Senate Standing Committee on Labor and Technology

Good afternoon, everyone. Happy Aloha Friday. This is the Committee on Labor and Technology. This is our 3:00 PM hearing agenda and today is February 6th, 2026. We are in Conference Room 225. This hearing is also being streamed on the Hawaii State Senate's YouTube channel. Just a few housekeeping announcements. In the unlikely case of technical failures, this meeting will reconvene here in Conference Room 225 on February 9th, 2026, at 3 PM.

For all testifiers, including those on Zoom, we ask that you stand on your written testimony. If your oral testimony is different from your written testimony, the time limit for each testifier will be one minute.

The content, including the hearing notice, copies of the measures, and testimony can be found on the legislature's website. If time permits, decision making will occur after we hear from those offering testimony. First up on our agenda is Senate Bill 2198. This is work—relating to workforce development.

And this requires the Department of Labor Industrial Relations to study the establishment of the Hawaii Workforce Excellence Award Program, requires a report to the Legislature, and appropriates funds. First up on our list, Director Butai from DLIR.

Great aloha Friday, Chair Elefante. I'm Jade Butai, Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. We stand on our testimony in support, provided it does not adversely impact our supplemental budget request. Thank you.

Okay, thank you so much. That completes our list of registered testifiers on Senate Bill 2198. Anyone else that wishes to testify on this measure? If not, I don't see any other members. I don't have other questions on this. We'll move on. I'm sure they'll be joining us shortly. Senate Bill 2140. This is relating to county labor standards.

This authorizes the counties to require contractors to disclose information regarding their employees' wages, benefits, hours, unemployment status, and deny, revoke, or suspend a building permit application for violating laws relating to wages, benefits, hours, and employment status under certain conditions. First up from DLIR, Director Butai.

Hello, Chair and Senator Moriwaki. Jade Butai, DLIR. We stand on our testimony in support.

Thank you. Mark Anthony G. Clemente, Regional Council of Carpenters, in support. It Is he on zoom now?

Not present on zoom, Chair.

Okay, thank you. We also have Andrew Pereira from PRP. Aloha. Welcome.

Thank you. Aloha. Andrew Pereira, PRP. Just wanted to add to my written testimony real quick that PRP currently has an investigation underway on one of the neighbor islands where a contractor we know almost certainly is misclassifying workers, not paying overtime, and not paying employment taxes.

So, this is a commonsense approach to give the counties the authority to develop these standards so that we get these bad actors out of Hawaii. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you so much, Mr. Pereira. Ana Tuya Sosopo from Operating Engineers Local 3 or Panemi Atonga III.

Aloha, Chair, Senator Moriwaki. Panemi Atonga III, Deputy Political Director for Operating Engineers Local 3. Just wanted to stand in support of our written testimony. Thank you.

Okay, thank you so much. And then, we also have Ryan Sakuda offering comments from the General Contractors Association of Hawaii. Anyone else that wishes to testify in Senate Bill 2140? If not, Senator Moriwaki, any questions?

Director Butai. I think the testimony from GCA said that, you know, this is another bureaucratic layer. But is the Department of Labor, you know, 377, 378 chapters sufficient to go after these, as he said, bad people?

And whether we do need, the county needs, and I don't know if the county is here, whether the county also needs a law as well.

I think it's sufficient, but I think this statute would add another layer of accountability and can address violations more efficiently and effectively.

So, we should have both county and state, are you saying?

Yeah, I think it's a, you know, you know, you're empowering the county and I think it strengthened the compliance.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

I just have one follow up for you, Director. So, my understanding of it too is that this would be enabling legislation for the county. So, would the county also have to also pass bills to allow for that?

Yeah, I think that they would have to because it's an ordinance, right? They would have to do their own ordinance.

Okay, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, we'll move on to our next item on our agenda, which is Senate Bill 3055. This is relating to false impersonation of union represent representatives. Prohibits a person from falsely impersonating an employee organization representative.

First up on our list is Mike Golojuch Jr, for Pride at Work Hawaii in support on Zoom. Aloha. Welcome.

Aloha. Good afternoon. Michael Golojuch Jr. He/Him pronouns. I am President of Pride at Work Hawaii. We stand in strong support of this legislation. The relationship between a union and its members is a sacred one.

And for having anybody to try to impersonate a union representative in any way, shape or form is strikes at that relationship, strikes at that, at the reason we have unions. So we encourage you to pass this legislation to make sure this protection is needed.

It is a sad day in Hawaii, yet again, that we actually have to pass a law like this because there's such bad actors out there. So again, we thank you for hearing this piece and we encourage you to pass it. Mahalo.

Thank you. Nui Sabas, HGEA.

Senator HGEA will stand in support.

Stand in support. Thank you. And we also have Kamakana Kaimuloa, UPW.

Alohal Chair Elephante, Senator Moriwaki, Kamakana Kaimuloa, United Public Workers. You have a written testimony in strong support of this Bill.

