Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 15:27:12 -1000 From: Mia H H Lam Subject: *ACTION ALERT*; Update #3 (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 12:17:34 -1000 From: Amy Sawyer To: POC Community Lst Subject: *ACTION ALERT*; Update #3 **ACTION ALERT** Date: February 25, 1999 To: Friends of POC/ACLU Fr.: Amy Sawyer, ACLU Legislative Coordinator Re: Update #3 The first major legislative deadline was Feb 19th and several bills are now dead. All active bills must complete their hearing(s) by the next big deadline (March 5th) before they can "cross-over" to the opposite chamber for review. Active bills are listed below: Issues (in the order they appear in this update): 1. G/L/B/T (issues affecting Gay, Lesb, Bi, Trans communities) 2. WOMEN 3. RELIGION 4. MEDICAL MARIJUANA 1. G/L/B/T HB775 - Marriage: limits marriage to opposite sex couples. COMMITTEES/STATUS: Referred to House Judiciary comm; not scheduled for hearing. To view bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/hb775_.htm OUR POSITION: Regarding marriage/domestic partnership, we still take the position that if a marriage bill is pushed, then legislators MUST pass a comprehensive domestic partnership bill. The civil rights community would not be upset, however, if the legislature did nothing on either bill this session and simply allowed the issue(s) to be decided in the court. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Speaker Say, Senate Judiciary Chair Oshiro, Vice Chair Hamakawa and Policy Committee key Ed Case and communicate your position. Contact information for the House (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/repdir.htm SB321 - Marriage: short form bill relating to marriage. COMMITTEES/STATUS: Referred to Senate Judiciary committee; not scheduled for hearing. OUR POSITION: None at this time because the bill does not have any content. Should it be amended to include language limiting marriage to opposite sex couples, ACLU would vigorously oppose it. (See ACLU position on HB775 above) IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate President, Mizuguchi and Judiciary Chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga and communicate your position (see ACLU's position on HB775 above) Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm SB1315 - Domestic Partnership: Governor's bill. Redefines reciprocal beneficiaries to persons who are not related by blood and who cannot marry. Gives RBs the legal rights that accrue to married couples. Adoption or other parental rights are excluded. COMMITTEES/STATUS: Referred to Senate Judiciary committee; not scheduled for hearing. To view bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb1315_.htm OUR POSITION: Regarding marriage/domestic partnership, we still take the position that if a marriage bill is pushed, then legislators MUST pass a comprehensive domestic partnership bill. The civil rights community would not be upset, however, if the legislature did nothing on either bill this session and simply allowed the issue(s) to be decided in the court IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax House and Senate President, Mizuguchi and Judiciary Chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga; and communicate your position.Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm HB1163/SB1151 - Discrimination: Adds "sexual orientation" as a protected basis in the laws against discrimination in public accommodations and housing. COMMITTEES/STATUS: House version has been referred to the House Labor and Judiciary committees. It has passed through the Hse Labor committee and has yet to be scheduled in the Hse Judiciary committee. The Senate version, SB1151 has a single referral to the Judiciary committee; it was heard on February 8th and the committee has deferred decision-making three times to Feb. 26th. To view House bill text (as amended): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/hb1163_hd1_.htm To view Senate bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb1151_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU strongly supports the inclusion of "sexual orientation" as a protected status in the area of housing and public accommodation. For more information about these bills, contact the bills' sponsor, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission at 586 8636. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate President Mizuguchi and Judiciary Chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga (urge them to pass SB1151); Contact House Speaker Say, Senate Judiciary Chair Oshiro, Vice Chair Hamakawa and Policy Committee key Ed Case and communicate your position. Tell them you would like to see HB1163 get a hearing in the Judiciary Committee and that such legislation should not be difficult to pass since Hawaii already prohibits discrimination on the basis of "sexual orientation" in the workplace.Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm Contact information for the House (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/repdir.htm SB605 SD1 - Hate Crimes: Establishes civil cause of action and sentence enhancement for hate crimes against persons because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, transgender, sexual orientation, age or disability. COMMITTEE/STATUS: This bill has been referred to Senate Judiciary and Senate Ways and Means. The Senate Judiciary has passed the bill with amendments and it has yet to be scheduled in Ways and Means. To view the bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb605_sd1_.htm OUR POSITION: Although the ACLU agrees with the intent of this bill, we see problems with certain sections of it.To view ACLU's testimony on hate crimes, go to: http://www.acluhawaii.org/legislature/hate_crimes_1999-01-29.html IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax House and Senate President, Mizuguchi and Ways and Means Co Chairs Fukunaga and Levin and communicate your position.Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sndir.htm SB1447 - "Religious freedom" at the expense of civil rights: Adds a new chapter to the Hawaii Revised Statutes to codify the protection of the free exercise of religion. This legislation is the result of a national state-by-state effort to override local civil rights law and elevate "religious freedom" above the civil liberties of individual citizens. SB1447 would allow "religious freedom" as a defense in discrimination cases, (this could particularly impact the g/l/b/t community if employers, for example, were allowed to discriminate because of their religious belief). Some religious groups are pushing "religious freedom" at the expense of civil rights law; don't let this happen! COMMITTEES/STATUS: This bill has a single referral to the Senate Judiciary committee; it has not been scheduled for hearing. To view the bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb1447_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU opposes the religious freedom bill as currently drafted; rights are always balanced and religious freedom can not trump civil rights if those civil right are already in the law. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate President Mizuguchi and Judiciary Chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga and communicate your position. Let them know you would oppose this bill unless it explicitly states that the bill shall not be construed to override State or local civil rights law.Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm 2. WOMEN For more information on women focused legislation, contact the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women at 586-5757 or email: hscsw@pixi.com (their website in currently under construction and should be up soon). HB532 HD2/SB826 SD1 - Gender Equity in Sports: Prohibits persons, on the basis of their sex, from being discriminated against in any interscholastic, club, or intramural athletics offered by a public school. Prohibits public schools from providing athletics separately on the basis of sex. COMMITTEES/STATUS: HB532 has been referred to the Education, Judiciary and Finance committees; Education, Judiciary and Finance have all heard the bill and passed it with amendments. To view amended bill text (note: House draft 3 (HD3) which contains the Fin committee's amendments is not currently available online): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/hb532_hd2_.htm SB826 SD1 has been referred to the Senate Education and Ways and Means Committees; Education has passed it with amendments and it has been scheduled to be heard by Ways and Means on 02-27-99 at 9:30 a.m. in conference room 211. To view bill text, as amended: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb826_sd1_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU strongly supports both bills. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate Ways and Means Co-chairs Fukunaga and Levin and communicate your position. Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm To find out how to submit testimony for the upcoming 2/27 hearing, go to: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/Pr rocessGuide/proces03.htm HB488/SB822 SD1 - Contraceptive services: Requires allhealth insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations to cease excluding contraceptive services and supplies from coverage by repealingthe provision of such coverage as a an employer option. COMMITTEES/STATUS: HB488 has been referred to the Consumer Protection and Finance committees; Consumer Protection committee heard the bill but has deferred its decision-making. To view bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/hb488_.htm SB822 SD1 has been referred to the Health and Consumer Protection committees; the Health committee passed this bill with amendments and Consumer Protection has scheduled the matter for hearing today, 02-25-99 at 9:00 a.m. in conference room 016. To view bill text as amended: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb822_sd1_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU strongly supports both bills. To view ACLU's recent testimony on this issue: http://www.acluhawaii.org/legislature/contraceptive_1999-02-18.html IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate Consumer Protection Co-chairs Kanno and Taniguchi and communicate your position. Contact information for the Senate(including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm SB820 - Pay Equity: Prohibits wage discrimination due to sex, race and national origin. For more information on local efforts for wage equity, contact the local AFL-CIO at 597-1441 or visit the Institute for Women's Policy Research website at: http://www.iwpr.org/STATES98.HTM COMMITTEES/STATUS: This bill has been referred to the Labor and Judiciary committees; Labor has passed it with amendments and it has yet to be scheduled in Judiciary. To view bill text as amended: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb820_sd1_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU supports this bill. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate Judiciary Co-chairs Matsunaga and Chumbley and communicate your position. Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/s ndir.htm HB531 - Prison/Drug Rehab: Money bill for the expansion of the drug rehabilitation program to ensure equal access for both male and female prisoners(currently, only males have access to drug rehab) COMMITTEES/STATUS: This bill has been referred to Public Safety and Finance; Public Safety passed it unamended and it has yet to be scheduled in Finance. To view bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb827_.htm OUR POSITION: The ACLU of Hawaii has always been a strong advocate for alternatives to incarceration including drug rehabilitation programs for non violent offenders (women prisoners make up the majority of non-violent offenders). It is not acceptable to provide access to drug rehabilitation to male offenders only. ACLU therefore, strongly supports this bill because it attempts to remedy that inequity. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax House Finance chair Takamine and Vice Chair Kawakami and communicate your position. Contact information for the House (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/repdir.htm 3. RELIGION BKGRND: "Religious freedom" legislation has been introduced on behalf of a coalition of religious conservatives headed up by the Seventh Day Adventists. The progressive religious community supported the bills initially, but members are rethinking their support since the ACLU called attention to the potential impact the bills could have on local civil rights law. The House version of the bill, HB1696 is dead, however SB1447 is still alive and could be advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB1447 - "Religious freedom" at the expense of civil rights: Adds a new chapter to the Hawaii Revised Statutes to codify the protection of the free exercise of religion. This legislation is the result of a national state-by-state effort to override local civil rights law and elevate "religious freedom" above the civil liberties of individual citizens. SB1447 would allow "religious freedom" as a defense in discrimination cases, (an example ). Some religious groups are pushing "religious freedom" at the expense of civil rights law; don't let this happen! COMMITTEES/STATUS: This bill has a single referral to the Senate Judiciary committee; it has not been scheduled for hearing. To view the bill text: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb1447_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU opposes the religious freedom bill as currently drafted; rights are always balanced and religious freedom can not trump civil rights if those civil right are already in the law. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/email/fax Senate President Mizuguchi and Judiciary Chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga and communicate your position. Let them know you would oppose this bill unless it explicitly states that the bill shall not be construed to override State or local civil rights law.Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm 4. MEDICAL MARIJUANA BKGRD: The ACLU has strongly supported both medical marijuana bills. It has testified in favor of both (testimony is not yet up on our website). For more detailed information about this issue and drug policy issues in general, contact the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and/or visit their website at: http://www.drugsense.org/dpfhi HB1157 - Medical Use of Marijuana: Ensures that severely ill or terminal ill patients are not penalized by the state for obtaining and using marijuana for medical purposes. It also ensures physicians are not penalized for providing their written professional opinion on the use of medical marijuana. COMMITTEES/STATUS: This bill has been referred to the House Health, Public Safety and Judiciary Committees; the Health and Public Safety Committees passed the bill with amendments and it has not yet been scheduled in Judiciary. To view bill text as amended: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/hb1157_hd1_.htm SB862 - Medical Marijuana: Allows for the acquisition,possession,cultivation, distribution, transportation, administration and use of marijuana for medical purposes. COMMITTEES/STATUS: Referred to Senate Health and Judiciary committees; the Senate Health committee has passed the bill with amendments and it has yet to be scheduled in Judiciary. http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session1999/bills/sb862_sd1_.htm OUR POSITION: ACLU supports both bills. IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: Call/fax/email House Judiciary Chair Oshiro and Vice Chair Hamakawa and communicate your position on HB1157. Contact Senate Judiciary Co-chairs Chumbley and Matsunaga regarding SB862. Contact information for the Senate (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/sendir.htm Contact information for the House (including tel/fax/email): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/CitizensGuide/repdir.htm I welcome all questions, comments and feedback. Sincerely, Amy Sawyer ACLU Coalition Coordinator P.O. Box 3410 Honolulu, HI. 96801 808/ 941-5849 direct phone 808/ 946-9448 fax (please call first) asawyer@hawaii.edu 808/522-5906 ACLU Hot Line 808/522-5909 ACLU fax http://www.acluhawaii.org (ACLU webpage) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Message sent with Aureate Group Mail Free Edition http://software.aureate.com