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. 2446 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation of funds to enable the Department of Education to pay for collective bargaining increases for departmental employees who are members of bargaining units 1 and 5.

Your Committee finds that wages were increased in January 2003 for these bargaining units. However, funding for these mid-year increases were inadvertently omitted from the executive biennium budget proposal. Your Committee further finds that without the emergency appropriation authorized under this measure, the department will lack sufficient funds to pay for these increases this present fiscal year.

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. 2446, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.