STAND. COM. REP. NO. 318

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1314
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and
Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B.
No. 1314 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR
     TRUSTEES OF THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide retirement
benefits to the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  A representative of the Hawaiian
Political Action Council of Hawaii (HPACH) testified in
opposition to the measure.  The Employees Retirement System
provided comments on the measure.

     Your Committees find that prior to July 1, 1982, the
Employees Retirement System provided Trustees of the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs, delegates to a constitutional convention, and
members of the Board of Education with the same retirement
benefits as elected officials.  On July 1, 1982, Act 165, Session
Laws of Hawaii 1982 (Act 165), was enacted.  Act 165 clarified
the definition of "elected official" within Chapter 88, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, and effectively excluded Trustees of the Office
of Hawaiian Affairs, delegates to a constitutional convention,
and members of the Board of Education from the definition of
"elected official" on the basis that these persons received no
compensation for the performance of their duties.  The Employees

 
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Retirement System was required to refund all contributions made
on behalf of these persons and all prospective holders of such
offices were not allowed to become members of the Employees
Retirement System.

     Act 358, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993, provided salaries for
the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and included the
Trustees in all benefit plans provided to other public employees
except for retirement benefits.

     Your Committees also find that the measure allows any
current or former Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in
service on July 1, 1999, and all Trustees thereafter, to become a
member of the Employees Retirement System.  The measure also
allows former and current Trustees to claim any previous service
as a Trustee retroactive to July 1, 1993.

     Your Committees have amended the measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying the retirement benefit class to which the
          Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs would be
          assigned;

     (2)  Removing provisions that the Employees Retirement
          System deemed as extraneous; and

     (3)  Making numerous technical, nonsubstantive amendments
          for the purposes of conforming the measure to preferred
          drafting style and correcting quoted statutory
          language.

     Your Committees believe that the amended measure provides
employee benefit parity to the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian
Affairs.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Water, Land,
and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your
Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B.
No. 1314, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1314, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 318
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection and Water,
                                   Land, and Hawaiian Affairs,



____________________________       ______________________________
COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair            BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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