STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2844

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2343

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2343, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE FAMILY COURT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow cases within the jurisdiction of the Intermediate Court of Appeals involving a judgment, order, or decree of a family court that affect the custody of a child or minor, including involuntary termination of parental rights, to be transferred to the Supreme Court.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that appeals involving the custody of children must be decided in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, there have been delays in numerous child custody cases. This measure will expedite the disposition of appeals from family court decisions by allowing appeals to the Intermediate Court of Appeals to be transferred to the Supreme Court.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2343, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2343, S.D. 2.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair