STAND. COM. REP. NO. 494

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 1000

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1000, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to improve the safety of children in regulated child care settings by:

(1) Requiring criminal history checks of adult relatives who provide care for a child whose family receives a child care subsidy;

(2) Allowing the Department of Human Services (DHS) to take both administrative and judicial action to enforce child care licensing requirements;

(3) Clarifying when information about an investigation of a complaint will be released to the public;

(4) Clarifying that the program shall share information and cooperate with child welfare services and law enforcement during investigations; and

(5) Increasing the fines for violations of provisions for licensure of group child care homes and for registration of family child care homes.

DHS, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and one individual supported this measure. The Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by removing the limitation on DHS's withholding of information about a complaint to the public.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1000, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1000, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair