STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2544

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2119

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Labor and Technology and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2119 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the State or a county to reimburse an officer or employee for work-related travel costs that the officer or employee loaned to the State or a county within thirty calendar days of submitting an approved Statement of Completed Travel;

(2) Require the State or a county to pay interest on a loan not reimbursed within thirty days until the loan is fully reimbursed;

(3) Obligate an officer or employee to request a complete refund from the travel vendor for travel not taken; and

(4) Entitle an officer or employee to reimbursement from the State or a county when a travel vendor offers no or a partial refund.

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

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the State Procurement Office, Department of Accounting and General Services, and Hawaiʻi State Public Library System.

Your Committees find that public officers and employees are often required to incur out-of-pocket travel expenses in the performance of their official duties. Your Committees also find that these work-related travel costs may impose an unnecessary financial burden on public officers and employees when the State or a county does not provide reimbursement in a timely manner or cancelled travel expenses are non-refundable. This measure reduces the financial risk borne by public employees by establishing a clear and timely reimbursement procedure.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that an officer or employee who affirmatively agrees to loan the State or a county the money for travel costs shall submit detailed expenditures and related receipts with an approved Statement of Completed Travel or similar document to receive reimbursement for travel costs;

(2) Replacing language that would have required the State or a county to pay an unspecified percentage of interest on the total amount owed to an officer or employee when the State or a county fails to reimburse the officer or employee within the required time frame and to compound that interest every thirty days, with language requiring the State or a county to pay interest on the total amount owed to the officer or employee at a rate determined by the Comptroller;

(3) Inserting language to clarify that if an officer's or employee's approved travel is canceled or an officer or employee can no longer participate in the approved travel through no fault of their own:

(A) The officer or employee shall attempt to obtain a complete refund on all approved travel costs from the vendor;

(B) If a vendor refund is not available, then the officer or employee shall be entitled to reimbursement from the State or a county with the submittal of detailed expenditure and related receipts on the approved portion of the travel only; and

(C) If the officer or employee receives only a partial refund on the approved total cost from the vendor, then the officer or employee shall be entitled to reimbursement from the State or a county for the difference between the approved total cost of the travel and the amount reimbursed by the vendor, excluding any personal deviation costs, with the submittal of detailed expenditures and related receipts; and

(4) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2077, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor and Technology and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2119, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2119, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor and Technology and Government Operations,

________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair

________________________________ BRANDON J.C. ELEFANTE, Chair