STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2119

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2117

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2117 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMPLOYER-UNION HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Allow impasses and disputes relating to the amounts of State and county contributions to the Hawaii Employer‑Union Health Benefits Trust Fund to be resolved by arbitration; and

(2) Repeal the prohibition against strikes by members of bargaining units on the issue of the amounts of state and county contributions to the Trust Fund.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association; University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; and United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Office of Collective Bargaining, Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, and Libertarian Party of Hawaii.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Resources Development.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund plays a critical role in providing health care benefits to public employees and their dependents, and that contributions by public employers to the Trust Fund on behalf of their employees are an important component of a public employee's compensation package. Your Committee finds, however, that under existing law, collective bargaining disputes over these contribution amounts are excluded from final and binding arbitration and instead are subject to a separate process that allows the parties to submit recommendations to the Legislature for final determination, while also prohibiting strikes over those contribution amounts. This bifurcated dispute-resolution framework limits the effectiveness of binding arbitration and can delay final resolution of collective bargaining impasses. Accordingly, this measure will allow impasses over contribution amounts to be resolved through the same binding arbitration process applicable to other negotiable terms, thereby promoting timely resolution of disputes, strengthening the collective bargaining process, and providing greater predictability for both public employers and employees.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2077, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2117, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2117, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

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

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BRANDON J.C. ELEFANTE, Chair