STAND. COM. REP. NO.  513-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.B. No. 3168

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 3168 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT CONTRIBUTION RATES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to increase efficiency in the administration of the unemployment insurance law by allowing changes in unemployment tax rates due to total and partial transfers of experience rating to be calculated at the same time, instead of at different times during the year.

     The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations supported this bill.

     Transfers of unemployment experience rating occur, for example, when an employing unit transfers its business to another employing unit.  This bill will make both total and partial transfers of experience effective beginning the calendar year immediately following the transfer, allowing unemployment tax rates to be recalculated at the same time for both of these types of transfers.  Thus employers will not have to reprogram their accounting systems to deal with multiple rate changes, and the current unemployment tax system can be used to perform the rate recalculations without major programming changes.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 3168 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________

ALEX M. SONSON, Chair