STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1523

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 805

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 805, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS DISABILITY BENEFITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Exempt federal veterans' disability compensation benefits from claims of creditors and attachment, levy, and seizure to enforce a court judgment; and

     (2)  Clarify that only the portion of a veteran's disability benefits that is not considered to be disability compensation, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation benefits rate, is subject to child and spousal support enforcement under title 42 United States Code section 659(h)(1)(A)(ii)(V).

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association for Uniformed Services.

     Your Committee finds that disabled veterans have sacrificed in the name of duty, honor, and country.  The federal benefits that a disabled veteran receives need to be protected from creditors and third parties.  Implementation of this measure safeguards veterans' federal disability benefits.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its contents and inserting language from S.B. No. 1159, S.D. 2 (Regular Session of 2015), a substantially similar measure that:

     (1)  Exempts federal veterans' disability benefits from claims of creditors and attachment, levy, and seizure to enforce a court judgment, but also encourages the courts to follow federal disability compensation apportionment policy before imposing child and spousal support payments; and

     (2)  Becomes effective on January 7, 2059.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 805, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 805, H.D. 2, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair