STAND. COM. REP. 2853
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: S.B. No. 2073
S.D. 2
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 S.B. No. 2073, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to clarify and increase the categories of employees for whom the University of Hawaii is allowed to establish an optional retirement system.
Specifically, this measure:
(1) Clarifies that employees excluded from collective bargaining unit 7 may participate in the optional retirement system, except part-time workers working less than twenty hours per week and temporary employees of three months duration or less;
(2) Establishes that University of Hawaii employees who are appointed by the Board of Regents may participate in the optional retirement system;
(3) Requires the Board of Regents to designate not less than three investment vendors as part of its responsibilities in administering the optional retirement system, and provides criteria to be considered in making the designation; and
(4) Requires the State to pay to the University of Hawaii six per cent of the salary of any University of Hawaii employee who becomes part of the optional retirement system in lieu of the State's contributions to the Employees' Retirement System;
Your Committee would like to clarify that one of the groups of employees, employees of the University of Hawaii who are appointed by the Board of Regents, are those employees who are not in the civil service system. Your Committee was contemplating amending this measure to specifically include collective bargaining unit 8, the administrative, professional, and technical staff, but found it unnecessary because they are already included under this measure.
Your Committee finds that having an optional retirement system is critical to the University of Hawaii's efforts to recruit and retain qualified employees for both faculty and staff positions. Although the Legislature previously provided for an alternative retirement system to be established at the University, implementation of the system faced obstacles. For example, the requirement that the employer's share of the cost of the optional retirement system not exceed the equivalent share for employees in the Employees' Retirement System was problematic.
State supported colleges and universities in forty-eight states offer defined contribution optional retirement plans to faculty, staff, and administrators. Because employees in higher education are often very mobile, the University of Hawaii's optional retirement system should be comparable to those offered at other state universities, including a choice of vendors, to enable the University to compete with other universities for the most qualified employees.
Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical nonsubstantive amendments for clarity.
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. 2073, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2073, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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