STAND. COM. REP. NO. 628-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2359

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. 2359 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RETIRANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a five-year pilot program allowing retirants to be rehired into hard‑to‑staff positions for terms longer than eighty-nine days.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and Employees' Retirement System.

Your Committee finds that the State faces ongoing shortages in technical and specialized positions that require experienced workers who can assume duties quickly and effectively. Existing restrictions limiting retirants to short, eighty-nine-day contracts create constant turnover, discourage retirees from returning, and hinder long‑term project management across departments. Your Committee believes that creating a structured, cost-neutral pilot program allowing longer-term hiring of qualified retirants will improve workforce stability, preserve institutional knowledge, and strengthen the State's ability to fill critical vacancies.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing provisions regarding the salary for a position within the Department of Education;

(2) Clarifying the definition of "employee-beneficiary";

(3) Specifying that a retirant shall not have been employed by the State or a county during the twelve, rather than six, months before the first day of reemployment;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; 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. 2359, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2359, 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