STAND. COM. REP. 3253

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 1780

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1780, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to limit paid leave for government employees that attend parent-teacher conferences to two-hours.

The bill applies to parents of children in kindergarten through twelfth grade and proposes to include all students, regardless of age, within the scope of the law.

Presently, the law provides that employees are eligible for "at least" two hours of paid leave to attend parent-teacher conferences. Read literally, the phrase "at least" may be construed to mean unlimited time-off. This was never the intent of the Legislature. To clarify this provision, and to allow adequate time for the actual conference and travel-time, this bill provides for "up to" two hours for parents to attend conferences.

The bill also broadens the scope of the law to include parents of students who are not minors. Your Committee finds that this change will correct an inadvertent flaw in the law which prevented parents of children eighteen years or older from receiving paid leave to attend parent-teacher conferences.

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 H.B. No. 1780, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair