STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3090

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 2247

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 2247, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENTAL TRAVEL,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the State and counties to pay the approved travel costs incurred by respective officers or employees for official state or county business directly to either the vendor providing the goods or services or the officer or employee by cash advance prior to the date of purchase.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; and eight individuals.

 

     Your Committees find that it is financially difficult for many state and county employees to shoulder the burden of pre-paying for work-related travel.  There have been instances where a state or county employee has had to wait for six months to be reimbursed for work-related travel.  Implementation of this measure will provide better assurance that state and county employees will not have to carry personal debt on behalf of the State or county.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by authorizing, rather than requiring the State and counties to pay the approved travel costs incurred by respective officers or employees for official state or county business directly to either the vendor providing the goods or services or the officer or employee by cash advance prior to the date of purchase.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2247, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2247, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Government Operations,

 

________________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair

 

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair