STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3368

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2272

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2272, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO QUALIFIED COMMUNITY REHABILITATION PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to replace the exemption from county civil service laws for contracts for personal services with private entities of limited duration and amount.

     The new exemption would be for contracts for personal services with qualified community rehabilitation programs for custodial and ground maintenance services, and with an increased ceiling on the amount from $750,000 to $1,000,000.

     This measure also requires the Department of Human Resources Development to provide annual reports to the Legislature on expenditures of qualified community rehabilitation programs and related activities.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Ka Lima O Maui.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from the Department of Environmental Management and the Planning Department of the County of Hawaii and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.  Comments on the measure were offered by the Department of Human Resources of the County of Hawaii and the Department of Personnel Services of the County of Maui.

     Your Committee finds that contracts with qualified community rehabilitation programs for custodial and grounds maintenance services successfully enable severely disabled workers to achieve financial independence.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by extending the present exemption for contracts for personal services with private entities for services of limited duration and amount to contracts with qualified community rehabilitation programs for building, custodial, and ground maintenance services that last no more than a year and cost no more than $1,000,000.  Your Committee has also amended this measure by changing the effective date to "upon approval".

     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 H.B. No. 2272, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2272, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair