STAND. COM. REP. NO. 186-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2255

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. 2255 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of the Attorney General to employ support staff without regard to the civil service law and permanently exempt specified positions within the Department and Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission from civil service; and

(2) Exempt certain staff of the Department of the Attorney General's Complex Litigation Division from collective bargaining.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that numerous specialized positions within the Department of the Attorney General require rapid hiring flexibility due to the complexity and urgency of the investigative, forensic, oversight, and litigation functions associated with the positions. Existing civil service and bargaining unit structures can delay recruitment and hinder the Department's ability to respond to critical public safety and legal needs. This measure supports more efficient operations by permanently exempting the identified positions from civil service requirements and clarifying bargaining unit exemptions where needed.

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.

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. 2255, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2255, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair