STAND. COM. REP. NO.  28-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.B. No. 1764

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1764 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE RESIDENCY OF APPOINTIVE OFFICERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the number of individuals eligible for appointive offices in state and county government by allowing for the residency requirement for appointment to be waived when the appointive officer is required to have highly specialized or scientific knowledge and training.

The Department of Human Resources of the City and County of Honolulu testified in support of this bill.

Current law requires applicants for appointive positions in state or county government to reside in the State for at least one year immediately preceding their appointment to government positions.  While this requirement was initiated to ensure that individuals applying for government positions would remain in Hawaii, your Committee finds that it has also limited the number of potentially qualified applicants for highly skilled or specialized positions.  This is especially true where the position requires highly specialized or scientific knowledge and training such as that of Chief Medical Examiner for the City and County of Honolulu.  According to the Department of Human Resources of the City and County of Honolulu, due to the level of expertise required to fill this position, it has been practically impossible to find qualified applicants who have established and meet the one year residency requirement.  Expanding the pool of future government employees for these specialized and highly skilled positions by allowing for the waiver of the one year residency requirement will assist in this matter.

     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. 1764 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair