STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1445

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1416
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 1416, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
     SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to amend the Employees'
Retirement System law to:

     (1)  Allow deputy sheriffs to retire without penalty after
          twenty-five years of service, if their last five years
          of service were in that capacity;

     (2)  Allow qualified contributory class members to convert
          their membership status to noncontributory and obtain a
          refund of their contributions in cases of financial
          hardship;

     (3)  Allow the chairpersons and members of the public
          utilities commission, labor and industrial relations
          appeals board, and the Hawaii labor relations board to
          become class A contributory members of the retirement
          system.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1445
                                   Page 2


     Your Committee finds that retirement benefits for the groups
mentioned above should be in line with the benefits provided
other similar public employees.  For example, deputy sheriffs are
like other law enforcement officers with certain responsibilities
and duties affecting their safety and well-being.  The
chairpersons and members of the public utilities commission,
labor and industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
labor relations board are also similarly situated in terms of
their duties as other officers of state commissions that work in
non-advisory capacities.

     Lastly, your Committee finds that under the current economic
crisis that has lasted more than five years in this State, any
employee who has had serious financial hardship due to illness or
other responsibilities should have a chance to rectify those
debts by converting a class A membership to a class C membership
and withdrawing the member's contributions.  Your Committee
recognizes that this decision could have severe repercussions
upon the member's retirement benefits and would require serious
consideration before being taken as a final, irrevocable step.

     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.
1416, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it
pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1416,
H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

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



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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