STAND. COM. REP. NO 469

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1089

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1089 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Amend section 78-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to require employees receiving workers' compensation benefits to deduct retirement contributions from benefits received; and

 

     (2)  Provide for actuarially neutral cost for the acquisition by members of the Employees' Retirement System of membership service credit for pervious service and for pervious military service and to establish deadlines for:

 

          (A)  New members of the Contributory and Hybrid plans of the Employees' Retirement System to claim membership services credit for previous service and for previous military service; and

 

          (B)  Members to initiate payment for previous service, previous military service, and unpaid leave.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and the Employees' Retirement System.

 

     Your Committee finds that this Administration-sponsored measure helps to reduce the Employees' Retirement System's unfunded actuarial accrued liability; however, your Committee expresses concern over the potential negative impact this measure may have on the rehabilitative efforts of the workers' compensation system.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (2)  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 Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1089, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1089, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair