HB 23

RELATING TO DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES FOR TIME SHARE PLANS.

Gives greater latitude regarding time share disclosure provisions to require that time share promotional literature and other printed or written material disclose that the product or activity involves time share. Gives the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs discretion to prescribe time share disclosure by rule.

RELATING TO PRODUCER LICENSING.

Adopts the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Producer Licensing Model Act. Simplifies and organizes statutory language to improve efficiency and reduces costs associated with issuing and renewing insurance licenses.

RELATING TO OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS.

Establishes licensing procedures and regulations for occupational therapists.

HB 841

RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH AND ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS.

Adds major depression to definition of serious mental illness; repeals lifetime cap of not less than two treatment episodes for alcohol or drug dependence; requires compliance with QUEST; conforms repeal date of June 30, 2003, for 2000 amendments to repeal date of chapter of July 1, 2002.

RELATING TO THE HAWAII TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION INDUSTRIES ACT.

Repeals the Hawaii Telecommunications and Information Industries Act because Hawaii INC, the organization established by that Act, has ceased operations.

RELATING TO SECONDARY MARKET SERVICES CORP.--HAWAII.

Authorizes Secondary Market Services Corp.--Hawaii, the state-designated student loan secondary market, to purchase student loan notes held by mainland financial institutions.

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Exempts public utilities owned by the State or political subdivisions of the State from the public service company tax.

HB 1460

RELATING TO UNDERGROUND UTILITY LINES.

Establishes an advisory committee to be appointed by the governor to develop a comprehensive statewide plan for underground utility lines, including feasibility and cost factors. Requires the advisory committee to submit a report of its findings to the legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2003.

HB 1345

RELATING TO ENERGY CONTENT OF FUELS.

Encourages use of alternative fuels by adjusting the fuel tax to reflect the energy content of alternative fuels and reducing the fuel tax rate of alternative fuels for several years.

HB 1254

RELATING TO GASOLINE.

Requires that methyl tertiary-butyl ethel (MtBE) in gasoline be greater than 0.15 volume per cent by January 1, 2004, with the phased-in reduction commencing July 1, 2001, at no greater than 0.4 volume per cent.

RELATING TO MEASUREMENT STANDARDS.

Allows state secondary label standards to be verified by comparison to standards, other than the state label standards, upon written authorization.

RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS.

Establishes a professional counselor licensing program.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE STATE IRRIGATION PROGRAM.

Requests emergency funding to cover the decline in revenues from the State's irrigation systems.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR HEALTH FUND PREMIUMS.

Requests emergency funding to pay for the State's employer portion of health fund premiums.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.

Provides an emergency appropriation to allow the department to meet its state and federal mandates to provide foster board and board-related costs, permanency assistance, and difficulty-of-care payments for foster and adoptive parents, permanent custodians, and guardians of children with special needs.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE ADULT MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION.

Authorizes an emergency appropriation to the DOH for community-based services for discharged patients of the Hawaii State Hospital.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.

Provides an emergency appropriation to allow the department to hire additional personnel and expand services for the child welfare services population to comply with the Felix v. Cayetano revised consent decree.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR EDUCATION.

Authorizes an emergency appropriation ($41,247,070) to comply with the Felix v. Cayetano revised consent decree.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES.

Authorizes an emergency appropriation ($7,217,390) to provide early intervention services mandated by P.L. 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, part C, and required for compliance with the Felix v. Cayetano revised consent decree.

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION.

Authorizes an emergency appropriation of general and special funds to the DOH for services provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division to comply the Felix v. Cayetano revised consent decree.

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Short form bill relating to agriculture.

RELATING TO STATE AGRICULTURAL LEASES.

Prohibits the Department of Land and Natural Resources from increasing lease rents of state agricultural leases during the period of reopening and actual commencement of the appraisal process if more than 30 days has passed.

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Makes permanent Act 305, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999, which allows privately funded industrial hemp research to be conducted in Hawaii.

Decision making to follow.

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR BIG ISLAND PAPAYA INDUSTRY.

Appropriates $200,000 to develop the Big Island papaya industry.

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

Provides a tax credit of ten percent of the cost of agriculture infrastructure improvements over $200,000 made by the taxpayer for the taxable year in which the improvements were made. Provides a tax credit of ten percent of the cost of construction of a new water storage facility or the reconstruction or improvement of any existing water storage facility paid by the taxpayer for the taxable year in which the water storage facility was constructed, reconstructed, or improved.

RELATING TO DROUGHT MITIGATING FACILITIES.

Gives a taxpayer tax credit for building a new water storage facility for drought mitigation purposes.

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL USE OF FALLOW SUGAR LANDS.

Establishes a $500 per acre tax credit for new agricultural uses of fallow sugar lands and exempting related farm equipment purchases from the 4% GET for 2 years.

