Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 231, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

begs leave to report as follows:

Upon review of background information submitted by the nominee, your Committee finds that Marie Laderta is a graduate of Maryknoll High School on Oahu who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a Juris Doctor from the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Laderta began her career as a bilingual teacher at Lunalilo Elementary School and was also employed in the airline industry at Philippine Airlines and Northwest Airlines. After graduating from law school, Ms. Laderta practiced intellectual property law in Chicago, Illinois until returning to Hawaii to serve as an associate with the law firms of Turk and Agena and Leavitt, Yamane, and Soldner. She began her career in public service in 1998 as a Deputy Attorney General in the Tort Litigation Division where she quickly advanced to a supervisory role and was subsequently honored as the Department of the Attorney General's Manager of the Year for 2002. Ms. Laderta also served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Taxation until her interim appointment as the Director of the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) on August 17, 2005.

Testimony in support of the nominee was submitted by the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Director and Deputy Director of the Department of Budget and Finance, the Chair of the Board of Agriculture, the Employee Relations Division Chief of DHRD, the Personnel Program Supervisor and the Manager for the Employee Classification and Compensation Division of DHRD, the Special Assistant to the Director of DHRD, the Administrative Services Officer for DHRD, the staff of the Employee Relations Division, Labor Relations Office of DHRD, the Personnel Program Administrator for DHRD, the Personnel Program Administrator for the Employee Staffing Division of DHRD, the Claims Management Branch Chief for DHRD, the Information Technology Services Officer for the Department of Taxation (DOTax), the Human Resources Director of the Judiciary, the Compliance Division Administrator for DOTax, the Taxation Services Administrator for DOTax, the Tax and Research Planning Officer for DOTax, the Administrative Rules Specialist for DOTax, the Director of Human Resources for the City and County of Honolulu, the Director of Personnel for the County of Hawaii, the Director of Personnel Services for the County of Maui, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Project Manager for CGI-AMS, the Director of Consulting Services for CGI-AMS, the Director of DOTax, the United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO, the Hawaii State Personnel Council, five Deputy Attorneys General, and twelve individuals.

Your Committee members diligently questioned the nominee regarding her vision and priorities for DHRD and continuing reformation of the civil service system. Your Committee believes that the nominee represented a willingness to maintain an open mind regarding all issues presented, demonstrated a commitment to civil service reform including reducing the number of civil service exempt positions, as appropriate, and showed a commitment to addressing current and future labor shortages and vacant hard-to-fill positions through proper preparation. Your Committee finds that the nominee adequately responded to the Committee's inquiries and is pleased that the nominee garnered widespread support from both the public and private sectors and management and labor alike.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.