STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1669

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   S.B. No. 1568

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1568, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to financially assist individuals during difficult economic times by extending unemployment insurance benefits to:

     (1)  An individual for whom a majority of the weeks of work in the individual's base period includes part-time work and who is seeking only part-time work; and

     (2)  An individual who is separated from employment for a compelling family reason, including:

          (A)  Domestic violence;

          (B)  The illness or disability of an immediate family member; or

          (C)  The individual's need to accompany a spouse in a job relocation and for whom commuting is not viable.

     The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), ILWU Local 142, and the Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs supported this bill.  The Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Hawaii Government Employees Association offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by incorporating language from H.B. No. 332, H.D. 2, to:

     (1)  Further describe domestic violence to include sexual violence and the circumstances in which the domestic or sexual violence may jeopardize the safety of the individual or the individual's immediate family member;

     (2)  Set forth the documentation DLIR may request to verify the domestic or sexual violence; and

     (3)  Require the current or former employer to keep confidential any documentation provided to DLIR.

Your Committee also made technical, nonsubstantive changes for style, clarity, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1568, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1568, S.D. 2, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair