STAND. COM. REP. NO. 63

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 134

       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 Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 134 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PARTITION OF HEIRS PROPERTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to adopt the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which establishes procedures and remedies for use in actions for partition of real property involving heirs property.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

     Your Committee finds that in 2010, the Uniform Law Commission promulgated the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act to provide a fair solution to the risks posed to those who own heirs property, which is real property held in tenancy in common that meets certain requirements.  This measure adopts the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act and establishes a hierarchy of remedies designed to protect a family's property holdings and real property wealth for partition actions involving heirs property.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the movant for determination that property is heirs property shall send notice to the parties, rather than the court, for purposes of cotenant buyouts;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 134, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 134, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair