STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1235

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1009

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1009, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CLAIMS AGAINST THE STATE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to enable the State to fulfill its potential financial obligations to part-time and substitute public school teachers through the appropriation of funds for retroactive salary adjustments for part-time and substitute public school teachers in settlement of three pending class action lawsuits.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the Hawaii Carpenters Union, and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.  Testimony in opposition of this measure was submitted by the Department of Education and the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committees find that there are currently three pending class action lawsuits against the Department of Education, Garner v. Department of Education, Kliternick v. Hamamoto, and Kawashima v. Department of Education.  Each of these lawsuits involves disputes between the Department of Education and substitute and part-time teachers regarding unpaid wages dating back to 1996.  Your Committees further find that these lawsuits have negatively affected teacher morale and relations between teachers and the Department of Education.  To the extent possible, the expeditious resolution of these matters will help to raise morale and restore goodwill between the parties involved, which will in turn greatly benefit public school students throughout the State.  This measure appropriates funds for the settlement of the pending lawsuits with the Department of Education.  Your Committees believe that this measure should continue to progress through the legislative session to provide the opportunity for evaluating and determining the most appropriate manner for obtaining resolution.

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by changing its effective date to July 1, 2057, to facilitate further discussion on the matter.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1009, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1009, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair