STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2179

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3064

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Tourism and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 3064 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SALARIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to increase the salaries of certain department heads and other administrative executive officers.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Comptroller; Department of Human Resources Development; Board of Directors of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; and State Department of Defense.

     Under existing law, the salaries of the Stadium Manager, Vice-Director of Civil Defense, Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing and Finance Development Corporation, and chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission are linked to the salary of the Director of Human Resources Development, which is in the lowest compensation tier for department heads.

     Your Committee is concerned with the salary of the Vice-Director of Civil Defense who operates an agency that works twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.  The Agency aggressively mitigates damages caused wind, rain, floods, fires, earthquakes, and hurricanes.  The Agency also provides for emergency evacuation plans and brings in federal grants.  In addition, there was testimony that the Vice-Director of Civil Defense is evaluated on a continuous basis by the State Department of Defense and by federal agencies responsible for civil defense, and that based on those evaluations, the current individual holding that position warrants a raise in pay.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to delete provisions for all the agencies, except for civil defense.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3064, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3064, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism and Government Operations,

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair