STAND. COM. REP. NO.1411
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: S.B. No. 849
S.D. 1
H.D. 2
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 849, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to provide a more realistic assessment of the State's ability to finance collective bargaining awards by clarifying certain factors that the arbitration panel is required to consider in reaching its final and binding decision. Specifically, this bill amends section 89-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), to include:
(1) Federal and State restrictions on the ability of the employer to access special funds or funds authorized to be used only for a specific purpose;
(2) The prohibition against compromising the interest and welfare of the public by reallocating funds from existing programs or current level of service to fund new or enhanced collective bargaining agreements;
(3) The financial impact on past and future collective bargaining agreements; and
(4) The prohibition against using revenue estimates that exceed the latest Council on Revenues estimate.
The bill also deletes the "catch-all" factor
category, that is, factors that are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours, and conditions of employment.The Department of Budget and Finance and the Department of Human Resources Development submitted testimony in support of the bill. The Hawaii Government Employees Association, United Public Workers, and the Hawaii State Fire Fighters Association submitted testimony in opposition to the bill.
Last year, the Legislature enacted civil service reform (Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000), which amended section 89-11, HRS, effective July 1, 2002. This bill, as received by your Committee, amends the corresponding provisions in existing law and future law, as set forth in Act 253, in an inconsistent manner. To correct this oversight, your Committee has amended this bill to conform the applicable provisions of Act 253 to the changes made to section 89-11, HRS.
Your Committee has further amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2010; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, style, and consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 849, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 849, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,
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____________________________ DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair |