STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1476

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.C.R. No. 269

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 269 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A REPORT ON THE NUMBER OF LESS THAN FULL-TIME PUBLIC EMPLOYEES THAT ARE INELIGIBLE FOR HEALTH BENEFITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request that the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) with the cooperation of the Judiciary, Department of Education, University of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, to report on the number of employees under their respective jurisdiction who:

(1) Are considered part-time employees;

(2) Are considered eighty-nine-day "emergency" hires;

(3) Occupy a position that is at least half of a full-time equivalent position and who work less than 20 hours a week; and

(4) Are not receiving health or pension benefits.

DHRD commented on this measure.

It is the concern of this Committee that the departments within the state bureaucracy continue to rely on workers who are part-time, eighty-nine-day "emergency" hires, occupying positions that are at least half of a full-time equivalent, who work less than 20 hours a week, and/or are not receiving health or pension benefits. The Civil Service Reform Act of 2000 was designed in part to reduce the number of exempt positions and convert them to civil service.

Your Committee has amended this measure to ensure that the various jurisdictional entities identified above provide the following information to DHRD to incorporate in their report to the Legislature:

(1) The length of time eighty-nine-day emergency hires are retained on average;

(2) Whether these employees are receiving benefits from another source; and

(3) If benefits are being received, what the source is (whether it is through a pension plan, Quest (Medicaid), or through a spouse's employment or pension system).

Your Committee further respectfully requests that this information be presented to the Legislature in one report to be presented in January prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for consistency and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 269, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 269, H.D. 1.

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

 

____________________________

KIRK CALDWELL, Chair