STAND. COM. REP. NO.  395

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1502

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Transportation and Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1502 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELEWORK,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to reduce the impacts of traffic congestion on the environment, encourage a better quality of life for Hawaii's workers, and reduce Hawaii's dependence on fossil fuels by establishing a telework task force to develop a comprehensive plan to encourage and expand telework opportunities in Hawaii.

 

     The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, ComTel, Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Human Resources Development submitted comments.

 

     Telework is a concept that is growing across the nation.  Today's technology allows people to perform the same functions they perform at work in their own homes using the internet and personal computers.  Teleworking also provides a number of additional benefits including savings on transportation costs, reduced traffic congestion as less cars are needed to transport people to and from work, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions due to the reduction in car use, and a better quality of life as people spend more time at home with their families than on the road.

 

     Although some businesses currently use the concept of telework in Hawaii, your Committees find that establishing a task force to determine methods to encourage and expand this concept is a step in the right direction.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Labor & Public Employment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1502 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 Transportation and Labor & Public Employment,

 

 

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair