STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1356

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 981

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred H.B. No. 981, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Specify that overpayments and retirement benefits constitute a debt due and owing to the Employees' Retirement System by recipients of overpayments;

(2) Authorize the Employees' Retirement System to adopt and enforce rules to recover retirement benefit overpayments; and

(3) Authorize waiver of benefit overpayments in cases of hardship or where the costs of recovery exceed the amount to be recovered.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Employees' Retirement System.

Your Committee finds that existing law is not clear regarding the Employees' Retirement System's ability to recover overpaid benefit payments. This measure will strengthen the Employees' Retirement System's ability to recover overpaid benefit payments by declaring overpayments to be debts due and owing to the Employees' Retirement System and clarifying that overpayments are legally collectable. This measure will facilitate rulemaking for maximum recovery, the filing of legal collection actions and liens against real property of overpaid recipients, and the filing of claims against the estate of deceased recipients.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the recovery of retirement benefit overpayments shall be made in accordance with both applicable state law and federal regulations; 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 Labor, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 981, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 981, H.D. 1, 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, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair