HB1029 is an appropriations measure that funds collective bargaining cost items for Hawaii public employees in bargaining unit (3) for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. The bill covers negotiated salary increases and related cost adjustments for represented employees, as well as equivalent adjustments for excluded employees who are in the same compensation plans. It also includes funding for the Department of Education, the Judiciary, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and health premium payments.
The bill allocates money from multiple funding sources, including general funds, special funds, federal funds, trust funds, revolving funds, other funds, American Rescue Plan funds, and special fund CIP. It specifies that the Director of Finance must allot the funds to the appropriate departments, that the Chief Justice must expend certain Judiciary funds, and that unspent amounts lapse at the end of each fiscal year. The act takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB1029 would amend state spending law by authorizing and appropriating funds to implement the fiscal impact of the State’s collective bargaining agreement with bargaining unit (3), along with corresponding pay adjustments for excluded employees in the same compensation plans. It directly affects budget authority for statewide agencies, the Department of Education, the Judiciary, and the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and it establishes how the appropriated amounts are to be distributed and spent across the biennium.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. Committee votes in the Senate Labor and Technology Committee, Senate Ways and Means Committee, and conference committees were unanimous, suggesting general agreement on the need to fund negotiated public employee compensation items. The absence of recorded dissent or committee testimony in the provided materials indicates a largely routine, consensus-driven appropriations measure.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record. The main policy issue is fiscal rather than ideological: the bill requires significant appropriations from general and other funds to cover negotiated wage and benefit costs for bargaining unit (3) and comparable excluded employees. Any potential concern would likely center on the budgetary impact and the use of multiple funding sources, but no specific objections, amendments in dispute, or opposing viewpoints are shown in the provided transcripts or votes.