STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3297

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2468

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2468, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO QUALIFIED COMMUNITY REHABILITATION PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to support community rehabilitation programs that employ persons with disabilities.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Allows a community rehabilitation program for persons with disabilities to be considered qualified for purposes of the State's procurement code without requiring a federal or state certification that authorizes the payment of a subminimum wage to workers in the program; and

(2) Requires a qualified community rehabilitation program to maintain a certain disabled to non-disabled employee ratio for work hours of direct labor for the work contracted.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, Democratic Party of Hawaii Labor Caucus, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and several individuals.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that the State Procurement Code currently requires community rehabilitation programs employing persons with disabilities to hold a federal and state subminimum wage certificate in order to qualify for government contracts under section 103D-1010, Hawaii Revised Statutes, even though many of these community rehabilitation programs do not pay subminimum wages.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity and style.

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 S.B. No. 2468, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2468, S.D. 2.

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

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair