STAND. COM. REP. NO.  214

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 696

      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 Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 696 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to work towards strengthening the financial viability of the state's health care safety net hospital system and streamline labor relations in the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) and its regions by establishing a separate collective bargaining unit for the employees of HHSC and its regions.

     HHSC and its Kauai and West Hawaii Regional Systems supported this bill.  The United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO (UPW) opposed this measure.  The Department of Budget and Finance and Office of Collective Bargaining submitted comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by providing that only members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association who are also HHSC employees will be consolidated into a single, new bargaining unit.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 696, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 696, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Labor & Public Employment.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair