STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2228

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3215

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 3215 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GARNISHMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize cost of living expenses, as determined by the self‑sufficiency standard for the State, to be protected from certain garnishments.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action, Pono Hawai‘i Initiative, and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Financial Services Association; MEDCAH, Inc.; Guardian Capital Management Hawaii; and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Credit Union League and one individual.

Your Committee finds that wage garnishment occurs when a court orders an employer to withhold a specified percentage of an employee's paycheck for payment of a debt. Hawaii law exempts from wage garnishment a portion of the defendant's income remaining after the deduction of any amounts required by law to be withheld. Your Committee further finds that this exemption currently does not sufficiently protect consumers, as Hawaii's cost of living is among the highest in the nation. Many individuals subject to garnishment may have to file for bankruptcy, become homeless, experience other negative financial outcomes, or become a burden on the State's social services. This measure will reduce the financial harms imposed on individuals and families subject to existing garnishment law.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing language that would have established a cost of living exemption from certain garnishments;

(2) Specifying that the withholding amount for purposes of wage garnishment is five percent of the first $200 per month, ten percent of the next $200 per month, and twenty percent of all sums in excess of $400 per month; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3215, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3215, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair