State Rep. Eric Hamakawa has again sent a grandparents' rights bill to the "graveyard of good intentions," this time by refusing to hear it, says a grandmother lobbying for the bill. State lawmaker again
turns away ‘tutu bill’By Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinJackie Chong, chairwoman of Na Tutu, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, said the bill would have made it easier for hanai children to go to school in the districts of caregivers such as grandparents. Right now, caregivers need legal custody to make those decisions, even when parents are unable to care for their children because of drugs, jail or neglect, Chong said.
She said the "tutu bill" also died last year because House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Hamakawa (D, South Hilo-Puna) did not move the bill out of committee.
Hamakawa said this week he refused to hear the bill -- despite unanimous approval by three committees and the full Senate -- because "the bill as drafted in my review is flawed and doesn't deserve to move out in that fashion."
Chong said many grandparents raise their grandchildren from birth, and the only time they encounter problems is when they have to enroll them in school. Some grandparents are forced to "drive from one end of the island to the other" because a parent's last known address determines which school a child must attend, Chong said.
"All this bill would do is allow the grandparents to take care of the kids," she said. "As it is they do everything, they just can't enroll them in school." She said getting legal consent is costly and requires grandparents to go to court and testify, "My child is an unfit mother or father because of drugs or jail." Nobody wants to say that, she said.
Hamakawa countered, "If you care enough about your grandchild, you're going to do that."
The most important thing is what is in the child's best interest, not what is convenient or comfortable for the grandparents, he said.
Hawaii's bill was modeled after a law in California, one of nine states with educational consent laws.
But the measure, as originally written and passed by the Senate, would have taken effect 71 years from now, an "intentional flaw" signaling the bill needed more work, said House Health Chairman Dennis Arakaki (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley).
Arakaki, whose Keiki Caucus supported the measure, said he was disappointed by Hamakawa's inaction. At the same time, he acknowledged the bill had "many unanswered questions" about violating parental rights.
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