STAND. COM. REP. NO. 18-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1859

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1859 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Workforce Development Council to recommend to the Governor a comprehensive statewide workforce strategy for inclusion in the State Unified Plan, and to facilitate the alignment of state departments' and agencies' workforce development efforts to achieve the State Unified Plan and the statewide workforce strategy.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; Office of Economic Revitalization of the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative; HawaiiKidsCAN; Aloha United Way; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; Holomua Collaborative; Title Guaranty of Hawaiʻi; aio Family of Companies; and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii faces widening economic pressures, including the high cost of living, outmigration of working residents, and limited long‑term career pathways for youth, which weaken the State's overall talent pipeline. Your Committee further finds that despite existing efforts across agencies and sectors, Hawaii lacks a unified long‑term workforce strategy that aligns resources, data, and planning toward a common statewide goal. This measure addresses these challenges by requiring the Workforce Development Council to develop a comprehensive statewide workforce strategy and coordinate interagency alignment, ensuring a cohesive approach to building a resilient and economically vibrant workforce.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1859, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1859, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Economic Development & Technology.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair