STAND. COM. REP. NO. 374

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1544
                                        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
Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1544 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
     SYSTEM,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide deputy sheriffs of
the Department of Public Safety with the same retirement benefits
as firefighters and police officers.

     Specifically, the measure places deputy sheriffs of the
Department of Public Safety in the special contributory class of
the Employees Retirement System which requires the member to pay
twelve and two-tenths percent of their earnings to the System, in
addition to the Social Security and Medicare deductions, for the
following enhanced benefits:

     (1)  A two and one-half percent per year pension accrual
          rate;

     (2)  The ability to retire prior to age fifty-five without
          having their pensions actuarily reduced; provided that
          they have at least twenty-five years of service in that
          capacity;

     This benefit option would only be provided to existing
qualified deputy sheriffs.  Any deputy sheriff hired after the

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 374
                                   Page 2


effective date of the Act would be a Class C noncontributory
member.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Department of Public Safety, the Hawaii Government Employees
Association, and a deputy sheriff.  The Employees Retirement
System submitted comments on the measure.

     During its deliberations, your Committees found that
conflicting views were presented as to whether Class C
noncontributory deputy sheriffs actually wanted to convert their
Employees Retirement System membership over to Class A
contributory membership.

     To alleviate any dispute over this issue, your Committees
have decided to amend the measure by deleting the majority of the
proposed amendments and retaining only the amendment that allows
deputy sheriffs to retire without penalty after twenty-five years
of service in that capacity.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary that
are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with
the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1544, as amended herein, and
recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto
as S.B. No. 1544, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection and
                                   Judiciary,



____________________________       ______________________________
AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair        BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



____________________________       ______________________________
MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair     BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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