STAND. COM. REP. NO. 637-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2172

H.D. 2

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. 2172, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF RETIRANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a five-year pilot program authorizing the Department of Education to rehire retired teachers and educational officers for hard-to-staff positions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Department of Education; Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii; and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that the State continues to face a severe shortage of qualified educators, especially in geographic areas and subject fields that have long struggled to attract and retain licensed teachers. Your Committee further finds that the State's reliance on temporary emergency hires and short-term visa teachers creates ongoing instability for students and contributes to continuous turnover that burdens school staff and disrupts learning. Your Committee believes that enabling the Department of Education to rehire experienced retirees through a structured pilot program will help fill critical vacancies with proven talent, improve instructional continuity, and reduce long-term recruitment pressures.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have:

(A) Required the retirant to be included in the appropriate bargaining unit for payments of dues and grievance protections, but excluded from tenure and promotion provisions; and

(B) Authorized the Superintendent to establish a salary schedule for retirants that differs from the applicable collective bargaining agreement;

(2) Clarifying the definition "employee‑beneficiary" under the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund law for purposes of rehiring a retired teacher;

(3) Clarifying the authorization of a retirant being employed without reenrollment in the Employees' Retirement System for retired teachers hired under this measure;

(4) Inserting a savings clause; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of 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. 2172, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2172, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair