STAND. COM. REP. NO. 185

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 249

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 249 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RETIREMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish that a member of the Employees' Retirement System who first earned credited service as a judge after June 30, 2017, and has at least twelve years of credited service and attained age sixty, or has at least twenty-five years of credited service and has attained age fifty-five is eligible to receive a pension after retirement; and

     (2)  Reduce the percentage of average final compensation used to calculate the retirement allowance for a member who first earned credited service as a judge after June 30, 2017, to two per cent.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Judiciary, Hawai‘i State Trial Judges Association, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, and fourteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Employees' Retirement System.

     Your Committee finds that there have been various revisions to the Employees' Retirement System, and implementation of this measure is necessary to maintain reasonable and fair benefits under the Employees' Retirement System.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Reducing the number of years of credited service required for pension eligibility for a member of the Employees' Retirement System, who first earned credited service as a judge after June 30, 2017, and attained age sixty, from twelve to ten years; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     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. 249, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 249, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair