STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1260

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1176

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred H.B. No. 1176, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A JOB CORPS PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish and appropriate funds for a state job corps program within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) with a focus on the resiliency and green sector industries to help address the unemployment impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and support economic diversification.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Research and Development of the County of Hawaii; one member of the Hawai‘i County Council; Kupu; Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai‘i; Beyond Organic Consulting, Inc.; Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Hawaii Fish Company, Inc.; Hawai‘i Public Health Association; Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo; Kua O Ka La New Century Public Charter School; Mainstreet-Pahoa Association; The Nature Conservancy; Re-Use Hawai‘i; Young Democrats of Hawai‘i; and ten individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Hawaii had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation; however, the pandemic has placed tens of thousands of Hawaii residents out of work, and the current state unemployment rate is among the nation's highest. Your Committee also finds the State's commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Accord and attain its 2045 zero-emissions clean economy target requires the State to invest in its community and emerging economic sectors. This measure provides Hawaii residents who were economically impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic with opportunities to learn new skills and increase their prospects of employment in the resiliency and green sectors, while building a diversified economy.

Your Committee notes testimony from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) on its long-time partnership with AmeriCorps and Kupu through their mentorship programs that have been hugely successful in increasing Hawaii youth employment in not only the conservation sector but also the workforce at large. Your Committee also notes Kupu's testimony attesting to the DLNR's expertise in the subject matter of green jobs, especially natural resource management, and DLNR's substantial experience in administering a similar program - the Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps program – under chapter 193, part IV, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Based on these testimonies, your Committee finds that the DLNR is better suited to administer the job corps program established by this measure.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending section 1 to reflect the amended purpose of establishing a Green Job Youth Corps program within the DLNR;

(2) Amending section 193-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to allow the Governor to designate the DLNR to administer or enter into an agreement or agreements for the administration of a Green Jobs Youth Corps program;

(3) Requiring DLNR to submit a report to the Legislature on its implementation of the program prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022;

(4) Changing the expending agency of the funds appropriated from the DLIR to the DLNR; and

(5) 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 Labor, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1176, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1176, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair