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. 507, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to enable a licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to receive a state retirement pension after 25 years of service.

The Emergency Services Department of the City and County (C&C)of Honolulu, Honolulu Paramedic Association, and numerous concerned paramedics testified in support of this measure. The Department of Budget and Finance testified in opposition to this measure. The Employees' Retirement System (ERS) commented on this measure.

EMTs currently do not have parity in retirement benefits with other public safety personnel. Firefighters, police officers, and water safety officers are all able to retire after 25 years of service.

Your Committee recognizes that EMTs are often placed in physically and emotionally demanding situations similar to that of other public safety personnel. However, your Committee has some serious concerns about this bill.

First, emergency medical services (EMS) are a state function provided through contracts with either county providers or private providers. The State, through the Department of Health's (DOH) Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention Branch, is charged with the duty of monitoring EMS contracts and maintaining oversight of the EMS system. It is at the State's discretion as to who provides this service. Unlike the Honolulu Police Department, the Honolulu Fire Department, and the Ocean Safety Division of the C&C of Honolulu, the C&C of Honolulu's EMS Division receives its budget through a contract with the State. In essence, the State, pays for the provision of EMS services and thus, would incur any additional costs, realized through increased contract costs, that EMS providers may accrue with the provision of these retirement benefits.

According to the DOH, approximately $2,000,000 in overtime costs are paid annually through its contract with the C&C of Honolulu's EMS Department. Presently the C&C employs 193 paramedics and experiences overtime rates of approximately 16 hours per week per employee.

The C&C also has a number of paramedics who have either reached, or are close to reaching, the 25-year retirement threshold under this measure as noted in the testimony of several paramedics.

The C&C of Honolulu also stated that Kapiolani Community College (KCC) trains, on average, five mobile intensive care technicians per year and that this has severely impacted upon the city's ability to hire additional paramedics to reduce its shortfall of trained personnel. Furthermore, your Committee was informed that it takes KCC approximately one and a half years to train an advanced level care paramedic, which is why the C&C EMS Division is currently experiencing a shortage in this category.

Although your Committee was assured by the C&C of Honolulu's EMS Department that attrition would not be a factor if this bill passed, it is apparent that if even a small number of paramedics retire as a result of this measure, costs to provide services will increase through increased overtime costs, since it would be years before additional persons will be able to meet the requirements for employment with the C&C EMS Department through training by KCC. This will further impact the general fund budget.

Moreover, the ERS could be impacted by this measure through possible effects on the ERS' unfunded liability. No study has been done yet to determine the cost impact this would have on the ERS.

Your Committee also has concerns on whether this measure will result in attracting more applicants to the EMS field of work. Although this may assist in retention of current EMS personnel, it is unlikely that such a measure will assist in the recruitment of new employees. According to KCC, the average age of the graduating paramedic is 26 years. It is your Committee's belief that persons at this age generally do not look at retirement benefits as a reason for employment, but are more concerned with salary and working conditions. Through discussions at the public hearing, it appears that the problem of recruitment is more attuned to the educational aspects of working in the EMS field and not one of retirement.

Concerns regarding who this measure would affect were also noted by your Committee. As currently written, the bill would affect all EMS personnel working throughout the State, when in actuality, it is aimed specifically to field paramedics working for the C&C of Honolulu. If this were to affect all EMS personnel throughout the State, there could be possible conflicts with other public safety personnel's retirement benefits. Your Committee also has concerns that other EMS personnel whose primary responsibility is not the provision of emergency medical services, such as dispatchers, automotive personnel, maintenance personnel, and supply personnel, are not covered by the provisions of this bill, although they may face the same stress as frontline personnel.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by specifying that the benefits apply to emergency medical technicians of the C&C of Honolulu. Your Committee notes that other legal issues may arise as a result of this application.

Other technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for purposes of clarity, conformity, and style.

As the financial aspects of this bill fall outside of the purview of this Committee, your Committee respectfully requests that the Committee on Finance consider the financial implications and the ramifications this bill may have on the general fund budget.

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. 507, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 507, H.D. 2.