Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 130 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require spousal or reciprocal beneficiary consent before the mode of retirement allowance is selected by a member of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS).

Testimony in support of this bill was received from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. ERS provided comments.

Your Committee finds that under federal survivor benefit regulations, many private sector pension plans already require spousal consent. This bill would apply the same procedure to public sector benefit plans.

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. 130 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.