Hawaii House Bill 444 - Content of The Bill

Content of The Bill

House Bill 444 H.D. 1 as introduced and passed by the Hawaii House of Representatives "extends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union." To be eligible for a civil union, the bill outlined that the person seeking a civil union may not already be in a civil union, marriage, or reciprocal beneficiary relationship with someone else, the two people seeking a civil union must be of the same sex, both members of the civil union must be 18 years or older, and the two partners must not be related. The bill also enumerated familial relationships in which civil unions would be automatically nullified, such as a man with his father, grandfather, or son, or a woman with her mother, grandmother, or daughter. If one of the persons had a guardian, the guardian had to consent for the subject to obtain a civil union.

Section 1, § —9 of House Bill 444 explained that "partners to a civil union ... shall have all the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law ... as are granted to spouses in a marriage." The bill also recognized domestic partnerships, civil unions, and same-sex marriages performed in other states as civil unions in Hawaii, and would have taken effect on January 1, 2010. In addition, House Bill 444 repealed a statute that declared "private solemnization not unlawful."

House Bill S.D. 1 444 as passed by the Hawaii Senate was amended to remove the bill's reference to same-sex couples, include language stating the legislature's intent not change the definition of marriage, and include partners in civil unions for use of the terms "spouse", "family", "immediate family", "dependent", and "next of kin". The language of the bill's coming into effect remained unchanged at January 1, 2010.