STAND. COM. REP. NO.  341

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 1434

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1434 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC WORK PROJECTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is ensure that a violation arises with each separate project in which the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) finds that a contractor has failed to comply with the prevailing wage law.

     The Hawaii State AFL-CIO, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1260, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1186, Hawaii Laborers' Union, and ILWU Local 142 testified in support of this bill.  DLIR and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO supported the intent of this measure.  The General Contractors Association of Hawaii opposed this bill.

     Effectively enforcing the prevailing wage law is a priority and contractors should not be able to evade the law.  However, your Committee finds that contractors can make an "honest" mistake on every project they are working on, and subsequently could be eliminated from being eligible to bid on state projects if they made the same mistake on three projects.

     Your Committee amended this bill by:

(1)  Increasing the number of violations referring to each project in which DLIR finds that a contractor has failed to comply with the prevailing wage law from three to six; and

(2)  Allowing a contractor committing a violation to file a written notice of appeal and to be able to use an affirmative defense that the violation occurred unintentionally.

     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 H.B. No. 1434, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1434, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair