STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1001

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1204

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1204, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMPLOYER-UNION HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST FUND DEFINITIONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify the eligibility of surviving children to receive benefits under the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund by amending the definitions of "dependent-beneficiary" and "employee-beneficiary" in chapter 87A, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(2) Update references related to marriage to account for civil unions in interpreting who is a "dependent-beneficiary" and "employee-beneficiary".

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.

Your Committees find that the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund offers health benefits to dependents of state and county employees and retirees. Your Committees further find that while, under existing law, when an employee or retiree passes away under certain qualifying circumstances, the employee's or retiree's surviving spouse's children that are born after the employee's or retiree's death are eligible to participate in benefit plans offered under the fund. However, children born or legally adopted after the employee's or retiree's death who are not the employee's or retiree's natural or adopted children should not be eligible to participate in fund benefit plans because the child is not the child of the employee or retiree.

Your Committees additionally find that there is inconsistency in the date of termination of coverage between surviving children of employees who are killed in the performance of their duties and surviving children of employees who are eligible for retirement. This measure will clarify these provisions of the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund chapter of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1204, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1204, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair