STAND. COM. REP. NO. 185-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2249

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. 2249 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPT POSITIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permanently exempt certain positions within the Public Works Division's Special Project Branch and the Comptroller's Office from state civil service and collective bargaining laws.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Accounting and General Services; and Hawaii Community Development Authority. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Accounting and General Services increasingly undertakes unique and highly specialized public works projects requiring rapid staffing flexibility that traditional civil service processes cannot readily support. The growing demand for specialized personnel in communications, change management, and business process improvement further underscores the need for the Department to swiftly recruit and deploy qualified staff. Allowing designated positions to be exempt from civil service law and collective bargaining ensures the Department can efficiently fill these roles and maintain continuity in delivering complex statewide projects.

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 the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee notes a concern regarding a potential title conflict with the contents of the measure and respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should they deliberate on this measure, to confer with the Department of the Attorney General regarding this concern.

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. 2249, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2249, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair