STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1311

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: S.B. No. 1137
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was
referred S.B. No. 1137 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HEALTH
     FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to broaden the definition of
those eligible as "dependent-beneficiaries" to include:

     (1)  Unmarried children under age 24 who are full-time
          students; and

     (2)  Unmarried children, regardless of age, who are
          incapable of self-support due to a mental or physical
          incapacity that existed prior to the child's reaching
          age 19.

     The bill also provides that employees are required to enroll
only unmarried children in the dental plan.

     The Hawaii State Teachers Association-Retired, the Hawaii
State Commission on the Status of Women, and several individuals
testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Budget
and Finance supported the measure so long as additional or
incremental costs are covered by the employees.
 
     Your Committee has amended the measure by:


 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1311
                                 Page 2

 
     (1)  Changing the effective date to June 1, 2000; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          purposes of style, clarity, and consistency.

     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. 1137, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1137, 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,



                                   
                                   TERRY NUI YOSHINAGA, Chair