STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3536

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1726

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1726, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT COST ITEMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for collective bargaining cost items, salary adjustments, and other cost items for public employees in collective bargaining unit (14) and their excluded counterparts for fiscal biennium 2017-2019.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that negotiations with collective bargaining unit (14) are currently in progress and that this measure provides a legislative vehicle to appropriate necessary funds if an agreement is reached or an arbitration decision is rendered prior to the end of the 2018 Regular Session.

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 H.B. No. 1726, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair