STAND. COM. REP. NO. 196

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 337

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 337 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to furnish a list of five qualified and experienced interest arbitrators in the event the parties fail to select the neutral third member of an arbitration panel; and

(2) Clarify that the list of five interest arbitrators may contain arbitrators from both the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO and Hawaii State AFL-CIO.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board.

Your Committee finds that experienced, well-qualified arbitrators are critical to reaching mutually satisfactory outcomes in the dispute resolution process. Currently, the American Arbitration Association is the only organization from which the Hawaii Labor Relations Board may request a list of interest arbitrators to select as the neutral third member of an arbitration panel. This measure will expand the pool of available skillful arbitrators by also allowing selections of interest arbitrators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Labor and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 337, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 337, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Technology,

________________________________

HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair