News

Today is First Decking, which is when all bills must be in final form and made available to Senate and House members 48 hours prior to being voted on. Any bill not submitted in its final form by today will no longer be considered for passage during this session. (Note: Because this is the first year of the biennium, the Legislature still has the opportunity to hear 2011 bills in the 2012 session). Crossover, which is the day bills in the originating house (HB for the House and SB for the Senate) must pass Third Reading and move to the other house for consideration, is Thursday, March 10.

As mentioned in the previous eBulletin, HB1061 – Medicare Part B reimbursement, now has a House Draft 2. In its most current form, the bill will only affect prospective employees; the gradual step down reimbursement based on years of service has been removed. Also, SB1094 – Disclosure of Salary, fell one vote short to pass out of JDL committee, and is dead. (Votes were as follows: AYE – Hee: AYE WITH RESERVATIONS – Gabbard; NO – Ihara and Slom; EXCUSED – Shimabukuro) HGEA worked with DHRD on a compromise SD1, but the bill did not garner enough support.

Late yesterday, the House Finance Committee recommitted HB815 – make the EUTF premium non-negotiable under collective bargaining, set the premium rate at 50% Employer/Employee contribution, limit the benefit plans offered – and deferred the measure indefinitely. At this time, we consider the bill dead, but continue to closely monitor all legislation.

This morning, Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee passed SB1065 – creation of a BU14, with amendments.

We are hopeful that all of our priority bills, with the exception of SB1094, will pass Third Reading and crossover.

=======

Legislative Tid-Bit: Effective Dates

QUESTION: What does it mean when a bill has an effective date of July 1, 2020, or July 1, 2050?

ANSWER: Sometimes, a committee will defect an effective date to "allow for further discussion." A defective date is a procedural amendment and allows the bill to move and meet mandatory legislative deadlines (i.e. lateral and crossover), while at the same time encourages conversation about the subject.