Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.C.R. 94, H.D. 1 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Human Resources Development to submit annual reports to the Legislature on exempt employee pursuant to Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000 (Act 253).

This measure also requests the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment to hold interim briefings on statutorily exempted positions to determine their current justifications and to provide exempt employees and their exclusive representatives the opportunity to provide information at these briefings.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Your Committee finds that the catalyst for Act 253, which reformed the State's civil service laws, was to make government more efficient by increasing the number of civil service positions and decreasing the use of exempt appointments. Your Committee finds that the status of exempt employees as "at will" employees makes them especially vulnerable to undue influence, although many of them were hired through some form of open recruitment process, receive salaries that are commensurate with their civil service counterparts, and provide invaluable service for a significant number of years. Therefore, the need continues to exist to reevaluate the status of exempt positions and appropriately determine whether conversion to civil service positions is warranted.

Under Act 253, the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) is required to submit annual reports to the Legislature evaluating the status of exempt positions. Upon review of a recently submitted preliminary report by DHRD to your Committee, the situation necessitates continued monitoring and evaluation of currently exempted positions.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. 94, H.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.