Bill > SCR99

This joint resolution seeks to ratify a proposed constitutional amendment originally introduced in 1924 that would grant Congress the power to limit, regulate, and prohibit labor for persons under eighteen years of age. The resolution provides historical context about child labor in the United States, noting that the 1900 census revealed approximately two million children working in various industries, and describing previous unsuccessful legislative attempts to regulate child labor through laws like the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act and the Child Labor Tax Law, which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The proposed amendment, known as House Joint Resolution 184, would explicitly authorize Congress to regulate child labor while preserving state powers, but it has never been fully ratified, with only twenty-eight states having approved it by 1937. Although federal child labor regulations now exist through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, this resolution aims to symbolically support the original amendment and put Hawaii "on the right side of history" by formally ratifying the proposed constitutional amendment. The resolution calls for transmitting certified copies to various federal officials, including the Archivist of the United States and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Government Affairs

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SCR&billnumber=99&year=2025