SB868

Report Title:

Civil service; attrition

Description:

Adds a new section to chapter 76 providing for a hiring freeze of any vacant civil service position until July 1, 2005. Repeals sections 76-22.5 and 76-23.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	868
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to public employment.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the budget for the state government is over-inflated. The State can cut government cost by as much as $170 million. Such savings can then be returned to the taxpayers in the form of real and immediate tax cuts.

While county governments reduced spending when revenues declined, state government spending has grown to unprecedented size as administration after administration added agencies and personnel.

Although the Council on Revenues' has projected continuing increase in state revenues, government spending is projected to increase by 13% or approximately $4 billion within the next two years.

Since the Council on Revenues' projections are not money in the bank, the prudent course of action is to reduce state spending. State government spending can be reduced by $93 million by eliminating 1,700 state jobs, of which 4% are eliminated through attrition each year. No one loses when jobs are eliminated through attrition.

The purpose of this Act is enact a hiring freeze of civil service positions through attrition for a period of 5 years, until July 1, 2005.

SECTION 2. Chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§76- Hiring freeze through attrition. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, all non-essential civil service positions vacated by attrition shall not be filled for a period of 5 years, until July 1, 2005. For purposes of this section "attrition" means resignation, retirement, or death."

SECTION 3. Section 76-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

[" ~~§76-22.5 Recruitment flexibility.~~ [Section effective until June 30, 2002. For section effective July 1, 2002, see below. Repeal of section on June 30, 1994, by L 1992, c 32, §5, deleted by L 1994, c 223, §7.] Notwithstanding section 76-23, the director of human resources development shall determine, establish, and maintain the manner in which positions shall be filled in accordance with section 78-1 and the following standards:

(1) Equal opportunity for all regardless of race, sex, age, religion, color, ancestry, physical handicap, or politics;

(2) First consideration for competent employees already within public service; and

~~(3) Impartial selection of the ablest person through competitive means which are fair, objective, and practical.~~ "]

["~~§76-22.5 Recruitment.~~ [Section effective July 1, 2002. For section effective until June 30, 2002, see above. Repeal of section on June 30, 1994, by L 1992, c 32, §5, deleted by L 1994, c 223, §7.] The director shall adopt rules in accordance with sections 76-1 and 78-1 to determine, establish, and maintain the manner in which civil service positions are to be filled. The director shall seek continuous improvements to streamline the recruitment process so that positions are filled in the most economic, efficient, and expeditious manner possible. This includes maximizing use of new technologies and developing more efficient alternatives to ensure the availability of qualified applicant pools whether it involves a change in the manner in which initial appointments are to be made, increased delegation to departments, or decentralization to appointing authorities, as necessary and appropriate. "]

SECTION 4. Section 76-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

[" ~~§76-23 Filling vacancy.~~ ~~(a) All vacant civil service positions shall be filled in the manner prescribed in this part or in section 78-1.~~

(b) Whenever there is a position to be filled, the appointing authority shall request the director of human resources development to submit a list of eligibles. The director shall thereupon certify a list of five or such fewer number as may be available, taken from eligible lists in the following order: first the promotional lists, second the recall lists, third the reemployment lists, and fourth the open-competitive lists; provided that laid-off regular employees shall be placed on an appropriate recall list; provided further that with respect to the eligibles under unskilled classes, the director shall certify all of the eligibles on such list. Where there is more than one vacant position in a class to be filled, the director may certify an additional eligible for each additional vacancy. The director shall submit eligibles in the order that they appear on the eligible list before applying veteran's preference; provided that veterans whose examination scores, after addition of applicable preference, are equal to or exceed the examination score of the last eligible certified, shall also be certified; and further provided that if the last eligible to be certified is one of two or more eligibles who have identical examination scores, those two or more eligibles shall be certified notwithstanding the fact that more than five persons are thereby certified to fill a vacancy; and further provided that for each eligible without resident preference certified, a resident who has filed a resident income tax return within the State or who has been claimed as a dependent on a resident income tax return, as provided by section 78-1, shall also be certified.

(c) In any case where there are three or more eligibles in one department whose names appear as eligibles on an interdepartmental list, upon the request of the appointing authority of the department those three or more names shall be certified to the appointing authority as eligibles on an intradepartmental eligible list; but where the interdepartmental list has been in existence for more than six months and there are five or more persons in the department qualified for the class, the department may request an intradepartmental promotional examination, in which case the director shall hold either an interdepartmental or an intradepartmental promotional examination. The order in which eligibles are placed on eligible lists shall be fixed by rule. The appointing authority shall make the appointment only from the list of eligibles certified to the appointing authority unless the appointing authority finds no acceptable person on the list certified by the director, in which case the appointing authority shall reject the list and request the director to submit a new list, in which event the director shall submit a new list of eligibles selected in like manner; provided that the appointing authority states reasons in writing for rejecting each of the eligibles on the list previously certified to the appointing authority by the director or, in case of the counties, by the civil service commission. Eligible lists, other than the recall and reemployment lists, shall be effective for one year but this period may be extended by the director.

(d) After giving appropriate notice, an appointing authority may fill a vacant position by promoting any regular employee of the department without examination; provided that:

(1) The employee meets the minimum qualifications of the class and vacant position;

(2) The noncompetitive promotion shall be based on appropriate selection documentation indicating that the person promoted is the best qualified; and

(3) When there is no material difference between the qualifications of the employees concerned, the employee with the longest continuous civil service employment within the State or county granting the promotion shall receive first consideration for the promotion.

Any regular employee receiving any such promotion without examination shall be ineligible for a second promotion without examination prior to such employee having completed one year of satisfactory service in the position to which the employee was so promoted, but the employee may at any time be eligible for a promotion to any position through examination.

(e) An employee filling a permanent position temporarily vacant may be given a permanent appointment to the position if it later develops that the vacancy will be permanent, provided the employee was originally appointed from an appropriate eligible list and the appointing authority certifies that the employee has been performing the duties of the position in a satisfactory manner. "]

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that on July 1, 2005, section 2 of this Act shall be repealed and section 76-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is reenacted in the form in which it read on July 1, 2002 and section 76-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is reenacted in the form in which it read on the day before the approval of this Act.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________