STAND. COM. REP. NO.267

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1126

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1126 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ALLOWANCE ON SERVICE RETIREMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to place police radio dispatchers in the same class A beneficiary group as police officers, firefighters, and other health and safety personnel in order to receive enhanced retirement benefits.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Police Department of the County of Maui and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Budget and Finance.

Comments regarding this measure were submitted by the Employees' Retirement System which will be working with its actuary to determine the cost impact of the measure on the annual cost to the counties and the Employees' Retirement System's unfunded liability.

Your Committee finds that police officers, firefighters, and other health and safety personnel receive a retirement allowance of two and one-half per cent of the employee's average final compensation for each year of service and are allowed to retire after twenty-five years of service, regardless of age, without incurring an actuarially-reduced pension.

Your Committee also finds that police radio dispatchers perform their duties under highly demanding and stressful situations, different, yet equivalent to the demands placed upon police officers. Your Committee also finds that police radio dispatchers provide an invaluable service to the community and should be afforded the benefit of an enhanced retirement benefit in recognition of their dedicated service to the public.

However, your Committee determines that the increase in employee contributions to the Employees' Retirement System may pose an increased financial burden upon some police radio dispatchers that was not contemplated at the time of employment. Therefore, your Committee believes that police radio dispatchers in service prior to January 1, 2004, should be provided the option of changing their retirement benefit class, but that future hires should be designated as class A members.

Your Committee has amended this measure as follows:

(1) By amending section 88-47, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to include police radio dispatchers who are hired after December 31, 2003, in the same class A beneficiary group as police officers, firefighters, and other health and safety personnel; and

(2) By providing police radio dispatchers, hired prior to January 1, 2004, who are either regular class A or class C members with the option of converting to the class A beneficiary group that includes police officers, firefighters, and other health and safety personnel.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1126, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the

form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1126, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

BRIAN KANNO, Chair