STAND. COM. REP. NO. 478

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 16

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam President:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 16 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE ACTION PLAN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate $30,000 to the Department of Labor for a grant-in-aid to the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs (HIPA) to implement the Hawaii Construction Workforce Action Plan and requires a dollar-for-dollar private sector match.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill from the University of Hawai‘i System and the Workforce Development Council (Department of Labor and Industrial Relations).  The State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations did not oppose the measure. 

     This measure will assist the Hawai‘i Construction Workforce Plan which was created in 2004.  An Action Plan was developed consisting of the following strategies:

1. Improve the readiness of persons interested in entering apprenticeship programs and increase the proportion of applicants who are accepted into apprenticeship programs;

2. Improve apprenticeship program retention and completion;

3. Increase the number of applicants applying to apprenticeship programs in general and to targeted trades through targeted marketing and outreach campaigns; and

4. Continue and expand efforts to develop, organize, coordinate, monitor, and report on workforce development initiatives outlined in this plan.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 16 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair