HRC's Regional Field Director Tony Wagner has a new update from Hawaii:
Yesterday (February 5), the Hawai’i House Judiciary Committee voted 12-0 to move a civil unions bill to the floor of the state House for final approval by that body. This is a great victory for advocates of equality in the Aloha state! What’s striking is that all 12 Judiciary Committee members at the hearing voted in the affirmative. It appears that a few representatives voted in favor of civil unions who had previously been reported as undecided. And in another sign of momentum for the civil unions bill, an estimated 80% of the testimony that was submitted was supportive of the bill. The bill will next be considered by the full House in a vote that could come as early as next week. House passage is likely, as 32 of the chamber’s 51 members have signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. The true test for the civil unions bill will come in the Senate Judiciary Committee where the vote appears to be too close to call. It’s been reported that the outcome could hinge on the vote of Sen. Robert Bunda, who represents the North Shore and Wahiawa. Currently, the anticipated vote count stands at 3-2, with Sen. Bunda as undecided. Should the civil unions bill pass both chambers of the legislature, it will go to the desk of Republican Governor Linda Lingle. As of this posting, there has been no indication about the Governor’s position on the bill. HRC has been working with the Family Equality Coalition to build support for the civil unions bill and for a marriage bill that has also been introduced in the Hawai’i legislature. Read more about Hawai’i on Back Story here.
