Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1919, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to give fair treatment to public employees who are excluded from a collective bargaining unit in terms of compensation and benefit adjustments compared to their fellow public employee counterparts who receive compensation and benefits under collective bargaining agreements.

Specifically, this measure requires each respective governmental jurisdiction to provide adjustments for its respective excluded civil service employees that are at least equal to the compensation and benefits packages provided under collective bargaining agreements for their counterparts within the employer's jurisdiction.

Your Committee finds that, at present, adjustments for excluded employees are permitted to be lower than adjustments covered under a collective bargaining agreement. Your Committee further finds that it is patently unfair not to treat these excluded civil service employees, a majority of whom are career civil servants who have competed and served in exactly the same way as their non-excluded counterparts, in the same manner.

Your Committee believes that, in the interest of fairness and equity, excluded civil servants must be adequately compensated at a level which is at least equal to their counterparts who are covered by collective bargaining.

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 H.B. No. 1919, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.