I think actually all the points that were made by Mr. Goliu in previous testimonies sort of get to the heart of the challenges that we're currently facing right now in the public sector, particularly third party campaigns, opt out campaigns, and directly communicating with our members. You know, we also have read UPA's testimony and what their concerns are.

So we are amenable to any amendments that may need it to address those concerns. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. That completes those that registered testifiers. Also, we also had Christian Fern, Executive Director from UPA, in support. And Randy Pereira from Hawaii State AFL CIO in support. That completes our list of registered testifiers for Senate Bill 3055. Anyone else that wishes to testify in this measure? If not Senator Moriwaki, any question on this? Nope.

You're good. Okay, we'll move on. Moving on to Senate Bill 3090. This is making emergency appropriations for public employment cost items mixed emergency appropriations for collective bargaining cost items for members of bargaining units 1 and 10 and their excluded counterparts to resolve issues related to temporary hazard pay for fiscal year 2025-2026.

First up is we have Luis Salaveria, VP of Budget and Finance for the University of Hawaii.

Michael Lane for Luis. We stand on our testimony.

Stands as testimony support. Thank you, Michael. Director Seth Colby, BNF.

Good afternoon, Chair Elefante Senator Morawaki. The Department of Budget Finance supports moving this Administration proposal or similar Bill as collective bargaining negotiations regarding this issue of temporary hazard pay are currently in progress and additional appropriations will be necessary.

Thank you. We also have Ben Park from Hawaii Public Housing Authority in support. Leanne Gillespie. Oh, Ben. Sorry. Ben, do you want to come up? Ben? Sorry. Okay. In support. Thank you, Ben. Sorry about that. Leon Gillespie testifying for Office of Youth Services. Director Tommy Johnson from DCR. IT, is Mr. Johnson online?

Keith A. Regan, comptroller for DAGS, in support. Okay. Standing on support. Thank you. We also have Superintendent Hayashi in support. Kali Watson, Chair of DHHL. Thank you. In support. Thank you. We also have Department of Health in support. Anyone here from Department of Health. Ricky, is DOH online? No one present here. Chair.

Thank you. I also have Russell Fong from DLE.

Department of Law Enforcement. We stand in support of our written testimony.

Okay, thank you in support, Rusty Spray, ASO for Department of Defense in support. And we have Ryan Kanakaoli, acting Chairperson for DLNR. Anyone from DLNR here or on Zoom IT?.

Not present here, Chair.

And then Kamakana Kaimuloa, UPW.

Chiar, we'll stand on a written testimony in strong support.

Stand on written testimony and support. Thank you. That completes our list of registered testifiers for Senate Bill 3090. Anyone have questions? I have a question for BNF. So, on this, does BNF have a estimated cost or is that something that will be determined later?

It's going to be determined in the next couple weeks.

Okay.

Yes.

Well, you would prefer to keep the Bill moving?

Yes.

Okay, got it. Thank you. Any other questions? If not, we'll move on to our next item, Senate Bill 3091. This is making an appropriation—appropriations—for public employment cost items.

This is—makes emergency appropriations for collective bargaining cost items for members of Bargaining Unit 11 and their excluded counterparts, including the cost of salary adjustments negotiated between the state and the bargaining unit, representative for fiscal biennium 2025-2027. And the only person we have registered to testify on this is Director Colby.

And if you can just explain the same question I asked in the last Bill in terms of cost, that would be great for the next two items.

Right. So, these are—for Senate Bill 3091 and Senate Bill 3092—these are placeholder bills for collecting bargaining negotiations currently under negotiation. The numbers are not finalized, but we expect within the next couple weeks.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else on Senate Bill 3091? If not, questions? Move on to Senate Bill 3092, making emergency appropriations for public employment cost items. Makes emergency appropriations for collective bargaining cost items for members of Bargaining Unit 14 and their excluded counterparts, including the cost of salary adjustments negotiated between the state and the bargaining unit representative for fiscal biennium 2025-2027. First up is Director Colby.

The department stands on its written testimony.

Okay, thank you. And then Nui Sabas, HGEA. Stand in support. Thank you. That completes our list of registered testifiers on Senate Bill 3092. Anyone else wishes to testify on this? If not, questions? Oh, are you here for collective bargaining? No. Okay, we'll go on to our next item if there's no questions. Senate Bill 2761.

This is relating to social media. Prohibits social media platforms from allowing individuals under 16 years of age from creating or maintaining an account or profile if the social media platform knows that the individual is under 16 years of age. First up on Zoom is Raji Tolentino, DCCA.

Good afternoon, Chair Elefante, Senator Moriwaki. Raji Tolentino, on behalf of the Office of Consumer Protection. We will stand on our testimony offering comments.

Okay, thank you. Bless you.

We'll move on to our next testifier. Also on Zoom is Adon Downey. Hope I pronounced your first name correct.

Yeah, you nailed it. Adon Downey on behalf of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. Happy to stand on our written opposition but want to highlight the constitutional concerns with prohibiting teenagers, who the Supreme Court continuously finds have First Amendment rights, and this Bill puts an undue burden on their free speech. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. We have former Attorney General David Louie testifying from Meta in opposition. Welcome. Aloha.

Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, Senator Moriwaki. I'm here on behalf of Meta. We share the goal of the Legislature of ensuring safe and positive online experiences for young people, but we're here in strong opposition to this Bill which would ban social media access for teens under 16.

There are many problematic requirements in this Bill, one of which is the proposal's carve outs only cover a narrow subsection of applications, leaving major platforms that teens use outside its scope. This would create a regulatory gap and allow a lot of platforms to continue doing things that would not be good for teens, quite frankly.

The evidence from Australia shows that blanket bans don't prevent harm, they just push teens to unregulated spaces online, increasing risk. Teens use approximately 40 apps per week, so Meta encourages teens.

Thank you, Mr. Louie. I'm sorry, your time's up. We do have your written testimony, though.

All right, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much. We also have Jacob Weinscheck in support and Angela Young testifying for Cares, offering comments. That completes our list of registered testifiers for Senate Bill 2761. Anyone else that wishes to testify on this measure? If not, Members, questions?

Okay, we're going to recess and then we'll come back in for decision making. Recess, subject to the call of the chair.

Great afternoon again. We're reconvening our 3 PM Committee on Labor and Technology. We're now moving into decision making. First up on our agenda is Senate Bill 2198, relating to workforce development.

Chair is going to recommend that we pass with amendments. We're going to change the effective date to January 1, 2077. Any further discussion? If not, Vice Chair Lamosao for the vote. Chair votes aye.

Voting on SB 2198. Recommendation of the Chair is to pass with amendments. Chair votes aye. Vice Chair also votes aye. [Roll Call] Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much. Our next item on agenda is Senate Bill 2140. This is relating to county, county labor standards. Chair's recommendation is to pass as is any further discussion. If not, Vice chair for the vote. Chair votes Aye.

Members voting on SB 2140. Recommendation of the chair is to to pass unamended. Noting all Members present for the remainder of the agenda. Anyone voting with reservations or No? Hearing none. All Members vote Aye. Chair your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much. Our next item is Senate Bill 3055. This is relating to false impersonation of union representatives. Chair is going to recommend that we pass with amendments. We're going to adopt the University of Hawaii's amendment with language to include only when there is a specific intent. Intent to deceive.

And we'll keep the date as is, so it's a clean date. Any further discussion? If not, Vice chair for the vote. Chair votes Aye.

Voting on SB3055. Anyone voting with reservations or no? I'm sorry. Recommendation is to pass with amendments. Anyone wanting to vote with reservations or no? Hearing none. All Members vote aye. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much. Our next item on our agenda, Senate Bill 3090. This is making hearing emergency appropriations for public employment cost items. We're going to keep this Bill moving forward and we're going to pass with amendments. And we're just only going to if change the effective date to January 1, 2077. Any further discussion?

If not, Vice chair for the vote. Chair votes Aye.

Members voting on SB 3090. Recommendation of the chair is passed with amendments. Anyone wanting to vote with reservations or vote No? Hearing none. All Members vote Aye. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Okay, thank you so much. Our next item is Senate Bill 3090. This is making emergency appropriations for public employment cost items. Chair is going to recommend that we pass with amendments. Just changing the effective date to January 1, 2077. Any further discussion? If not, Vice chair for the vote. Chair votes Aye.

Voting on SB 3091. Recommendation of the Chair is to pass with amendments. Anyone wanting to vote with reservations or no? Hearing none. All Members vote aye. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Okay. Our next item on our agenda, Senate Bill 3092. This is making emergency appropriations for public employment cost items. Chair is going to recommend that we pass with amendments, just changing the effective date to January 1, 2077. Any further discussion? If not, Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

Recommendation? Sorry. Voting on SB 3092. Recommendation of the chairs to pass with amendments. Any Members wanting to vote with reservations or No? Hearing none. All Members vote Aye. Chair recommendation is adopted.

Okay. Thank you so much. And for our last Item, Senate Bill 2761. This is relating to social media. The Chair would like to still continue the conversation. We are going to pass with amendments. We're going to adopt DCCA's amendment in their testimony. We're going to change the effective date to January 1, 2077. And in the committee report, we will note potential First Amendment issues. Okay. So with that recommendation, any further discussion?

Reservations.

Okay. Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

Members, voting on 2761. Recommendation of the Chair is to pass with amendments. Noting the reservations by Senator Moriwaki and Senator Fevella. Anyone else wanting to vote with reservations? And Senator Ihara with reservations. Anyone else wanting to vote with reservations or no? Hearing none. All other Members vote aye. Chair, your recognition is adopted.

Okay, that concludes our business for today. I just want to wish everyone a safe. Please stay safe this weekend with what's going on with our weather. But thank you for being here. Have a great weekend. We are adjourned.