HAWAII: Civil Unions Advances In House

Last month Hawaii's civil unions bill passed in the state Senate. And last night an 11-2 vote moved the bill out of committee and to the full House for a vote expected to be made in the next week or so.

The state House Judiciary Committee voted last night to approve a civil-unions bill with amendments to ensure that the relationships are recognized in the tax code and are under the jurisdiction of family court. "It's still fast-tracked. I think the Senate now has the opportunity just to agree to these amendments that probably should have been considered when it was first passed," Rep. Gil Keith-Agaran (D, Kahului-Paia), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said after the 11-2 vote.