Weekly Recap
From Hawaii Family Forum, May 4, 2018
Legislature Ends
MAY 3 ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE - In Latin, "sine die" means "without a day specified for future meeting." Adjournment sine die occurs on the 60th legislative day of a Regular Session, and indicates a suspension of the business of the legislature indefinitely. Next, the Legislature will certify the bills whose form both chambers have agreed to, and will transmit or "enroll" those bills to the Governor.
These bills have passed the legislature, but they are not law yet. There are deadlines that apply that vary depending on when the bill is enrolled to the Governor. The deadlines are spelled out in the Hawaii State Constitution (Article III, Section 16). The Governor has three choices now that the bill is in his hands:
- The Governor may sign the bill and it becomes law.
- The Governor may veto the bill, and it is sent back to the legislature with a statement outlining why the governor found the legislation unacceptable. It will not become law* unless that veto is overridden. The House and Senate may call themselves back into Special Session in order to attempt an override of any vetoes. For a bill to become law after being vetoed, it must pass with a 2/3 super majority vote in each chamber. If the bill fails to garner those votes in either chamber, it is dead, and does not become law.
- The Governor may choose to allow the bill to become law without his or her signature. This happens if the Governor hasn't either signed the bill or vetoed it by a certain date. Why do this? There may be a variety of reasons, ranging from wanting to distance himself or herself from the legislation to being against the bill but fearing that a veto would be overridden.
* An exception to this are the Executive and Judiciary budget bills, which are subject to "line item" vetoes - they may become law with the exception of specified line items that the Governor has vetoed. Other bills may only be vetoed as a whole.
Therapy Ban Bill Passes with Task Force Included!
According to state lawmakers, the purpose of SB270 CD1 is to:
(1) Protect the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, against exposure to serious harms caused by sexual orientation change efforts by regulating the conduct of specific state-licensed persons who provide professional counseling to minors under the age of eighteen and prohibiting these professionals from engaging in, attempting to engage in, or advertising the offering of sexual orientation change efforts on persons under eighteen years of age; and
(2) Establish the sexual orientation counseling task force to address the concerns of minors seeking counseling.
SENATE -- Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1).
- 24 Ayes
- 1 No(es): Senator(s) Gabbard.
HOUSE -- Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1
- 45 Ayes
- 5 Noes; Representative(s) Choy, Har, Kong, McDermott, Ward
- 1 Excused; Representative Takumi excused
5/3/2018 -- Enrolled to Governor.
Suicide Prevention Bill Allocates 25k for Maui!
HB 2169 CD1 appropriate $25k to support 5 youth suicide early intervention, prevention, and education 6 initiatives in Maui county. Even though we are disappointed that this is the only suicide PREVENTION bill to make it out of the legislature, we supported the bill because Maui county has the highest rate of youth suicide attempts in the State.
SENATE -- Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1).
HOUSE -- Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1
- Ayes, 50
- No, 1; Representative(s) Choy
Five-Year Pilot Program Gets Funded!
HB2277 CD1 establishes a five-year pilot 8 project within the department of human services to ensure the 9 safety and well-being of at-risk children and families in east 10 Hawaii on Hawaii island by appropriating funds for four full 11 time equivalent (4.0 FTE) child/adult protective services 12 specialists, administrative costs for the east Hawaii child 13 welfare services section on Hawaii island, and travel costs for 14 the child welfare services division to train new hires.
The bill received a unanimous vote in both House and Senate!
HOUSE -- Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1
SENATE -- Passed Final Reading, as amended in CD 1
The bill will now go to the Governor for action.
From Around the Nation
HHS agrees to investigate Hawaii for forcing pregnancy centers, doctors to promote abortion
April 30, 2018
ADF attorneys filed complaint over violations of federal conscience protections
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to investigate the state of Hawaii for forcing pregnancy centers and pro-life doctors to advertise for the abortion industry. The federal Church and Weldon amendments do not allow states which receive federal funding to compel medical personnel to operate contrary to their conscience or religious beliefs.
In September of last year, Alliance Defending Freedom asked the HHS Office of Civil Rights to investigate Hawaii and Illinois. HHS is still considering whether to investigate Illinois. ADF attorneys represent pro-life pregnancy centers and physicians in a federal lawsuit in Hawaii and both a state and federal lawsuit in Illinois.
Full news release, quotes, and related media resources available at the following link.
Kansas Becomes 9th State to Protect Faith-Based Adoption Providers
Topeka-- Late last night, the Kansas Legislature passed the Adoption Protection Act, making Kansas the ninth state to protect the right of faith-based adoption agencies to continue their good work.
The following quote may be attributed to Eric Teetsel, President and Executive Director of Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, (our counterpart in Kansas) who was heavily involved in advocating for the bill's passage: "By passing the provisions of the Adoption Protection Act, the Kansas legislature has ensured that private, faith-based adoption and foster care service providers will remain free to help kids find their forever family. These agencies are indispensable parts of the diverse network of providers who partner with the state to ensure that each child is safe, provided for, and loved. While other states shut down faith-based providers by establishing a radical, left-wing sexual litmus test, Kansas has made clear: everyone is welcome here.
This would not have been possible without the thousands of Kansans all over the state who joined us in calling on elected leaders in Kansas to not just talk about the importance of religious freedom--but to actually do something to protect faith-based adoption and foster care providers who selflessly serve Kansas children."
HFF Signs Onto National Letter Asking HHS to Revise Title X Family Planning Rules
More than 85 national and state pro-life groups, including Hawaii Family Forum, are asking the Trump administration's Department of Health & Human Services to take action on a top pro-life policy priority after Congress failed to stop taxpayer funding of abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood. The coalition today sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking him to revise Title X family planning rules.
The letter states:
"For far too long the Title X Family Planning Program has been integrated with abortion centers. It is time to act swiftly to disentangle abortion centers from the Title X network. Doing so would be consistent with the President's pledge and subsequent actions to defund Planned Parenthood and reallocate funding to alternative providers."
A Marist poll from January 2018 found that six in ten Americans oppose the use of taxpayer funding for abortion.
LINK: READ FULL ARTICLE AND TO VIEW LETTER
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