Bill > HB729

This bill aims to end child marriage in Hawaii by raising the minimum age to marry from sixteen to eighteen years old, removing all provisions that previously allowed minors under eighteen to marry with parental or court consent. The bill eliminates the ability of guardians to consent to a minor's marriage, repeals sections of law that permitted family court approval of marriages for minors, and removes marriage as a pathway to emancipation for minors. Additionally, the bill repeals sexual assault exemptions that previously existed if the perpetrator was legally married to the minor, effectively closing legal loopholes that could enable sexual abuse. The legislation is part of a broader national and international movement to protect children from forced or coerced marriages, drawing on United Nations data that shows child marriage disproportionately affects girls and can have significant negative social and economic consequences. The bill's findings note that between 2000 and 2015, over 207,000 children were married in the United States, with some marriages involving children as young as twelve, and in Hawaii, approximately 800 children were married since 2000, with 80% being girls marrying adult men. The bill will take effect on July 1, 3000, and does not retroactively affect marriages or legal proceedings that occurred before its implementation.