STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2343

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2671

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2671 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Clarify the authority of the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to hire attorneys and paralegals; and

     (2)  Authorize any attorney employed by the Board as a part-time or contract staff member to represent the Board in litigation, draft legal documents for the Board, and provide other necessary legal services to the Board, as the Board's full-time attorney is already authorized to do.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Labor Relations Board; the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; the United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO; and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142.  The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations submitted comments.

     Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board is limited under existing law to employing only one attorney as a staff member to represent the Board in litigation, draft legal documents, and provide other legal services to the Board.  This measure will authorize the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to hire additional attorneys and paralegals as staff members.  The Board currently needs legal staff to draft administrative rules to implement recently enacted laws; update rules that have not been amended since 1981; draft decisions and orders to reduce case backlog; and provide legal assistance, as needed.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by adopting the suggested technical, nonsubstantive amendment from the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to remove unnecessary language.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2671, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2671, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair