STAND. COM. REP. NO. 281-06

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2006

RE: H.B. No. 2609

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2609 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR EMPLOYEES IN NEW CENTURY CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to recognize the unique needs of charter schools by clarifying the collective bargaining process for charter school employees, including:

(1) Specifying that if a charter school employee's job description contains the duties and responsibilities of an employee that could be assigned to more than one bargaining unit, the duties and responsibilities that are performed by the employee for the majority of the time shall be the basis for the bargaining unit assignment;

(2) Authorizing the local school board of the charter school to negotiate a memorandum of agreement or supplemental collective bargaining agreement with the exclusive representative of the charter school employees;

(3) Designating as the exclusive representative of all charter school employees, the employee organization certified by the Hawaii Labor Relations Board as the collective bargaining agent;

(4) Designating the Charter School Administrative Office (CSAO) to distribute funds for cost items appropriated for and approved by the Legislature under a collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of agreement, or supplemental agreement covering charter school employees; and

(5) Allowing these cost items to be funded from a charter school's existing allocation or its other sources of revenue, if CSAO deems it appropriate.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association and many concerned individuals testified in support of this measure. CSAO and the Hawaii State Teachers Association supported the intent of this measure. The Office of Collective Bargaining and Board of Education offered comments.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2609 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment,

 

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KIRK CALDWELL, Chair

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ROY TAKUMI, Chair