Date: Wed, 05 Feb 1997 14:24:46 -1000 From: lambda@aloha.net (Martin Rice) Subject: HAWAI`I SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT ON HD 118, HD1, SD1 Aloha auwinala kakou. This should be the final broadcast of the day, at least until this afternoon's paper gets here . . . . STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 11 Honolulu, Hawai`i February 4, 1997 RE: H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, S.D. 1 Honorable Norman Mizuguchi President of the Senate Nineteenth State Legislature Regular Session of 1997 State of Hawai`i Sir: Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, entitled: "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNMARRIED COUPLES." begs leave to report as follows: The purpose of H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, as received by your Committee, is to establish the status of reciprocal beneficiaries and provide limited governmental benefits to those with such status. Your Committee finds that the issue of same sex marriage has been debated in public forums through the legislative process for four years now. Your Committee further finds that the wide-range of opinions of the various members of our community have been repeatedly expressed during those four years, and, unfortunately this issue still divides our community. Thus, your Committee believes it important to acknowledge that H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, is a heartening change from the position taken by the House of Representatives last year, when they did not want to consider providing legal status for nor extending any governmental rights to unmarried couples. Further, the extension of these governmental benefits remains contingent upon ratification of the proposed constitutional amendment suggested in H.B. No. 117, S.D. 1. H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, supports providing limited benefits as follows: 1) hospital visitation and health care decisions; 2) holding property as tenants in the entirety; 3) inheritance rights; and 4) the right to sue for wrongful death. We find these to be among the most appropriate and important governmental privileges that could be reasonably extended. Thus, as a starting point, your Courtittee considered the provisions of N.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, as well as the provisions contained in S.B. No. 98, Relating to Economic Benefits, a measure co-introduced by 10 of our Senate colleagues, including three members of this Committee. S.B. No. 98 includes similiar provisions as H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, and also allows parties to file a joint tax return and claim dependents. However, your Committee cannot in all fairness find that appropriate governmental benefits should be limited to "rights after death." During our deliberations, your Conaittee received testimony from various organizations and individuals both in support of and in opposition to providing legal status and extending governmental benefits to unmarried couples. Thus, taking the specifically identified provisions of H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1 and S.B. No. 98 as guideposts to the types of rights that might be reasonably extended to couples legally prohibited from marriage, we have identified additional governmental rights that should be appropriately included in an expanded rights package. Your Committee further notes, however, that these additional governmental rights do not include all spousal rights and benefits, nor does it impose all marital burdens. This is because it is the Committee's view that the extension of such rights and burdens can and should be limited when a substantial government interest would be injured by such an extension. Accordingly, this identification of additional rights has excluded from the extended benefits package those benefits which could conflict with other substantial governmental interests, such as the State's interest in preserving the traditional family, and conflicts with federal law or interstate agreements. Your Committee further notes that the exclusion of certain rights is not because we believe that they should not or cannot be extended to reciprocal beneficiaries. Rather, we have included in this bill, certain governmental rights that we believe any fair minded Citizen would agree should reasonably be extended to others. Upon further consideration by your Committee, H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, has been amended as follows; 1) Imposes a residency requirement of one year for both applicants, as an additional qualification for reciprocal beneficiary status; 2) Extends health care benefits to reciprocal beneficiaries of the same gender; 3) Extends various governmental benefits to all reciprocal beneficiary relationships including; state government retirement system benefits; state tax benefits; workers' conpensation benefits; anatomical gifts and corpse disposition rights; criminal victims rights; inheritance of public leases; family leave benefits; mental health notifications and authority; certain criminal and collection defenses; partnership exceptions; tort standing; and criminal enforceatent of certain domestic violence and youthful offender statutes; 4) Adds an exception to Part IV of Chapter 23, Hawai`i Revised Statutes, related to mandated health benefits; 5) Adds a severability clause; 6) Amends the effective date to upon ratification of the constitutional amendment contained in H.B. No.117, S.D. 1; and 7) Makes technical, non-substantive changes for the purposes of clarity and style. As affirmed by the record of votes of the menbers 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. 118, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the fona attached hereto as H.B. No. 118, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading. Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary /s/Avery B. Chumbley /s/Matt Matsunaga SSCR HB118 SD1 JDC ~~pau~~