STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1461-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 99

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 99, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow certain Employees' Retirement System retirants to be employed as law enforcement officers stationed at public schools or as investigators in positions identified as labor shortage or difficult‑to‑fill, without reenrollment in the system and without loss or interruption of retirement benefits, subject to specific conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary; Department of the Attorney General; and Department of Law Enforcement. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System.

Your Committee finds that the State continues to experience significant labor shortages in law enforcement and investigator positions, including those needed to serve as school resource officers. These shortages create operational strain for agencies and limit the State's ability to fill critical public safety roles with qualified personnel. Your Committee believes that authorizing certain retirants to return to work in these positions without loss of retirement benefits will help agencies address persistent vacancies and strengthen statewide public safety capacity.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Establishing standards and criteria to determine a difficult-to-fill position or labor shortage position under this measure;

(2) Deleting language that would have allowed a retirant to be employed as an investigator identified by the Department of the Attorney General or Department of Law Enforcement as a labor shortage or difficult-to-fill position;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) 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 S.B. No. 99, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 99, S.D. 1, 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