REPORT TITLE:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs


DESCRIPTION:
Allow the Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees to participate and
receive the same benefits from state retirement benefit programs
as other elected salaried officials. (SB1314 HD1)



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR TRUSTEES OF THE OFFICE OF
   HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to allow the trustees
 
 2 of the office of Hawaiian affairs to participate in and receive
 
 3 the same benefits from the retirement benefit programs in which
 
 4 other elected salaried officials of the State participate.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Chapter 88, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 6 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 7 read as follows:
 
 8      "§88-      Service while a member of the board of trustees
 
 9 of the office of Hawaiian affairs.  Notwithstanding any
 
10 provisions of section 10-9 that may previously have precluded a
 
11 member of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs
 
12 from participating as a member of the employees' retirement
 
13 system, effective July 1, 1999, any member of the board of
 
14 trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs electing to become a
 
15 member of the system, or any former member of the board of
 
16 trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs who is otherwise a
 
17 member of the system, shall be entitled to claim full membership
 
18 service credit as a class A member of the employees' retirement
 
19 system for service as a trustee."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 3.  Section 10-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§10-9  Salaries; benefit; expenses.  Members of the board:
 
 4      (1)  Shall receive an annual salary which shall be paid:
 
 5           (A)  Exclusively from revenue under section 10-13.5;
 
 6                and
 
 7           (B)  In equal amounts, beginning with the first pay
 
 8                period for state employees in November of the year
 
 9                the member of the board is elected.
 
10           Effective July 1, 1993, and until the salary commission
 
11           makes recommendations for salary, the salary of the
 
12           chairperson of the board shall be $37,000 a year and
 
13           the salary of other members of the board shall be
 
14           $34,000 a year.  Any provision of law to the contrary
 
15           notwithstanding, all members of the board shall be
 
16           included in any benefit program generally applicable to
 
17           officers and employees of the State[ except for benefit
 
18           programs relating to retirements];
 
19      (2)  Shall be allowed transportation fares between islands
 
20           and abroad;
 
21      (3)  Shall be allowed personal expenses at the rates
 
22           specified by section 78-15, while attending board
 

 
 
 
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 1           meetings or while on official business as authorized by
 
 2           the chairperson, when those board meetings or official
 
 3           business shall require a member to leave the island
 
 4           upon which the member resides; and
 
 5      (4)  Shall be allowed a protocol allowance to cover expenses
 
 6           incurred in the course of a member's duties and
 
 7           responsibilities."
 
 8      SECTION 4.  Section 88-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending the definitions of "elective officer" or
 
10 "elective official," and "employee" to read as follows:
 
11      ""Elective employee" or "elective official": any person
 
12 elected to a public office or appointed to fill a vacancy of an
 
13 elective office, except as a delegate to a constitutional
 
14 convention[,] or member of the board of education [or trustee of
 
15 the office of Hawaiian affairs], in accordance with an election
 
16 duly held in the State or counties under chapter 11; provided
 
17 that the person receives compensation, pay, or salary for such
 
18 office."
 
19      ""Employee": any employee or officer of the State or any
 
20 county, including inspectors, principals, teachers and special
 
21 teachers, regularly employed in the public schools, cafeteria
 
22 managers and cafeteria workers, apprentices and on-the-job
 

 
 
 
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 1 trainees whether or not supported in whole or in part by any
 
 2 federal grants, members of the legislature and other elective
 
 3 officers including the trustee of the office of Hawaiian affairs,
 
 4 legislative employees who are employed on a full-time basis
 
 5 during and between sessions, probationary and provisional
 
 6 employees, any employee of the educational nonprofit public
 
 7 corporation as provided in section 88-49.7, per diem employees
 
 8 and others who are made eligible by reason of their employment to
 
 9 membership in the system by or pursuant to any other provision of
 
10 law, but excluding:
 
11      (1)  Per diem employees who elect to withdraw or not to
 
12           become members as provided in section 88-42;
 
13      (2)  Members of the legislature who do not elect to be
 
14           members as provided in section 88-42;
 
15      (3)   Persons excluded by rules of the board pursuant to
 
16           section 88-43.
 
17      An individual is an employee during the period of a leave of
 
18 absence if the individual is in service, as defined in this part,
 
19 during the period of the leave of absence and the board shall
 
20 determine who are employees within the meaning of this part."
 
21      SECTION 5.  Section 88-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 amended to read as follows:
 

 
 
 
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 1      "§88-42  Membership generally.  (a)  Except as otherwise
 
 2 provided in this part, all employees of the Territory or any
 
 3 county on July 1, 1945, shall be members of the system on such
 
 4 date, and all persons who thereafter enter or reenter the service
 
 5 of the State or any county shall become members at the time of
 
 6 their entry or reentry.
 
 7      (b)  Per diem workers shall become eligible for membership
 
 8 on January 1, 1952, and all persons who are employed as per diem
 
 9 workers after December 31, 1951, shall become members of the
 
10 system.  Any person who was a per diem worker before January 1,
 
11 1952, shall not, so long as the person is employed as a per diem
 
12 worker, be required to become a member or to remain a member if
 
13 the person has elected before October 2, 1953, to withdraw as a
 
14 member.
 
15      (c)  Members of the legislature shall become eligible for
 
16 membership on July 1, 1951.  Any member of the legislature in
 
17 service on July 1, 1951, or thereafter entering or reentering the
 
18 legislature, may become a member upon the legislator's own
 
19 election.
 
