Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2526 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this administration bill is to extend the deadline for employers to file year-end workers' compensation reports with the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR).

DLIR and the University of Hawaii (UH) submitted testimony in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that the law presently requires employers to file an annual report of the amounts of each worker's compensation claim on December 31^st. UH testified that this is an unreasonable deadline and that the current practice, recognized by DLIR, is to file the report on January 31^st. This bill would follow the recommendations of the Legislative Auditor and amend the law to reflect a January 31^st deadline.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2526 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.