STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2417

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2515

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 Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2515 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE EMPLOYMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the authority for department heads to establish and abolish positions for special, research, and demonstration projects approved by the Governor.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Governor; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Agriculture; Department of Human Services; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Public Safety; Department of Transportation; Department of Health; and Office of Enterprise Technology Services.

Your Committee finds that executive departments and agencies currently have thousands of unfilled positions that are funded each year via the state budget. Executive department heads also have the ability to create positions, with approval of the Governor, outside of the legislative process. This measure abolishes the ability of department heads to create such positions.

Your Committee notes that at the hearing on this measure, the Department of Budget and Finance stated that passage of this measure would negatively impact four hundred fifty full-time equivalent positions. As such, they were requested to provide a break out of the four hundred fifty positions, by title, position, and department, that will be affected by this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2515, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2515, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair