STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2861
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 3022
S.D. 1
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 S.B. No. 3022 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY LAW,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to provide funding to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and county workforce investment boards for workforce development activities.
Specifically, the measure amends Act 249, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005 (Act 249), relating to employment security, by:
(1) Repealing the appropriation of funds for fiscal year 2005-2006, that were not released by the Governor;
(2) Amending the appropriation amounts for fiscal year 2006-2007 by providing:
(A) $9,590,000 to the Honolulu Workforce Investment Board;
(B) $2,505,550 to the Maui Workforce Investment Board;
(C) $2,000,000 to the Kauai Workforce Investment Board;
(D) $3,300,000 to the Hawaii Workforce Investment Board; and
(E) $2,604,450 to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations;
(3) Removing the requirement that funds appropriated to the County of Hawaii Workforce Investment Board be expended for the eradication of coqui frogs and other invasive species; and
(4) Repealing section 4 of Act 249, which specified a priority of when funds appropriated to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations were to be released and provided an exemption from the allotment system usually utilized by the executive branch to disburse funds to agencies.
Your Committee finds that Act 249 authorized the utilization of 2002 federal Reed Act funds to, among other things:
(1) Provide seed money to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for a workforce development computer system;
(2) Provide funding to the four counties' workforce investment boards to improve employer outreach and services, labor force pool expansion, capacity building, and to fund some shared costs for the operations of one-stop career centers; and
(3) Provide funds to the Oahu Workforce Investment Board to partner with the Leeward Community College to provide federal Wagner-Peyser services for immigrants from the Freely Associated States.
In addition, Act 249 provided for the appropriation of funds from the unemployment trust fund to improve the services of the unemployment insurance and workforce development divisions of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Within the appropriations made to the several county workforce investment boards, the moneys appropriated to the County of Hawaii were to be expended on the eradication of coqui frogs and other invasive species. Unfortunately, no funds appropriated under Act 249 have been expended by the specified entities.
Your Committee has amended the measure by making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of style.
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 S.B. No. 3022, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3022, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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