STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1269

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1399

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.B. No. 1399 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INCARCERATED PERSONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to clarify that inmates who participate in work, education, and vocational training programs are exempt from statutory employee benefits.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

     Your Committee finds that the Federal Unemployment Tax Act exempts inmates from statutory employee benefits such as unemployment benefits, but state law does not explicitly provide for a similar exemption.  Your Committee further finds that if inmates are considered employees of the State, the cost of unemployment insurance and other statutorily created employee benefits could force the closure of important rehabilitative programs.

     Your Committee amended this measure to correctly reflect existing language in the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     It is the intent of your Committee to specify that inmates involved in work, education, or vocational training programs are exempted from statutory employee benefits.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1399, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1399, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair