STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3021

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2615

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2615, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COUNTY LABOR STANDARDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the counties to adopt labor standards that include but are not limited to standards for living wages, benefits, and requirements for participation in state-approved apprenticeship programs; provided that the labor standards adopted by the counties do not directly conflict with labor standards established by the State.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Office of the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, one member of the Kauaʻi County Council, one member of the Honolulu City Council, one member of the Maui County Council, Pacific Resource Partnership, Hawaii Harbors Users Group, and Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Maui Chamber of Commerce and Retail Merchants of Hawaii.

Your Committees find that labor violations harm the State's local workforce and their livelihoods. Your Committees further find that some businesses deploy "underground economy" schemes to obscure or distort their responsibilities as employers to comply with regulatory requirements, including those related to wages, payroll taxes, insurance, licensing, and safety. Granting the counties the capacity to adopt labor standards empowers them to protect and ensure the well-being of workers and their families. This measure provides the counties an opportunity to cultivate positive change while instituting fair labor standards and practices.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2615, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair