STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1088

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 496

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 496, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a partial wage replacement for leave trust fund to provide partial wage replacement for family leave.  This measure also appropriates funds for the administration of the partial wage replacement for leave trust fund.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Commission on the Status of Women, Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs, Democratic Party of Hawaii, Women's Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, ILWU Local 142, A Better Balance, Family Values @ Work, Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Kuikahi Mediation Center, and two individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, Maui Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii Food Industry Association, and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Budget and Finance, and National Partnership for Women and Families.

 

     Your Committee finds that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has testified that the cost to implement the proposed partial wage replacement for leave trust fund would be prohibitive.  In light of that testimony, your Committee believes it is beneficial to conduct an actuarial study of the costs and benefits of the proposed program prior to implementation.  The Office of the Lieutenant Governor has expressed a willingness to work with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct the actuarial study.  Your Committee encourages the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to consult with national organizations that testified that they are willing to assist in implementing this program.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Replacing language establishing the partial wage replacement for leave program with language requiring the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct an actuarial study and report back to the Legislature on items including the projected cost and benefits of implementing the partial wage replacement for leave program;

 

     (2)  Inserting a blank appropriation for the study and report;

 

     (3)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 496, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 496, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 


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

 

 

 

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair