SB1231 repeals Hawaii’s existing Uniform Parentage Act chapter and replaces it with a new parentage framework modeled in part on the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017. The bill updates the legal rules for establishing parent-child relationships through birth, marriage-based presumptions, voluntary acknowledgment, court adjudication, assisted reproduction, and surrogacy. It also adds a new concept of a “functional parent,” allowing a person who has acted as a parent in a child’s life to seek legal parentage if specified criteria are met and if recognition is in the child’s best interest.
The bill modernizes parentage law to reflect same-gender couples, nonmarital families, assisted reproductive technology, donor conception, and both gestational and genetic surrogacy. It sets procedures for jurisdiction, venue, notice, genetic testing, confidentiality, birth record changes, and enforcement of support orders. It also updates related statutes across family law, vital records, inheritance, child support, and court fee provisions so that references to “paternity” and the repealed chapter 584 are replaced with broader parentage terminology and the new chapter structure.
The bill would substantially revise Hawaii statutes by repealing chapter 584 and amending numerous cross-references in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, including provisions governing birth certificates, inheritance, family court jurisdiction, child support, confidentiality of records, and filing fees. It would authorize new legal pathways for parentage determinations, including functional parent claims, assisted reproduction parentage, and enforceable surrogacy agreements, while preserving court authority to issue support, custody, and related orders. The measure also directs the Department of Health and family courts to update records and procedures to align with the new parentage framework, with an effective date of January 1, 2026.
The available voting history suggests generally favorable committee sentiment: the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill with amendments on a 3-0 vote. The bill’s stated purpose and structure indicate a policy goal of modernizing and clarifying parentage law rather than narrowing parental rights. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so there is no recorded floor or hearing debate in the supplied materials, but the amendment and unanimous committee vote point to broad support at that stage.
The most likely areas of contention are the bill’s recognition of functional parent status, its treatment of same-gender and nonmarital parentage, and its detailed surrogacy provisions, especially the enforceability of agreements and the limited circumstances under which a surrogate may withdraw consent. The bill also expands the role of genetic testing and allows courts to recognize more than two parents in some cases, which could raise concerns about legal complexity and competing claims to parentage. In addition, the repeal of the existing chapter and the extensive conforming amendments may prompt questions about implementation, record confidentiality, and the interaction between parentage determinations and child support or inheritance rights.