STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2317

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2549

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2549 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Amend the appropriation amounts allocated to the workforce investment boards on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii;

     (2)  Amend the appropriation to be used by the workforce development council; and

     (3)  Repeal the appropriation allocated to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for administrative expenses.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by three county agencies, twelve private organizations, and seven individuals.  Testimony in opposition of this measure was submitted by one state agency.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that county workforce investment boards are critical to assisting unemployed and underemployed individuals find and retain new jobs.  Your Committee also finds that sufficient funding is necessary for each county workforce investment board to provide successful job training, research related to the job opportunities in each county, and develop long-term career objectives for unemployed or underemployed individuals in each county.

     Your Committee further finds that only federal Reed Act monies shall be used for the purposes of this measure and no general funds or other fiscal resources of the State shall be encumbered or expended for the purposes of this measure.  Currently there is an available balance of approximately $13,000,000 in Reed Act monies and this measure is authorizing an appropriation of $5,000,000 from those available monies.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Reducing the amount appropriated from the unemployment insurance trust fund from $10,000,000 to $5,000,000; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2549, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2549, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair