STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2589

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2420

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2420, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECKS FOR STATE AND COUNTY EMPLOYEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow the State and counties to perform criminal history record checks on:

     (1)  Employees, prospective employees, volunteers, and contractors whose positions allow them unescorted access to secured areas and equipment related to a traffic management center;

     (2)  Employees and prospective employees whose positions involve the handling or use of firearms for other than law enforcement purposes; and

     (3)  Current and prospective systems analysts and others involved in an agency's information technology operation whose positions allow them access to proprietary, confidential, or sensitive information.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Transportation; Department of Human Resources, City and County of Honolulu; Police Department, City and County of Honolulu; and Hawaii Rifle Association.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

     Your Committee finds that it is important for employers to be able to determine the employment suitability of current and prospective employees.  Certain job duties and responsibilities make the need to determine employment suitability particularly crucial and may warrant additional evaluation of the current or prospective employee.  One tool that is useful to assess employment suitability is criminal history record checks.  This measure authorizes the State and counties to access criminal history record information for additional groups of employees and prospective employees.

     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. 2420, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair