HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2339
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS IN STATE HIRING.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that one of the conditions of employment with state or county government is to become a resident of the State within thirty days of beginning employment. Recently, there has been confusion if military servicemember's dependents, which includes their civilian spouses, in Hawaii are required to give up residency status in their "home" state to gain employment with the State.

However, through recent interpretations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, the department of taxation no longer considers income received by a servicemember's civilian spouse for services performed in Hawaii as Hawaii-sourced income. Therefore, for consistency with the SCRA, the legislature finds that military servicemember's dependents shall be exempt from this residency requirement when the military servicemember's dependent is in Hawaii accompanying the military servicemember on valid military orders.

SECTION 2. Section 78-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) All persons seeking employment with the government of the State or in the service of any county shall be citizens, nationals, or permanent resident aliens of the United States, or eligible under federal law for unrestricted employment in the United States, and shall become residents of the State within thirty days after beginning their employment as a condition of eligibility for continued employment[.], except that bona fide military servicemembers' dependents shall be exempt from the requirement to become residents if they are in the State due to the military servicemember's orders.

As used in this subsection:

"Dependent", with respect to a servicemember, means the servicemember's spouse, the servicememberˈs child who is under the age of eighteen years, or an individual for whom the servicemember provided more than one-half of the individual's financial support for one hundred eighty days immediately preceding an application for an exemption under this section.

"Resident" means a person who is physically present in the State at the time the person claims to have established the person's domicile in the State and shows the person's intent is to make Hawaii the person's primary residence."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.

Report Title:

Military Dependents; Residency Exemption for State Employment

Description:

Exempts dependents of military servicemembers from state residency requirement for employment with state or county government. Effective 1/1/2050. (HD2)

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