STAND. COM. REP. NO. 810

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1664

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1664, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to temporarily codify a modified version of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relation's partial unemployment benefits program.

     This measure authorizes eight weeks of benefits rather than the four weeks of partial unemployment benefits under current administrative practices.

     Your Committee finds that a partial unemployment benefits program under the current economic situation will allow employers to reduce their full-time employees' hours instead of terminating them, while allowing the employees to collect certain benefits from their employer, as well as some partial unemployment benefits for a temporary period of time.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying the defined terms "full-time hours" or "full-time work" and "partial unemployment" or "partially unemployed" to reflect terminology used in the measure; and

     (2)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     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 S.B. No. 1664, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1664, S.D. 2.

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

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DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair