STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1065

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   S.B. No. 905

      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 Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 905, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the Office of Community Services (OCS) by transferring OCS from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to the Department of Human Services (DHS).

     DLIR, DHS, OCS, Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, Inc., Catholic Charities Hawaii, and the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center testified in support of this bill.

     OCS was initially created to consolidate a number of programs that dealt with economic and personal self-sufficiency under one office.  At that time, the main focus of OCS was on programs that assisted individuals with the attainment and maintenance of employment, which fit well under the purview of DLIR.  However, with changing times, OCS has also changed its core mission from training programs that ready people for employment to programs that are more supportive in nature, particularly for low-income individuals, immigrants, and refugees, yet are still linked to employment programs.  The very nature of this shift in focus makes the transfer of OCS from DLIR to DHS logical.

     However, your Committee notes that several of the programs under OCS still retain employment-related purposes and that these programs should remain under the jurisdiction of DLIR. 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by stipulating that employment core services and employment creation programs for low-income individuals, immigrants, and refugees shall remain a function of DLIR.

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 905, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 905, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Human Services.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair