CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 111-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2707

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2707, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require the employer to initiate negotiations on repricing of classes within a bargaining unit within thirty days of the employer's receipt of the exclusive representative's written request to negotiate; and

(2) Establish that the employer's failure to initiate the negotiation within this time frame, or the parties' failure to reach an agreement within ninety days of the exclusive representative's written request to negotiate or by January 31 of a year in which the collective bargaining agreement is due to expire, whichever is earlier, constitutes an impasse to which the impasse procedures in section 89-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall apply.

Your Committee on Conference finds that repricing means the reassignment of classes within a bargaining unit from one pay range to another in the same salary schedule based on appropriate factors that occurs when the pay range of a class is not in proper alignment with other classes in the same bargaining unit. Your Committee on Conference further finds that under the existing process, it is extremely difficult for employees to seek the repricing of their classes. By providing mandatory timeframes within which repricing negotiations must be initiated and an agreement reached, the failure of which would cause impasse procedures to apply, this measure will ensure that public employees are being paid competitive and fair wages, which will allow the employers to better recruit and retain qualified workers.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2022.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2707, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2707, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ RICHARD H.K. ONISHI Co-Chair	____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI Chair
____________________________ JACKSON D. SAYAMA Co-Chair	____________________________ KARL RHOADS Co-Chair