Hawaii Senate Bill SB1353

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/27/25
• Report Pass: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/7/25

Caption

Relating To Public Employment Cost Items.

Summary

SB1353 is a fiscal measure that appropriates or authorizes funding for collective bargaining cost items for Hawaii State bargaining unit (8) for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It covers the negotiated agreement with the unit’s exclusive representative and also extends comparable salary increases and other cost adjustments to state officers and employees who are excluded from collective bargaining but are in the same compensation plans as unit (8) employees. The bill is structured in three parts. It directs that any salary increases or cost adjustments paid from federal, special, or other non-general funds be charged to those funds proportionately or wholly as appropriate, and it provides that unspent or unencumbered funds lapse at the end of each fiscal year. It also includes a constitutional expenditure-ceiling declaration, stating that the state’s general fund expenditure ceiling for FY 2025-2026 has already been exceeded and that the bill would further exceed it, with the justification that the appropriations are necessary to serve the public interest. In practical terms, the bill would affect state payroll and labor-cost funding for bargaining unit (8) and similarly situated excluded employees, but the text as provided contains no dollar amounts and appears to function as an appropriations vehicle tied to a negotiated labor agreement rather than a policy change to employment law. It would operate within the state budgeting and collective bargaining framework under Hawaii law, including chapter 89C and the state budget allotment process. The general sentiment reflected in the available history is favorable and procedural rather than contentious: the Senate Labor and Technology Committee passed the bill with amendments on a 4-0 vote. There are no committee transcripts provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate opposition or detailed concerns. The main point of potential contention inherent in the bill is fiscal, because it acknowledges that the appropriations contribute to exceeding the state general fund expenditure ceiling, but the bill itself asserts that this is justified by public-interest needs.

Impact

SB1353 would authorize or appropriate funds for collective bargaining cost items for bargaining unit (8) and for excluded employees in the same compensation plans, affecting state payroll expenditures for the 2025-2027 biennium. It would not create a new employment classification or alter bargaining rights, but it would implement negotiated salary and cost adjustments through the state budget process, with expenditures allocated by the director of finance and charged to the appropriate funding sources, including federal, special, or other funds where applicable. The bill also formally declares an expenditure-ceiling exceedance under Hawaii’s constitutional and statutory budget limits.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support and little visible opposition: the Senate Labor and Technology Committee advanced the bill unanimously, 4-0, with amendments. Because no committee transcripts are provided, there is no evidence of substantive public debate in the record supplied. Overall, the bill appears to be treated as a routine labor-appropriations measure needed to fund negotiated compensation obligations rather than a controversial policy proposal.

Contention

The primary substantive issue is fiscal rather than policy-based. The bill expressly states that Hawaii’s general fund expenditure ceiling for FY 2025-2026 has already been exceeded and that this measure would increase that exceedance, which could raise budgetary concerns for lawmakers focused on spending limits and fiscal discipline. No specific opposition is documented in the provided materials, but any contention would likely center on the cost of implementing the negotiated wage adjustments and the decision to exceed the expenditure ceiling.