RELATING TO ANIMAL QUARANTINE.

Appropriates general funds for deposit into the animal quarantine special fund to reduce quarantine user fees.

RELATING TO ENERGY CONSERVATION TAX CREDITS.

Extends deadlines for energy conservation income tax credits.

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES.

Requires qualified electric utilities to implement renewable portfolio standards, which requires these utilities to possess a minimum percentage of renewable energy resources within their overall resource portfolio. Provides for the issuance of renewable energy credits to renewable energy generators.

RELATING TO HYDROGEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

Establishes a hydrogen private/public partnership within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Appropriates funds.

RELATING TO ENERGY.

Authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to approve an automatic rate adjustment clause indexed or based on the cost or price of fuels used in the production of electricity or the cost of electrical energy purchased by the utility. Prohibits the approval of any automatic rate adjustment clause that allows an electric utility to recover more than 80 percent of any cost or price of fuel used in the utilities production of electricity that are in excess of those costs or prices assumed in setting the most recent base rate schedule approved by the commission.

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES.

Allows the Public Utilities Commission in ratemaking proceedings to consider factors which influence an adequate supply of energy, encourage energy conservation, or encourage renewable energy development; provided that the PUC makes findings on the utility's ability to recover its capital and operating costs.

RELATING TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

Establishes criminal penalties for the abandonment of hazardous waste or used oil, and increases certain criminal penalties from a misdemeanor to a felony.

RELATING TO ELECTRICAL COOPERATIVES.

Allows the public utilities commission to regulate electric cooperatives in Hawaii. Allows electric cooperatives to opt out of the commission's regulation by allowing the member-consumers of the electric cooperative to exempt themselves from regulation under certain conditions. Defines "electric cooperative."

RELATING TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISPOSAL SURCHARGE.

Increases the solid waste management disposal surcharge from 35 cents per ton to 75 cents per ton for all disposal facilities except permitted inert and construction and demolition waste disposal facilities.

RELATING TO NURSING.

Establishes and appropriates moneys towards the Nursing Scholarship Program in order to satisfy the growing demand for nurses in the State.

RELATING TO NURSES.

Places regulation over prescriptive authority of advanced practice registered nurses in board of nursing instead of DCCA; places formulary designation with board of nursing instead of board of medical examiners; deletes outdated language regarding interim 1994 report on drug formularies.

RELATING TO HEALTH.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Health for thirty full time registered nurses.

RELATING TO THE EXCLUSION OF PROCEEDS FROM THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL SERVICES AND MEDICAL PRODUCTS FROM THE GENERAL EXCISE TAX.

Seeks to exclude proceeds from the provision of medical services and medical products from general excise tax liability.

RELATING TO DRUG PREVENTION AND TREATMENT.

Provides specifically for the funding of drug treatment and prevention programs by the Department of Health from tobacco settlement funds.

RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAX CREDIT.

Provides a tax credit for prescription drug purchases.

RELATING TO MEDICAL SERVICES TAX CREDIT.

Reenacts the medical services tax credit.

RELATING TO MEDICAL SERVICES EXCISE TAX CREDIT.

Reinstates the medical services excise tax credit.

RELATING TO TESTING FOR BLOOD-BORNE INFECTIONS.

Requires blood, semen, tissue, or organs to be tested for blood-borne viral infections. Except in medical emergency, prohibits use unless no evidence of infection is confirmed. Requires facilities to register with DOH. Requires doctors to obtain patient consent to blood transfusion before surgery..

RELATING TO CHIROPRACTIC.

Amends definition of "chiropractic;" deletes provisions prohibiting practitioners of chiropractic from using the title "doctor" or the prefix "Dr." without being accompanied by the word "chiropractor" or "D.C.;" deletes a provision prohibiting practitioners of chiropractic from using the title "physician."

RELATING TO DENTAL HYGIENISTS.

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Disallows compensation for physical or mental injury resulting from a disciplinary or other personnel action taken in good faith by the employer.

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Excludes from workers' compensation coverage claims for mental stress from personnel actions.

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Reduces the cost of workers' compensation benefits for businesses in Hawaii by providing alternatives to injured employees who are trying to restore their earning capacities and to set parameters for the utilization of rehabilitation services.

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Adds care and services furnished by occupational therapist and occupational therapist assistant to definition of "medical care", "medical services", or "medical supplies".

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Adds "occupational therapist" and "certified occupational therapy assistant" to the definition of medical care for workers' compensation purposes.

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Proposes amendments to the constitution to authorize the BOE to set the rate of taxation in the manner provided by law.

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY.

To conform state statutes with amendments to the Reed Act funds relating to section 903 of the Social Security Act (SSA) for the federal fiscal years ending in 2000, 2001, and 2002 to require that these funds be expended only for Unemployment Insurance administrative expenses.

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY.

Makes the employment and training fund assessment permanent and sets the employment and training fund assessment rate at 0.03%.

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY LAW.

Establishes medical care savings account.

RELATING TO MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS IN THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HEALTH FUND.

Establishes medical care savings accounts in the public employees health fund for health care needs for state and county employees.

RELATING TO SICK LEAVE.

Requires an employer who provides sick leave to permit an employee to use their sick leave to attend to the illness of their child, parent, spouse, or reciprocal beneficiary. Prohibits an employer from denying the use of sick leave, discharging, demoting, suspending, or discriminating in the terms and conditions of employment against an employee for using or attempting to exercise the right to use sick leave to attend to the illness of a child, parent, spouse, or reciprocal beneficiary.

RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT.

Extends unemployment benefits for former employees of Amfac Sugar Kauai.

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Allows qualified members of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to purchase their military service credit. Allows a surviving spouse of a member of the ERS to remarry and still receive retirement benefits arising for their former spouse's employment.

RELATING TO EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Proposes defined contribution retirement plan for certain public employees as an optional retirement plan.

RELATING TO OCCUPATIONAL AND CAREER INFORMATION.

To abolish the Hawaii State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee and make clerical amendments.

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT.

Requires bidders for printing and advertising services to file a sworn statement with the director or labor and industrial relations that the services to be performed will be performed under certain conditions. Establishes penalties for violating this requirement.

RELATING TO HAWAII COMMISSION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE.

Establishes Hawaii commission for national and community service. Provides for selection, terms, and duties of commission members. Appropriates funds.

LAB, HLT/HSH,

EDN/HED, WLU/EEP, JHA, FIN

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Repeals mandatory arbitration provisions and restores the right to strike to public employees.

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Clarifies scope of negotiations and consultation relating to policies, procedures, practices, and the collective bargaining agreement. Implements and maintains the classification system covering civil service positions. Implements a non-judicial process for addressing management complaints against the exclusive representative.

RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS, FINANCIAL ABILITY OF THE EMPLOYER IN IMPASSE PROCEEDINGS AND TRANSFER OF THE OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

Proposal to limit the duration of any public sector collective bargaining agreement to two years; to require any fact-finding panel, arbitrator or arbitration panel to consider the impact of any recommendation or award of cost items upon pending collective bargaining negotiations and to take these costs into consideration, along with costs of collective bargaining agreements already agreed to, in determining the employers' financial ability to pay; and to administratively attach the Office of Collective Bargaining to the Department of Human Resources Development.

RELATING TO THE MERIT APPEALS BOARD.

Allow the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to handle for the State, the merit appeals from employment actions under chapter 76 taken against civil service employees.

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.

Makes level and type of health benefits for public employees, as well as contributions, subject to collective bargaining.

RELATING TO RETIREMENT BENEFITS.

Eliminates overtime compensation, differentials, and supplementary pay from the calculation of retirement benefits for all employees after 6/30/00. Clarifies that for purposes of determining the amount of a member's contribution to the annuity savings fund, a member's compensation does not include payments for overtime, differentials, and supplementary pay.

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Prohibits the excessive assignment of overtime for the sole purpose of increasing an employee's average final compensation under Section 88-21, HRS.

MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR STATE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES EXCLUDED FROM COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

Provide fund authorizations and appropriations for State officers and employees excluded from collective bargaining. The appropriations cover the fiscal biennium 2001-2003.

RELATING PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.

Requires the proposed adjustments to compensation and benefit packages for excluded civil service employees to be at least equivalent to the adjustments provided in other jurisdictions.

RELATING TO THE COMPENSATION OF PUBLIC OFFICERS.

Increase the compensation of department directors and/deputies and the administrative director of the State.

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Provides for wage and salary adjustments for public sector managers excluded from collective bargaining that are on par with their civil service counterparts.

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Establish that only the member's base salary, including shortage differential pay, is to be used to compute the member's average final compensation and determine the contributory plan member's contributions to ERS.

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Changes the salary growth assumption rate to ___ per cent effective _________.

RELATING TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Increases Board membership from eight to nine members to include a fourth citizen trustee and authorize the Governor to appoint the chairperson of the board of trustees.

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Allows deputy sheriffs the same retirement benefits as police officers and firefighters.

RELATING TO PENSIONERS' BONUS.

Reinstates pensioners' bonuses provided to retirants of the employees' retirement system.

RELATING TO PENSIONERS' SPECIAL COMPENSATION.

Amends the employees' retirement system law to provide for special compensation to pensioners.

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Provides a military service credit of up to 4 years to qualified retirants of the ERS.

RELATING TO TEACHER COMPENSATION.

Requires teachers to receive their normal annual increment or longevity increase, as the case may be, for a year's satisfactory service in any fiscal year that an increase in the appropriate salary schedule is effected, except as provided by law.