STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1127-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2315

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JURY DUTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to meet the health needs of Hawaii's mothers and babies by exempting mothers who breastfeed or express breast milk from jury duty, provided that the exemption ends when the mother is no longer breastfeeding or expressing breast milk.

The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, Hawaii Women's Coalition, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, Hawaii Women Lawyers, Breastfeeding Hawaii, American Association of University Women in Hawaii, and several concerned individuals supported this measure.  The Judiciary provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Removing the jury duty exemption for a mother who is breastfeeding a child or expressing breast milk;

     (2)  Exempting parents from jury duty for the active care and custody of their natural born or adopted child while the child is six months old or younger; and

     (3)  Making conforming amendments to the preamble section.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

DEE MORIKAWA, Chair