STAND. COM. REP. NO. 968

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1043
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and
Labor and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1043,
H.D. 1, entitled: 

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

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to change the Public
Employees Health Fund Administrator's civil service position to
exempt hire status.

     This measure also allows the board to set the
Administrator's salary within the range for deputy directors and
requires that the Administrator be a member of the employee
retirement system and eligible for employee benefit programs.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the
Board of Trustees of the Hawaii Public Employees Health Fund
(Board).

     Your Committees find that this measure gives the Board the
flexibility to hire a benefit plan professional with the
experience necessary to administer the Hawaii Public Employees
Health Fund.  The Health Fund currently carries an excess of
$300,000,000 in insurance premiums and employer contributions to
Union Plans, an excess of $20,000,000 in Special Reserve Funds,
and $1,200,000 combined General Funds for operations.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 968
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     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2000, at
          which time the board may set the salary of the
          Administrator, and at which time the Administrator is
          to be included in the State employee retirement system
          and other benefit programs; and

     (2)  Reformatting the new language regarding the
          Administrators salary and benefits as a new paragraph
          (3), to clarify that this is an additional power of the
          board.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Labor and
Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are
in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1043, H.D. 1,
as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in
the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1043, 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
                                   Committees on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection and Labor
                                   and Environment,



____________________________       ______________________________
BOB NAKATA, Chair                  BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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