STAND. COM. REP. NO. 958-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2879

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2879, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FEDERAL TAX QUALIFICATION OF THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to conform the Employees' Retirement System to the federal Internal Revenue Code (IRC) by amending chapter 88, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Pension and Retirement Systems, to:

(1) Incorporate federal tax provisions relating to pension plans of State and local government;

(2) Authorize the Board of Trustees (Board) of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to adopt as rules various requirements that are not presently part of the ERS' administrative rules; and

(3) Provide the Board with expedited rulemaking authority for the limited purpose of adopting rules to comply with the requirements of IRC Section 401(a).

Supportive testimony was submitted by the ERS.

Your Committee finds that the enactment of this bill is essential for the State to retain its tax-exempt status with regard to ERS investment income and retirement benefits.

After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by deleting its substance, and inserting the provisions of House Bill No. 2404, H.D. 1, a measure that was previously reported out of your Committee and approved by the House on Third Reading.

As amended, this bill is substantively the same as Senate Bill No. 2879, S.D. 2, with the following exceptions:

(1) A defective effective date of July 1, 2010, was added to facilitate continued discussion; and

(2) There are technical, nonsubstantive differences.

This bill, as amended, also has technical, nonsubstantive differences from House Bill No. 2404, H.D. 1.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2879, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2879, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,

 

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair