Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2276 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

The United Public Workers Union and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly testified in support of this measure. The Department of Human Resources Development commented on this bill.

In collective bargaining, it is common that concessions of cost items be traded off against reciprocal concessions on non-cost items. This may be the only way to reach an agreement and avoid a strike in many cases. Unfortunately, recent amendments to the collective bargaining law have made trade-offs between cost items and non-cost items difficult. By granting the negotiating parties the flexibility to agree that non-cost items are valid and enforceable, collective bargaining will be more effective.

However, your Committee does not feel that the movement of the reference to agreements taking precedence over rules and policies from section 89-10 to 89-19 is necessary and have amended this bill by deleting this provision.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2276, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2276, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.