Report Title:

VEBAs

 

Description:

Allows for the formation of an employee organization sponsored trust, established as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA), to provide health benefits for state and county employees of a particular bargaining unit, future retirees of that bargaining unit, and existing retirees of that unit who wish to participate in such a trust.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

617

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEES BENEFICIARY ASSOCIATION TRUSTS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to allow for the establishment of an employee organization sponsored trust that would provide health benefits for state and county employees of a particular bargaining unit, as well as future retirees of that bargaining unit, and existing retirees that wish to participate in such a trust. The trust would be established as a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA) trust pursuant to section 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The trust would be funded by employer contributions negotiated pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and employee contributions to be determined by the VEBA trust’s board of trustees for active employees.

This purpose of this Act is also to provide for retiree coverage for any employee who retires from the State or its various counties on or after July 1, 2003, who is a member of the employee organization that has established a VEBA trust under section      —2 of this Act pursuant to an applicable collective bargaining agreement effective on or after July 1, 2003. Existing retirees who are members of an employee organization, who were previously covered by a collective bargaining agreement, will be provided a one-time election to join the employee organization-sponsored VEBA trust once such a trust is established if they wish to do so. Retiree coverage for existing retirees provided by an employee organization’s VEBA trust would be funded by employer contributions made directly to the VEBA trust by the employer.

This requirement of establishing a VEBA trust to be exempt from participation in the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund is intended to be a cost-containment measure in response to the ever-increasing costs of healthcare throughout the State. It is also the intent of this Act to impose upon the trustees of these types of trusts the fiduciary duties required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEES BENEFICIARY ASSOCIATION TRUSTS

§     -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

"Collective bargaining agreement" means the formal written agreement over wages, hours, amounts of contributions by the State and counties or the University of Hawaii to a trust established under this chapter, and other terms and conditions of employment, entered into between an employer and the exclusive representative of the employees of the employer.

"Contribution" means money payments made to the trust by the State or the several counties or a state or county employee.

"Employee" or "public employee" means any person employed by a public employer except elected and appointed officials and such other employees as may be excluded from coverage in section 89-6(c).

"Employee organization" is defined as in section 89-2.

"Employer" or "public employer" is defined as in section 89-2.

"Exclusive representative" is defined as in section 89-2.

"Retiree" means an individual who has retired or will retire from the State of Hawaii or its various counties.

§     -2 Establishment of the trust. An employee organization shall meet the following requirements if it is to establish a voluntary employees beneficiary association trust under this chapter and be exempt from chapter 87A:

(1) The employee organization shall establish a tax-exempt trust pursuant to section 501 (c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, known as a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association trust;

(2) The trust may offer health benefits in accordance with section 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and related regulations; and

(3) The trust shall provide for a plan of benefits it intends to provide for its members, and a summary plan description of the benefits and rules of the plan, which shall meet the standards and requirements of the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. The trust shall furnish a copy of the summary plan description and its amendments to each employee covered under the plan with a copy to the department of human resources development for the State of Hawaii, and to the department of education, University of Hawaii, and the respective human resource departments of each county as their interest may appear;

(4) The trust shall have at least one member of its governing board who is a retiree and a member of the employee organization sponsoring the trust;

(5) The governing board of the trust shall notify its members of regularly scheduled meetings and shall determine the appropriate method by which such notice shall be made; and

(6) The employee organization has an applicable collective bargaining agreement with the employer.

§     -3 Filing requirements. (a) Once established, the trust shall comply with all form and report filing requirements imposed upon the trust by the Internal Revenue Service and shall conform with all requirements of the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

(b) An annual independent audit by a licensed certified public accountant shall be performed on the trust in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The audit shall include full disclosure of all transactions with parties of interest, and include any prohibited transactions within the requirements and standards of the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

(c) The trust shall file a copy of any documents referenced in subsections (a) and (b) with the department of accounting and general services and the department of human resources development.

§ -4 Trustees; fiduciary duty. The trustees of the voluntary employees beneficiary association trust established under this chapter shall be fiduciaries within the standards and meaning of section 404 of the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and other related sections.

§     -5 State and county contributions to trust; active employees. Upon the establishment of a trust satisfying the requirements of       -2 by an employee organization, the State through the department of budget and finance and the several counties through their respective departments of finance, or the University of Hawaii, shall pay to the trust a monthly contribution equal to the amount specified in the applicable public sector collective bargaining agreement from July 1, 2003, and thereafter.

§    -6 State and county contributions to trust; retired employees. (a) Any individual who becomes a retiree on or after the establishment of an employee organization sponsored trust pursuant to section      -2, and who is a member of that established pursuant to section     -2 and the applicable collective bargaining agreement under which the retiree was covered at the date of retirement. Upon the establishment of a trust satisfying the requirements of section     -2 by an employee organization, the State, through the department of budget and finance, and the several counties, through their respective departments of finance, or the University of Hawaii, shall pay to the trust for each retiree that retires on or after July 1, 2003, a monthly contribution pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement that shall not exceed the base monthly contributions or the specific contribution limits set forth in chapter 87A.

(b) Any retiree, prior to an employee organization sponsored trust being established pursuant to section     -2, who is a member of that employee organization, and who was previously covered by a collective bargaining agreement, shall be given a one-time option to transfer participation from the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust to the corresponding employee organization voluntary employees beneficiary association trust once established pursuant to section      -2. Upon the establishment of a trust satisfying the requirements of section      -2 by an employee organization, the State, through the department of budget and finance, and the several counties, through their respective departments of finance, or the University of Hawaii, shall pay to the trust for each retiree who exercises this one-time option to transfer participation from the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust to the appropriate employee organization sponsored voluntary employees beneficiary association trust established pursuant to section      -2, a monthly contribution equal to the contribution received by a similarly situated retiree under the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust.

(c) Medicare part B reimbursements established pursuant to section 87A-23(2) shall be directly transmitted to those retirees and their beneficiaries who qualify and are covered by a voluntary employees beneficiary association trust established pursuant to section      —2 to the same extent retirees and their beneficiaries under the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund receive reimbursements for medicare part B premiums.

(d) For the purposes of this chapter, a collective bargaining agreement includes provisions specifying contributions to a voluntary employees beneficiary association trust sponsored by an employee organization established under section      -2.

§      -7 Termination of the trust. Should an employee organization or a collective bargaining agreement that establishes a trust under section      -2 terminate or cease to provide health benefits, the participants in such trust shall be given the opportunity to return to the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust upon the date that health benefits cease to be provided. All participants electing to return to the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust shall be given the same rights and benefits as if the participant had first participated in the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust from the inception of that trust.

§      -8 Violation of the chapter; enforcement. The attorney general shall enforce any violation of this chapter in addition to any other U.S. federal agency or other state agency that has regulatory oversight over the trust established under this chapter."

SECTION 3. Section 89-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "employee organization" to read as follows:

"Employee organization" means any organization of any kind in which public employees participate and which exists for the primary purpose of dealing with public employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, amounts of contributions by the State and counties to the Hawaii public employees health fund[,] or its successor, or to a voluntary employee beneficiary association sponsored by an employee organization established under chapter , and other terms and conditions of employment of public employees."

SECTION 4. Section 89-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§89-3 Rights of employees. Employees shall have the right of self-organization and the right to form, join, or assist any employee organization for the purpose of bargaining collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, including retiree health benefit contributions, and to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference, restraint, or coercion. An employee shall have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities, except for having a payroll deduction equivalent to the regular dues remitted to an exclusive representative as provided in section 89-4.

SECTION 5. Section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§89-6 Appropriate bargaining units. (a) All employees throughout the State within any of the following categories shall constitute an appropriate bargaining unit:

(1) Nonsupervisory employees in blue collar positions;

(2) Supervisory employees in blue collar positions;

(3) Nonsupervisory employees in white collar positions;

(4) Supervisory employees in white collar positions;

(5) Teachers and other personnel of the department of education under the same pay schedule, including part-time employees working less than twenty hours a week who are equal to one-half of a full-time equivalent;

(6) Educational officers and other personnel of the department of education under the same pay schedule;

(7) Faculty of the University of Hawaii and the community college system;

(8) Personnel of the University of Hawaii and the community college system, other than faculty;

(9) Registered professional nurses;

(10) Institutional, health, and correctional workers;

(11) Firefighters;

(12) Police officers; and

(13) Professional and scientific employees, who cannot be included in any of the other bargaining units.

(b) Because of the nature of work involved and the essentiality of certain occupations that require specialized training, supervisory employees who are eligible for inclusion in units (9) through (13) shall be included in units (9) through (13), respectively, instead of unit (2) or (4).

(c) The classification systems of each jurisdiction shall be the bases for differentiating blue collar from white collar employees, professional from institutional, health and correctional workers, supervisory from nonsupervisory employees, teachers from educational officers, and faculty from nonfaculty. In differentiating supervisory from nonsupervisory employees, class titles alone shall not be the basis for determination. The nature of the work, including whether a major portion of the working time of a supervisory employee is spent as part of a crew or team with nonsupervisory employees, shall be considered also.

(d) For the purpose of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, the public employer of an appropriate bargaining unit shall mean the governor together with the following employers:

(1) For bargaining units (1), (2), (3), (4), (9), (10), and (13), the governor shall have six votes and the mayors, the chief justice, and the Hawaii health systems corporation board shall each have one vote if they have employees in the particular bargaining unit;

(2) For bargaining units (11) and (12), the governor shall have four votes and the mayors shall each have one vote;

(3) For bargaining units (5) and (6), the governor shall have three votes, the board of education shall have two votes, and the superintendent of education shall have one vote;

(4) For bargaining units (7) and (8), the governor shall have three votes, the board of regents of the University of Hawaii shall have two votes, and the president of the University of Hawaii shall have one vote.

