Date: Tue, 08 Apr 1997 10:29:24 -1000
From: lambda@aloha.net (Martin Rice)
Subject: FLASH--Report on the Hawai`i Joint Conference Committee

Aloha awakea kakou.

Received this first reoprt via telephone from the State Capitol in Honolulu
from Bill Woods, president of the Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy
(GLEA) Foundation at 10am HST.  Look for other postings on the committee
later today.  Print media will may have this story for this afternoon's
edition, but most probably, it won't be avialable until tomorrow.



The Hawai`i Senate Joint Conference Committee conferees, seeking to address
the concerns of their chamber and that of the Hawai`i House of
Representatives conferees, have just made the following proposals regarding
HB 117, relating to a Constitutional Amendment to regulate marriage and HB
118, a new law defining Reciprocal Beneficiaries.

The Senate's newest version of HB 117 reads roughly as follows:

"The legislature shall have the power to regulate the issuances of marriage
licenses."

The specific intent DOES NOT address any civil rights concerns and leaves
the door open for same-sex couples to seek rights and benefits bestowed to
opposite-sex couples through the issuance of marriage licenses. 

The Senate's version of HB 118 makes two substanitial changes to the House's
counterproposal regarding the establishment of a new Reciprocal
Beneficiaries law:

     1)  Deletes the residency requirement (as unconstitutional)
     2)  Extends health care coverage (the House's counterproposal allowed
for the employer to extend health coverage to a partner, but also reserved
the right of the employer to refuse to pay for the additional cost, which
would be borne by the partner.)

The Senate's new counterproposal also instructs the Legislative Reference
Bureau to review and study the ifiscal mpact of HB 118 on Worker's
Compensation Insurance, Personal Income Taxes, Unemployment Insurance and
Pre-paid Health Insurance, and to issue a report due to the Legislature no
less than 20 days before the start of the next Legislative session in
January of 1998.

Further, the Senate's version of HB 118 would become immediately active if
passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

However, the Hawai`i Attorney General Margery Bronster noted that it is
constitutionally questionable, and possibly illegal, to connect a statute to
a constitutional amendment.

~~pau~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  "Is there any truth to the rumor that a gay man is
  in the body of Martha Stewart?"
                                           --Unknown
                         ~~~~~
                    Fred and Martin
                       24 years,
                 yet strangers before
                        the law
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~