STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3197

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3114

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3114, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MARRIAGE LICENSES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal fees related to obtaining a license to solemnize civil marriage ceremonies to conform to requirements of religious and judicial marriage performers.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committees find that there are no fees for licenses to solemnize marriages for religious and judicial marriage solemnizers while recent legislation established fees for civil licenses to solemnize marriages. Your Committees further find that there are costs associated with issuing marriage licenses and therefore instead of repealing fees for civil solemnizers, the State should defray some of those costs with a modest license fee applicable to all solemnizers.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Incorporating the recommendations proposed by the Department of Health as follows:

(A) Establishing a $25 fee for all licenses to solemnize a marriage to be deposited into the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund; and

(B) Specifying that the Department of Health is required to account for the collection and deposit of the fee into the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3114, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3114, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair