STAND. COM. REP. NO. 839

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 139

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, 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 and intent of this measure is to ensure that the limited authority to exempt positions from civil service pursuant to section 76-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is being used as intended by the Legislature.

     More specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Requires each director of a central personnel agency for a jurisdiction to review civil service positions exempted from July 1, 2002, and prior to July 1, 2014, to determine whether the civil service positions should remain exempt;

     (2)  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; and

     (3)  Requires the Director of Human Resources Development to submit a report to the Legislature related to the review of the civil service positions exempted from July 1, 2002, and prior to July 1, 2014.

     Your Committee finds that the State has made an effort to curb the use of civil service exempt positions in order to promote the merit principle on which the civil service system is based.  Your Committee believes that the review of exemptions from civil service, coupled with temporary authority to retain incumbents in positions reverted to civil service even if the incumbent does not currently meet the minimum qualifications for the position, will help ensure that positions remain exempt from civil service only as intended by the Legislature.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 139, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair