Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1157, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Employees' Retirement System to enroll nonresident aliens with visas as noncontributory Class C members.

Your Committee finds that nonresident aliens that work for the State or counties are classified under the Employees' Retirement System as Class B contributory members. If, however, a nonresident alien acquires an Immigration and Naturalization Service green card, that person automatically becomes a Class C noncontributory member who is then eligible for a contribution refund.

By allowing nonresident aliens to be classified as Class C members, this bill relieves the Employees' Retirement System of the duties related to calculating refund and payroll adjustments for these members, and in so doing, allows the Employees' Retirement System to provide more efficient and better services to its members.

Your Committee has amended the bill by making nonsubstantive technical amendments.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1157, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1157, S.D. 2.