REP. NO.  366

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 894

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 894 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VITAL RECORDS FEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support the vital statistics operations of the Department of Health by, among other things:

     (1)  Establishing fees of:

          (A)  $50 for expedited, certified copy service for birth, death, and marriage records that are already registered and accepted by the Department;

          (B)  $25 for any correction in the items on a vital statistics certificate initiated by a registrant or a registrant's parent or representative if the registrant is a minor;

          (C)  $10 for searches of files and records not involving the issuance of certified copies;

     (2)  Specifying that the fees collected be deposited into the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund rather than the General Fund;

     (3)  Clarifying that the fees collected shall be used to offset the administrative costs of activities related to the registration, processing, and issuance of vital records; and

     (4)  Increasing fees for copies of birth, marriage, divorce, or death certificates issued by the Department of Health and stipulating where these fees are to be deposited.

The Department of Health provided testimony in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Police Department provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the amount of the appropriation out of the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund from $500,000 to an unspecified sum;

     (2)  Changing the amounts of the newly established fees and proposed fee increases to unspecified amounts;

     (3)  Changing the amount of the increase in fees for copies of birth, marriage, divorce, or death certificates to be deposited into various funds to an unspecified amount;

     (4)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 894, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 894, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair