STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1739-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: H.C.R. No. 73

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health & Human Services, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 73 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONVENE A TWO-YEAR WORKING GROUP TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF SURROGATES, GESTATIONAL CARRIERS, INTENDED PARENTS, AND CHILDREN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of the Attorney General to convene and lead a surrogacy working group to consider whether and how the State should regulate gestational surrogacy.

The Department of the Attorney General, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, Hawaii Women Lawyers, Hawai‘i LGBT Legal Association, and an individual provided testimony in support of this measure. The Office of Information Practices submitted comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by removing the working group's exemption from the requirements for public agency meetings and records in Chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statute.

Your Committee notes that the Department of the Attorney General testified that surrogacy arrangements are already occurring in Hawaii but there is no uniform way to handle them and that it is timely to determine the answers to the questions raised in this measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 73, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 73, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair