REPORT TITLE:
Hawaiians


DESCRIPTION:
Exempts native Hawaiians from fees for vital statistics
certificates if certificates are required by law to verify
ancestry.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           457
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that many Hawaiians must
 
 2 verify their ancestry to make them eligible for government
 
 3 services and other programs, such as the department of Hawaiian
 
 4 home lands, the office of Hawaiian affairs, Kamehameha Schools
 
 5 and Bishop Estate, Lunalilo Trust, and Alu Like, Inc.  These
 
 6 individuals must first qualify or quantify their birthright in
 
 7 order to receive benefits or services.  The purpose of this Act
 
 8 is to exempt any Hawaiian from paying a fee for certified copies
 
 9 of birth, death, or marriage certificates, provided that these
 
10 documents are needed to prove Hawaiian ancestry to fulfill
 
11 documentation requirements as requested from any government
 
12 agency or private organization, in order for an individual to
 
13 qualify for entitlement benefits or services.
 
14      SECTION 2.  Section 338-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended to read as follows:
 
16      "�338-14.5  Copies of certificate; fees.  The fees for
 
17 certified copies of birth, marriage, divorce, or death
 
18 certificates issued by the department of health shall consist of
 
19 $10 for the first copy issued and $4 for each copy issued
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           457
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 thereafter.  These fees shall be collected for each single
 
 2 request for certified copies.  All fees received for the issuance
 
 3 of certified copies of birth, marriage, divorce, or death
 
 4 certificates shall be remitted to the director of health.  Upon
 
 5 the receipt of remittances under this section, the director of
 
 6 health shall deposit:
 
 7      (1)  $1 for each certified copy to the credit of the spouse
 
 8           and child abuse special account established under
 
 9           section 346-7.5;
 
10      (2)  $1 for each certified copy to the credit of the spouse
 
11           and child abuse special account established under
 
12           section 601-3.6;
 
13      (3)  $1 for each certified copy to the credit of the
 
14           domestic violence prevention special fund established
 
15           under section 321-1.3;
 
16      (4)  $1 for each certified copy to the credit of the vital
 
17           statistics improvement special fund established under
 
18           section 338-14.6; and
 
19      (5)  The remainder of the fee for each certified copy to the
 
20           credit of the state general fund.
 
21 No fee shall be charged for the issuance of a certificate if the
 
22 certificate is required by law to verify a person's eligibility
 
23 for certain services or benefits as a person of Hawaiian
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           457
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 ancestry.  A native Hawaiian applying for a certified copy of a
 
 2 birth, marriage, or death certificate shall provide the
 
 3 department with written verification of the need for the
 
 4 certified copy from the public or private programs requesting the
 
 5 certified documentation."
 
 6      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 7 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 8      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 9 
 
10                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________