STAND. COM. REP. NO.653

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 584

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 584, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERSONNEL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide the Department of Education with an additional means of coping with personnel shortages.

Specifically, this bill allows the Department of Education to hire former teachers, principals, or vice principals who have retired from state service for hard-to-fill positions identified by the Superintendent of Education.

In particular, the bill provides that retired employees employed in hard-to fill positions shall continue to receive retirement benefits, but shall not accrue additional retirement benefits based upon their post-retirement employment. Additionally, the bill provides that the State, in addition to local communities, may offer incentive packages to attract and retain classroom teachers and school administrators in schools with high vacancy rates. The Department's authority to employ retired teachers, principals, or vice principals is repealed on June 30, 2004. After June 30, 2004, incentive packages may be offered only by local communities to retain quality teachers in schools with high teacher turnover rates.

The Superintendent of Education testified in support of the measure and offered an amendment requiring retirees to be retired for two years before being eligible to return to service. The Hawaii Government Employees Association also supported the measure.

Your Committee supports the Department of Education's efforts to provide quality education for all students, including efforts to maintain a teacher applicant pool capable of addressing continuing teacher shortages in hard-to-fill positions. This measure will help fill those positions by authorizing retirees to be hired and expanding incentive packages offered to attract and retain classroom teachers and school administrators at certain schools. By providing that retired employees employed in hard-to-fill positions do not accrue additional retirement benefits, the State is not burdened with added costs.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill to include the Superintendent's suggested amendment to require retirees to be retired from state service for two years before being eligible to return to service.

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 S.B. No. 584, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 584, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair