HB1038 is an appropriations measure that funds collective bargaining cost items for Hawaii’s bargaining unit (13) for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It provides money for negotiated wage and benefit obligations for unit 13 employees across state government, including the Department of Education, the Judiciary, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and statewide health premium payment accounts. The bill also covers salary increases and other cost adjustments for employees who are excluded from collective bargaining but are in the same compensation plans as unit 13 employees.
The bill is structured in multiple parts that allocate or authorize funding from a mix of general funds, special funds, federal funds, trust funds, revolving funds, other funds, and American Rescue Plan funds. It directs the Director of Finance, and in some cases the Chief Justice, to allot or expend the funds in the relevant fiscal years, and it includes standard provisions that unpaid or unencumbered funds lapse at the end of each fiscal year. The act takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB1038 would amend state spending authority by appropriating or authorizing millions of dollars to satisfy negotiated labor costs for bargaining unit 13 and related excluded employees, thereby implementing the fiscal terms of the State’s labor agreements for the 2025-2027 biennium. It affects state payroll and benefits funding across multiple agencies, especially education, the judiciary, and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and it requires proportional payment from non-general fund sources where employee compensation is funded by those accounts. The bill does not create a new regulatory program, but it directly changes budget law and authorizes the expenditure of public funds for public employee compensation.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support and little opposition. The bill advanced through the Senate Labor and Technology Committee, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and conference committees with unanimous or near-unanimous votes, indicating consensus around funding the negotiated compensation package. No committee transcripts were provided, but the pattern of passage suggests the measure was viewed as a routine and necessary appropriations bill to implement labor agreements.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record. The main issues inherent in the bill are fiscal: the size of the appropriations, the use of multiple funding sources, and the need to fund both represented employees and their excluded counterparts under chapter 89C, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Any concern would likely center on budget impact and the allocation of costs among general, special, federal, and other funds, but the unanimous votes indicate those concerns did not produce significant recorded opposition.