STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1027

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   S.B. No. 139

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 139, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to review State civil service positions that are exempted under section 76-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to determine whether the positions should continue to remain exempt and suspend, until July 1, 2017, the requirement that a person holding an exempt position for at least one year prior to that position being replaced with a civil service position meet certain qualifications to be appointed to that civil service position.

The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO commented on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by;

     (1)  Removing the language that suspends until July 1, 2017, the requirement that a person holding an exempt position for at least one year prior to that position being replaced with a civil service position meet certain qualifications to be appointed to that civil service position;

     (2)  Removing the civil service exemptions for employees engaged in special, research, or demonstration projects approved by the Governor;

     (3)  Removing the civil service exemption for positions that are exempted by any other law;

     (4)  Specifically exempting employees of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism that support the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Program; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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 S.B. No. 139, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 139, S.D. 1, 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,

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair