STAND. COM. REP. NO. 132

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1161

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1161 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY ENTITLEMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure that military personnel, when called to active duty:

(1) Are paid without delay at the same rate as their active duty counterparts;

(2) Are entitled to basic allowance for housing; and

(3) Receive service credit toward public pension and retirement.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Employees' Retirement System and Department of Defense.

Your Committee finds that military personnel are ordered to active duty in the State during times of disaster, to provide assistance such as helping communities recover from tropical storms and flooding. Your Committee also finds that not all of these men and women who are called to active duty are paid in a timely manner or entitled to basic allowance for housing. Your Committee believes that military personnel, when ordered to active duty in the State, should have access to the same entitlements as their active duty counterparts. This measure will support military personnel serving in the State during times of disaster by ensuring that military personnel are paid without delay and entitled to basic allowance for housing at the same rate as their active duty counterparts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have provided service credit for time on active duty in the State and allowed state and county employees to count the time called to active duty in the State toward public pension and retirement;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(3) 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 Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1161, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1161, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

________________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair