CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 30

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2007

RE:    S.B. No. 1833

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1833, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY LEAVE,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this bill is to modify the provisions of the Hawaii Family Leave Act by providing the employee - not the employer - with the option of substituting accrued paid leave, such as vacation, personal, or paid family leave, for any part of the four-week period allowed for family leave.  Currently, family leave may consist of paid leave, unpaid leave, or a combination of paid and unpaid leave.

     A growing number of employees are taking family leave to care for elderly family members and loved ones.  Such care often necessitates the substitution of other types of leave, including vacation leave, when the amount of allowed family leave is depleted.  Your Committee on Conference believes that the manner in which family leave is taken should be a decision that is left to the employee and that an employer should not force an employee to exhaust the employee's accrued vacation leave to care for a family member.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2007.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1833, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1833, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ ALEX M. SONSON, Co-Chair	____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair
____________________________ BOB NAKASONE, Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Co-Chair