THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            161
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE HAWAII CARPENTERS' TRUST FUND AND OTHER UNION
    TRUST FUNDS TO WORK WITH THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
    EMPLOYERS TO RESOLVE DIFFERENCES OVER THE EMPLOYERS'
    OBLIGATION TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNION TRUST FUND.
 


 1        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court has held that employers
 2   engaged in building construction must make contributions to
 3   union trust funds of their workers, Hawaii Carpenters' Trust
 4   Funds v. Aloe Development Corp., 63 Haw. 566 (1981),
 5   hereinafter cited as "Carpenters' Trust Funds"; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court in Carpenters' Trust
 8   Funds interpreted section 507-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 9   relating to mechanic's and materialman's lien on real property,
10   to require that contractors pay negotiated contributions into
11   the union trust funds, even though the statute does not mention
12   employer contributions as being the furnishing of labor or
13   material; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court in Carpenters' Trust
16   Funds took a liberal approach to statutory interpretation,
17   admitting in its opinion that "...the remedial portions of
18   mechanic's lien statutes should be liberally construed"... (at
19   page 572); and
20   
21        WHEREAS, requiring construction industry employers to
22   contribute to union trust funds increases the costs of labor
23   and the costs of construction, is another financial burden on
24   the employers, and is ultimately paid for by the owner of the
25   improvements; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, if an employer fails to make contributions to the
28   union trust funds, the result could be that a union trust fund
29   could file a lien against the real property to the detriment of
30   the property owner who is an innocent bystander in the dispute;
31   and
32   
33        WHEREAS, oftentimes, a subcontractor fails to contribute

 
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 1   to the union trust funds, whereby the contractor is required to
 2   pay for the subcontractors union trust fund portion; and 
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, this results in the contractor contributing
 5   "twice" to the union trust funds; and 
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, as an alternative to legislation to clarifying
 8   the statute to exempt employer contributions to the union trust
 9   funds, construction industry employers and union trust fund
10   trustees should work together to reach an agreement on the
11   amount that employers should be required to pay into the union
12   trust funds; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, for instance, contractors currently have the
15   ability to require a performance bond or execute a contract
16   with a subcontractor stipulating remedies if the subcontractor
17   does not pay into the trust fund;  now, therefore,
18   
19        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
20   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
21   Representatives concurring, that the Building Industry
22   Association, General Contractors Association, Subcontractors
23   Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Carpenters' Trust Funds, and
24   other union trust funds are requested to work together to agree
25   on how much employers should be required to pay into the trust
26   fund to cover fringe benefits; and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
29   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Building Industry
30   Association, General Contractors Association, Subcontractors
31   Association of Hawaii and Hawaii Carpenters' Trust Funds.
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35                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________