20      (d)  Members of the board of trustees of the office of
 
21 Hawaiian affairs shall become eligible for membership on July 1,
 
22 1999.  Any member of the board of trustees in service on July 1,
 

 
 
 
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 1 1999, or thereafter elected or reelected to the board of trustees
 
 2 of the office of Hawaiian affairs, may become a member upon the
 
 3 trustee's own election."
 
 4      SECTION 6.  Section 88-47, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 6      "(a) There shall be three classes of members in the system
 
 7           to be known as class A, class B, and class C, defined
 
 8           as follows:
 
 9      (1)  Class A shall consist of members covered by section 88-
 
10           74(3) and (4), those members whose salaries are set
 
11           forth in sections 26-52 and 26-53, and their county
 
12           counterparts, managing directors of administrative
 
13           assistant to the mayor, first deputies appointed by the
 
14           county attorney and prosecuting attorney, the county
 
15           clerk and deputy county clerk of each county, the
 
16           administrative director of the courts, the deputy
 
17           administrative director of the courts, the executive
 
18           director of the labor and industrial relations appeals
 
19           board, the executive director of the Hawaii labor
 
20           relations, board, investigators of the department of
 
21           the attorney general, narcotics enforcement
 
22           investigators, water safety officers no making the
 

 
 
 
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 1           election under section 88-271, public safety
 
 2           investigations staff investigators, and those members
 
 3           in service prior to July 1, 1984, including those who
 
 4           are on approved leave of absence, who are covered by
 
 5           Title II of the Social Security Act on account of
 
 6           service creditable under this part.  This class shall
 
 7           consist of:
 
 8           (A)  All employees who enter membership after June 30,
 
 9                1957, except employees in positions to which
 
10                coverage under Title II of the Social Security Act
 
11                is not extended;
 
12           (B)  All employees who were members on July 1, 1957,
 
13                who elected to be covered by the Social Security
 
14                Act; and
 
15           (C)  All former class A retirants who return to
 
16                employment after June 30, 1984, requiring the
 
17                retirant's active membership;
 
18      (2)  Class B shall consist of all members who are not class
 
19           A or class C members; and
 
20      (3)  Except for members described in section 88-47(a)(1),
 
21           class C shall consist of all employees in positions
 
22           covered by Title II of the Social Security Act who:
 

 
 
 
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 1           (A)  First enter service after June 30, 1984;
 
 2           (B)  Reenter service after June 30, 1984, without
 
 3                vested benefit status as provided in section 88-
 
 4                96(b);
 
 5           (C)  Make the election to become a class C members as
 
 6                provided in part VII; or
 
 7           (D)  Are former class C retirants who return to service
 
 8                requiring the retirant's active membership."
 
 9      SECTION 7.  Section 88-125, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§88-125  Contributions by certain state agencies.  (a)
 
12 Each of the departments and agencies hereinafter described and
 
13 the office of Hawaiian affairs shall reimburse the State for the
 
14 respective amounts payable by the State to cover the liability of
 
15 the State to the various funds of the system on account of the
 
16 employees in such departments and agencies and the trustees of
 
17 the office of Hawaiian affairs.  This provision shall apply to
 
18 any department or agency of the State which is authorized by law
 
19 to fix, regulate and collect rents, rates, fees or charges of any
 
20 nature.  The provisions herein shall not apply as to rental units
 
21 receiving federal subsidies until approval has been obtained from
 
22 the appropriate federal agency.
 

 
 
 
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 1      (b)  Whenever any department or agency of the State receives
 
 2 federal-aid funds which may be expended for the purpose of
 
 3 covering the liability of the State to the various funds of the
 
 4 system, the department or agency shall set aside a portion of
 
 5 these funds sufficient to cover the amount of the State's
 
 6 liability to the various funds of the system on account of the
 
 7 employees in the department or agency whose compensation is paid
 
 8 in whole or part from federal funds.
 
 9      (c)  The amount payable by each department or agency of the
 
10 State, or the office of Hawaiian affairs covered by this section
 
11 shall be determined at least quarterly by the department of
 
12 budget and finance on the basis of the payroll of the employees
 
13 of the department or agency, or trustees of the office of
 
14 Hawaiian affairs who are members of the system in the same manner
 
15 the allocation of employer contributions is determined in section
 
16 88-123.  The comptroller of the State, the office of Hawaiian
 
17 affairs, or any department or agency having control of its own
 
18 funds shall, upon information furnished by the department of
 
19 budget and finance, issue a warrant for the proper amount to the
 
20 system, charging the same to the appropriate fund.  The system
 
21 shall place all such sums to the credit of the State as part
 
22 payment of the State's contributions to the various funds of the
 

 
 
 
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 1 system.  All reimbursements made by the office of Hawaiian
 
 2 affairs shall be paid exclusively from revenue under section 10-
 
 3 13.5."
 
 4      SECTION 7.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,
 
 5 members of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian
 
 6 affairs who are in service on June 30, 1999, may claim prior
 
 7 years of service starting from July 1, 1993, as class A members
 
 8 of the employees' retirement system.  A form claiming prior years
 
 9 of service shall be filed with the board of trustees of the
 
10 employees' retirement system of Hawaii by December 1, 1999, and
 
11 those members choosing to claim prior service starting from July
 
12 1, 1993, shall arrange for additional deductions or lump sum
 
13 payments pursuant to sections 88-45 and 88-59, Hawaii Revised
 
14 Statutes, to commence by January 1, 2000.  The claim filed with
 
15 the board of trustees shall be irrevocable.
 
16      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
17 New statutory material is underscored.
 
18      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.