STAND. COM. REP. NO. 660-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 2448

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2448, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A STATEWIDE DATA HUB,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to establish and maintain a statewide data hub to collect employer and employee data;

(2) Authorize the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to determine the type of employer and employee data to collect, the functions of the statewide data hub, and access and document retention policies for the data; and

(3) Appropriate funds.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that Act 88, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, abolished the Research and Statistics Office in the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and transferred related positions and funding to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. In 2021, the Federal Labor Research Program was also transferred to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. The statewide data hub proposed by this measure will complement the existing work of the Federal Labor Research Program and provide the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism with the authority to continue working with the federal government, Hawaii employers and employees, and other state agencies to collect and report Hawaii labor statistics on a timely basis.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2448, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

AARON LING JOHANSON, Chair