Hawaii House Bill HB1037

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/23/25
• Report Pass: 2/10/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Report Pass: 2/27/25
• Engrossed: 2/27/25
• Refer: 3/4/25
• Report Pass: 3/18/25
• Refer: 3/18/25
• Report Pass: 4/4/25

Caption

Relating To Public Employment Cost Items.

Summary

HB1037 is an appropriations measure for Hawaii’s public employment system that funds collective bargaining cost items for bargaining unit (11) for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It also funds the salary increases and other cost adjustments for state officers and employees who are excluded from collective bargaining but are in the same compensation plans as unit (11) employees. The bill is structured as a biennial funding vehicle for negotiated labor costs rather than as a policy change to the underlying bargaining framework. The bill directs that any appropriated funds be allotted by the director of finance to the appropriate state departments for expenditure in the relevant fiscal year. It also provides that salary increases paid from federal, special, or other funds must be charged to those funds proportionately or wholly, and that any unspent or unencumbered funds lapse at the end of each fiscal year. In addition, the bill includes a constitutional expenditure-ceiling declaration stating that the state general fund expenditure ceiling for FY 2025-2026 has already been exceeded and that this act would further exceed it, with the legislature finding the appropriations necessary to serve the public interest. The bill’s practical impact is to authorize funding for labor-cost obligations tied to bargaining unit (11) and similarly situated excluded employees, affecting state payroll and departmental budgets for the 2025-2027 biennium. Although the text lists zeroes in the funding tables, the measure is designed to provide the legal authority for whatever amounts are needed to implement the negotiated agreement and related compensation adjustments. It therefore affects state appropriations law, collective bargaining funding, and the administration of employee compensation across affected agencies. The available voting history suggests broad support and little opposition in the Senate, with the Senate Labor and Technology Committee passing the bill 4-0 with amendments and the Senate Ways and Means Committee passing it 12-0 unamended. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate significant controversy. Overall, the sentiment appears favorable and routine, consistent with a standard appropriations bill needed to implement negotiated public employee compensation changes. The main point of contention, to the extent one exists in the text, is fiscal rather than substantive: the bill acknowledges that it exceeds the state general fund expenditure ceiling and requires a constitutional justification. That issue may matter to budget watchers and fiscal conservatives, but the unanimous committee votes indicate no visible legislative resistance in the available record.

Impact

HB1037 would authorize state funding for collective bargaining cost items for bargaining unit (11) and for excluded employees in the same compensation plans, affecting Hawaii’s appropriations and public employee compensation administration for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It also invokes the state’s expenditure-ceiling provisions and requires the director of finance to allot funds to the relevant departments, while directing that costs paid from non-general funds be charged to those sources and that unused appropriations lapse at fiscal year-end.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received positively and without recorded opposition in the available committee votes. The Senate Labor and Technology Committee passed it 4-0 with amendments, and the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed it 12-0 unamended, suggesting broad agreement that the measure is a routine funding bill to implement negotiated compensation changes.

Contention

The principal issue is the fiscal impact of the appropriations, particularly the bill’s acknowledgment that it exceeds the state general fund expenditure ceiling for FY 2025-2026. That could raise concern among budget-focused lawmakers or observers, but the unanimous committee votes indicate no significant substantive disagreement in the available record. No other major policy disputes are evident because the bill is primarily an implementation and funding measure rather than a redesign of labor law.