STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 171

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 171 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SALARY COMPENSATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to support state officers and employees who are called to active duty in the armed forces and serve in a hostile fire zone by compensating them with the difference between their gross monthly state pay and their gross monthly military pay, if the state pay exceeds the military pay.

The state Department of Defense, Department of Human Resources Development, Honolulu Fire Department, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense - Hawaii Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii supported this bill. A concerned individual opposed the measure.

Upon careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Making the provisions retroactive to apply to state officers and employees who completed their tours of duty in hostile fire zones during calendar years 2003 and 2004;

(2) Clarifying that hostile fire zones are designated by presidential executive order; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, style, and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 171, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 171, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Employment.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

		____________________________ KEN ITO, Chair