STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2861

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2991

S.D. 2

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. 2991, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT CREATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to adopt rules establishing criteria for the creation of new bargaining units;

(2) Require any employee, employer, or exclusive representative proposing a new bargaining unit to submit an application to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board;

(3) Require the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to consider certain criteria in determining the appropriateness of a new bargaining unit;

(4) Require the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to, upon its approval of the application, submit a report to the Legislature, including proposed legislation for the Legislature to consider and enact to create the new bargaining unit, accompanied by a decision and order issued by the Board;

(5) Set forth procedures that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board must follow when it denies an application; and

(6) Appropriate funds.

Your Committees received no testimony on this measure.

Your Committees find that although there are a number of interested groups seeking to form bargaining units, existing law does not provide clear criteria or procedures to make those determinations. This measure will establish the authority for the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to develop the criteria for and to assess requests for determination of new bargaining units.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting legislative findings;

(2) Inserting language allowing any employee, employer, or executive representative to petition the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to determine the appropriateness of a new bargaining unit;

(3) Deleting language that would have set forth procedures that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board must follow when it denies an application;

(4) Clarifying that the blank appropriation in this measure is for the development of the criteria and procedures established by this measure and to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) position within the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to implement the criteria and procedures established by this measure; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 2991, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2991, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair