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 S.B. No. 787 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize paid leave for state and county employees who assist in disaster relief efforts.

Specifically, the bill allows the Governor and the Mayor of any county to permit state and county employees who are certified as American Red Cross disaster volunteers to take a paid leave of absence in certain instances to perform disaster relief services for the American Red Cross.

In addition, this measure requires these state and county employees to be paid at their regular rates of pay for those regular hours during which the employees are absent from work, without loss of seniority, pay, vacation, sick leave, or earned overtime accumulations.

Your Committee finds that about forty-one states permit government employees to take a paid leave of absence in order to perform disaster relief services for the American Red Cross.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and the Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross.

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 S.B. No. 787 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.