Any decision to be reached by the applicable employer group shall be on the basis of simple majority, except when a bargaining unit includes county employees from more than one county. In such case, the simple majority shall include at least one county.

(e) In addition to a collective bargaining agreement under subsection (d), each employer may negotiate, independently of one another, supplemental agreements that apply to their respective employees; provided that any supplemental agreement reached between the employer and the exclusive representative shall not extend beyond the term of the applicable collective bargaining agreement and shall not require ratification by employees in the bargaining unit.

(f) For the purpose of negotiating contributions by the State and counties to a voluntary employee beneficiary association trust sponsored by an employee organization established under chapter     , as part of a collective bargaining agreement, all prospective retirees who retire on or after July 1, 2003, shall be considered members of the bargaining unit they were a member of prior to their retirement from the State of Hawaii or its various counties.

[(f)](g) The following individuals shall not be included in any appropriate bargaining unit or be entitled to coverage under this chapter:

(1) Elected or appointed official;

(2) Member of any board or commission;

(3) Top-level managerial and administrative personnel, including the department head, deputy or assistant to a department head, administrative officer, director, or chief of a state or county agency or major division, and legal counsel;

(4) Secretary to top-level managerial and administrative personnel under paragraph (3);

(5) Individual concerned with confidential matters affecting employee-employer relations;

(6) Part-time employee working less than twenty hours per week, except part-time employees included in unit (5);

(7) Temporary employee of three months' duration or less;

(8) Employee of the executive office of the governor or a household employee at Washington Place;

(9) Employee of the executive office of the lieutenant governor;

(10) Employee of the executive office of the mayor;

(11) Staff of the legislative branch of the State;

(12) Staff of the legislative branches of the counties, except employees of the clerks' offices of the counties;

(13) Any commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Hawaii national guard;

(14) Inmate, kokua, patient, ward or student of a state institution;

(15) Student help;

(16) Staff of the Hawaii labor relations board; or

(17) Employees of the Hawaii national guard youth challenge academy.

[(g)](h) Where any controversy arises under this section, the board shall, pursuant to chapter 91, make an investigation and, after a hearing upon due notice, make a final determination on the applicability of this section to specific individuals, employees, or positions."

SECTION 6. Section 89-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) The employer and the exclusive representative shall meet at reasonable times, including meetings sufficiently in advance of the April 16 impasse date under section 89-11, and shall negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, the amounts of contributions by the State and respective counties to the Hawaii public employees health fund, or its successor, or to a voluntary employee beneficiary association trust sponsored by an employee organization established under chapter     , to the extent allowed in subsection (e), and other terms and conditions of employment which are subject to collective bargaining and which are to be embodied in a written agreement as specified in section 89-10, but such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession; provided that the parties may not negotiate with respect to cost items as defined by section 89-2 for the biennium 1999 to 2001, and the cost items of employees in bargaining units under section 89-6 in effect on June 30, 1999, shall remain in effect until July 1, 2002."

2. By amending subsections (d) and (e) to read:

"(d) Excluded from the subjects of negotiations are matters of classification, reclassification, benefits of but not contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund, or its successor, or to a voluntary employee beneficiary association sponsored by an employee organization established under chapter     , recruitment, examination, initial pricing, and retirement benefits except as provided in section 88-8(h). The employer and the exclusive representative shall not agree to any proposal which would be inconsistent with the merit principle or the principle of equal pay for equal work pursuant to section 76-1 or which would interfere with the rights and obligations of a public employer to:

(1) Direct employees;

(2) Determine qualifications, standards for work, the nature and content of examinations;

(3) Hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions;

(4) Suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees for proper cause;

(5) Relieve an employee from duties because of lack of work or other legitimate reasons;

(6) Maintain efficiency and productivity, including maximizing the use of advanced technology, in government operations;

(7) Determine methods, means, and personnel by which the employer’s operations are to be conducted; and

(8) Take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the missions of the employer in cases of emergencies.

The employer and the exclusive representative may negotiate procedures governing the promotion and transfer of employees to positions with a bargaining unit; the suspension, demotion, discharge, or other disciplinary actions taken against employees within the bargaining unit; and the layoff of employees within the bargaining unit. Violations of the procedures so negotiated may be subject to the grievance procedure in the collective bargaining agreement.

(e) Negotiations relating to contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund or its successor, or to a voluntary employee beneficiary association sponsored by an employee organization established under chapter     , shall be for the purpose of agreeing upon the amounts which the State and counties shall contribute under section 87-4, or other applicable law, toward the payment of the costs for a health benefits plan, as defined in section 87-1(8), or other applicable law, and group life insurance benefits, and the parties shall not be bound by the amounts contributed under prior agreements; provided that section 89-11 for the resolution of disputes by way of arbitration shall not be available to resolve impasses or disputes relating to the amounts the State and counties shall contribute to the Hawaii public employees health fund."

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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