STAND. COM. REP. 422

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 290

H.D. 1

 

 

 

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. 290 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to create a temporary program to provide additional unemployment benefits to unemployed workers.

The ILWU Local 142 testified in support of this bill. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations commented on this bill.

Under current state and federal laws, unemployed workers may collect a maximum of 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits and 13 weeks under the federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act (TEUCA). TEUCA is expected to expire on May 31, 2003, but an individual who has an existing TEUCA claim at the expiration date will continue to be paid up to August 30, 2003.

Your Committee feels this program is necessary to provide additional benefits to unemployed workers in the event that TEUCA is not extended.

 

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Providing that an individual will be eligible to receive additional unemployment benefits under TEUCA, provided TEUCA is not extended after August 1, 2003;

(2) Ensuring that state benefits will cease once the unemployment insurance fund reaches the threshold where the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations would be required to increase the unemployment benefits; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

Your Committee has also amended this bill by inserting the

contents of H.B. No. 1197 (2003), which:

(1) Conform state statutory provisions to the TEUCA; and

(2) Provide that Unemployment Trust Fund moneys can be used to pay for unemployment benefits as well as administrative costs.

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. 290, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass

Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 290, H.D.

1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,

 

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair