Bill Text: HI HB128 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Minor Parents; Grandparents; Child Support
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-12-17 - Carried over to 2016 Regular Session. [HB128 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-HB128-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
128 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the State can increase the effectiveness of the State's child support program by clarifying the liability of grandparents in accordance with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105, also known as the Welfare Reform Act.
The legislature further finds that rather than being considered an entitlement, welfare programs should place more emphasis upon the transition of recipients from welfare dependence to family support.
The legislature recognizes the important role that the family of a minor parent plays in the welfare of the minor parent and the children of the minor parent. Parents of a minor parent can hold the minor parent accountable for child rearing, teach the minor parent proper parenting skills, and encourage the minor parent to complete high school and higher education and participate in job training, employment, and early childhood education programs. Thus, the legislature finds that the parents of a minor parent should be financially responsible for the minor parent and the child of the minor parent. This will strengthen familial bonds and have other beneficial consequences for the well-being of the minor parent and his or her child, including reducing their dependency on public assistance.
To date, at least thirteen states have enacted a statute that provides for such grandparent liability for child support. Some of the statutes were enacted in the wake of the enactment of title 42 United States Code section 666(a)(18), and limit liability of grandparents to those cases where the parents of the child are minors and the custodial minor parent is receiving public assistance. Other states have statutes that predate the Welfare Reform Act and are modeled more along the lines of the Elizabethan Poor Laws, which were passed by the English Parliament in the 1600s. These thirteen states include Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to authorize the child support enforcement agency to pursue child support and maintenance for a child born to a minor from any parent of the minor.
SECTION 2. Chapter 576D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§576D- Child support obligations of grandparents. (a) When a child is born to a minor the agency may pursue support and maintenance for that child from any parent of the minor, until the minor reaches the age of eighteen.
(b) The agency shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate the purpose of this section."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Minor Parents; Grandparents; Child Support
Description:
Authorizes the Child Support Enforcement Agency to pursue support and maintenance for a child born to a minor from any parent of the minor. (HB128 HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
