Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1155, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow certain trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) to make a lump sum contribution payment to the state Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to acquire credit for prior service.

OHA testified in support of this bill. ERS opposed this measure.

Your Committee finds that some OHA trustees are not able to acquire full credit for past service under Act 183, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002. Further, your Committee finds that the situation pertaining to these OHA trustees is analogous to other elected salaried officials, and that these trustees should also be able to make a lump sum contribution payment to ERS.

After careful consideration, your Committee has amended the measure by deleting its contents and replacing it with language that:

Your Committee's intent in amending this measure by placing the substantive provisions of S.B. No. 1155, S.D. 1, in Session Laws rather than in statute is to recognize the unique circumstances applicable to OHA trustees while addressing the concerns raised by opponents of this measure regarding the codification of the provisions of this bill and the setting of legal precedent.

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 S.B. No. 1155, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1155, S.D. 1, H.D. 1.