Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2678, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow a member of the Employees' Retirement System who is diagnosed with an incurable debilitating disease to qualify for ordinary disability retirement but continue working until the member is no longer able to do so.

Specifically, the measure:

Your Committee finds that, under existing law, a member of the Employees' Retirement System can only qualify for ordinary disability retirement upon certification by the Employees' Retirement System's Medical Board that the member is permanently mentally or physically incapacitated and should be retired. However, your Committee further finds that some Employees' Retirement System members suffer from incurable debilitating diseases that have not yet progressed to the point where the members are unable to continue working. The measure would allow an Employees' Retirement System member suffering from an incurable debilitating disease to qualify for ordinary disability retirement but continue working until physically or mentally unable to do so.

However, in the testimony submitted by the Employees' Retirement System, the Employees' Retirement System was concerned that the definition for "incurable debilitating disease" is too broad and would lead to retirement opportunities that could be viewed as contrary to the original intent of the ordinary disability retirement law. To address the Employees' Retirement System's concern, your Committee has amended the measure by replacing the amendments to the Employees' Retirement System's ordinary disability retirement law as received by your Committee, with amendments that:

Your Committee finds that the proposed three application limitation is similar to the current statutory requirement for regular retirement applications. However, if a member's ordinary disability application is denied by the Employees' Retirement System's Board of Trustees, that application would not be counted towards the three application limitation.

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 H.B. No. 2678, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2678, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.