Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2211 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to assist injured workers by deleting language that unnecessarily prolongs the workers' compensation process.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii State Teachers Association, ILWU, Local 142, Hawaii Insurers Council, and Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., testified in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that the implementation of Act 11, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2005 (Act 11), had the unintended consequences of prolonging the workers' compensation claims and treatment process. Act 11 defined the terms "day" or "days" to mean working days rather than calendar days. This switch from calendar days to business days had the unintended consequence of delaying payment of claims or decisions on contested claims often resulting in an injured worker waiting longer to receive treatment. This measure attempts to correct this oversight.

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. 2211 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.