Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1528 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to create parity between the branches of government by adjusting the statutorily established salaries of various department heads and deputy positions.

The Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD), Department of Budget and Finance, Legislative Reference Bureau, Office of the Ombudsman, State Auditor, and concerned individuals testified in support of this measure. The Hawaii Paroling Authority supported the intent of this measure. The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii opposed this measure in part.

Your Committee understands that in the past, heads of executive departments, trial court judges, the administrative director of the courts, and heads of the legislative service agencies received similar salaries, allowing for parity to be maintained between the three branches of government.

However, recent changes in the way various salaries are calculated has resulted in varying degrees of salary increases for a number of positions, while others have not seen any increase.

This disparity is especially true among the legislative service agencies that, unlike their counterparts in the executive and judicial branches, have not witnessed a salary increase since 1990. Your Committee also notes that during these intervening years, even the staff of legislative service agencies has seen an increase in their salaries of approximately 35 to 40 percent, allowing a number of these agency employees to earn more than their supervisors.

Your Committee finds that many of these individuals deserve salary increases and recognizes the concerns raised by DHRD that a number of additional positions should be given consideration for salary adjustments. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1528, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1528, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.