STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1483

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 676

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 676, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to change the composition of public employer representatives for negotiations of collective bargaining agreements regarding collective bargaining unit (9), registered professional nurses.

 

     Specifically, this measure establishes that the Governor shall have three votes, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Board shall have two votes, and the Chief Justice shall have one vote in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements for collective bargaining unit (9).

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and the East Hawaii Region of Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.  Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of Collective Bargaining.

 

     Your Committee finds that the vast majority of the employees within collective bargaining unit (9) are registered professional nurses employed by the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.  Under existing law, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation is authorized to cast one out of the total twelve votes in negotiations of collective bargaining agreements for this collective bargaining unit.  The other eleven votes are comprised of six votes by the governor, one vote by each of the four county mayors, and one vote by the Chief Justice.  This measure reduces the total number of votes available to the public employer for collective bargaining unit (9) to six votes, by eliminating the votes of the county mayors and providing the Governor with three votes, the Chief Justice with one vote, and the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation with two votes.  Effectively, this measure increases the voting power of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation fourfold by increasing its votes from one out of twelve to two out of six.

 

     Your Committee notes the concerns expressed by the Office of Collective Bargaining (Office) over the elimination of the mayors' voting status as a public employer in this measure.  The Office indicated that, while no county currently has any employees in bargaining unit (9), should any county decide to reestablish or establish positions applicable to that bargaining unit, this measure would deny each county the right to vote on the provisions of those employees' future collective bargaining agreements, while preserving the voting status of the Governor, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and the Chief Justice as public employers.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to February 5, 2060, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 676, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 676, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair