STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1754

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1058

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1058, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ADOPTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require an adopted individual to be considered a child of both the adopted and natural parents for the sole purpose of determining familial relationships, including for purposes of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and three individuals.

Your Committee finds that pursuant to section 578-16(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the former legal parent or parents of an adopted individual and any other former legal kindred is not considered to be related to the individual as provided in the Uniform Probate Code. As an unintended consequence, there are cases where Hawaiian home land lessees, as well as waiting list applicants, who have biological children that were adopted, could not transfer and succeed a lease to those biological children, or designate the biological child as a successor to a lease application, as the relationship between parent and child is effectively severed by the adoption. In other cases, lessees and waiting list applicants who were adopted, could not transfer and succeed a lease to their natural family members, or designate a natural family member as a successor to a lease application, due to having been adopted. This measure will allow the adopted individual and the individual's natural family to maintain the same familial relationship in order to transfer and succeed to a lease, or succeed to a lease application, despite the legal effect of adoption.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Making it effective upon its approval; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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 H.B. No. 1058, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1058, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair