STAND. COM. REP. NO. 422

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1287
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 1287 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HEALTH
     FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide identifiable
employee-beneficiaries of the Public Employees' Health Fund
(Health Fund) who contributed moneys to the Health Fund in years
where an excess was collected with a rate credit.

     The measure also enables the Health Fund to utilize the
excess available funds to subsidize health plan costs.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Public Employees' Health Fund.

     Your Committee finds that the Health Fund currently has an
available balance of $17,723,841 in employee contributions that
are in excess of the needs of the Health Fund.  Under existing
law, the Health Fund does not have the authority to rebate this
money back to the employee-beneficiaries who contributed to the
fund.  Additionally, the Health Fund is holding $1,459,996 in
employer contributions that could be refunded to the public
employers if this measure was enacted.

     Your Committee has amended the measure by making technical,
nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of style.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 422
                                   Page 2



     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 1287, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 1287, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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