House Standing Committee on Labor

Morning. I'm calling to order the House Committee on Labor. Today is Tuesday, 03/31/2026. We're in Conference Room 309 for a 10AM hearing. To ensure we get through the agenda, we will have a two minute time limit.

Jonah will be holding a little card when you're at ninety seconds. I will cut you off at two minutes. So it gives you about thirty seconds. I I don't like interrupting people and say, hey. You got twenty seconds left, and then it takes me ten seconds to get out.

So so, yeah, if you have any compelling or different testimony, please share today. We will be starting with HCR92 and HR84 relating to automated differently automated defibrillators. First, to testify in person, we have Lauren Simpson Gomez, government relations director for the American Heart Association.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair. Thank you so much for having me today. American Heart stands in strong support of HR 84 and HCR 92. What we would like to emphasize is that more than 300 and 50,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year and only about one in ten survive. During cardiac arrest, CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival and quick use of an AED can further improve those odds, and this makes immediate access to AEDs critical.

Expanding AED access in state owned buildings is an impactful step toward strengthening Hawaii's emergency response infrastructure. Equally important is the resolution's emphasis on education and training. Encouraging the state to explore and expand these efforts will help ensure that more individuals are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to act in an emergency. Initiatives such as the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers campaign emphasizes the importance of widespread community training and hands only CPR.

Teaching individuals and students in schools how to recognize cardiac arrest and immediately begin chest compressions and use an AED can dramatically improve survival rates from cardiac arrest.

Encouraging the state to explore these partnerships and expand access to hands only CPR education would further strengthen Hawaii's emergency response capacity. Ultimately, increasing access to AEDs and strengthening training programs will save lives, improve community health outcomes, and demonstrate Hawaii's commitment to public safety. For these reason for these reasons, we respectfully urge the committee to support HR 84 HCR 92. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for your testimony. Anyone else here to testify on this measure? K. We also have support from DAGS, Hawaii State Department of Education, the Office of Maintenance and Resilience, and the Department of Health. Members, any questions?

K. Moving on to hcr 46 hr 42 related to lifeguards and first responders. First to testify in person, we have Kirsten Hermstead, coordinator for the Hawaii Water Safety Coalition, in support.

Hi. Good morning, chairs, vice chair, members of the committees. My name is Kirsten Hermstead. I am the executive director of the Hawaii Lifeguard Association and the coordinator for the Hawaii Water Safety Coalition. We stand in strong support, and I stand on my testimony, and I'm here to for questions if you need anything.

Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Kalani Viro, president for the Hawaiian for the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association in support. Aloha and

good morning, chair, members of this committee. My name is Kalani Biero. I'm the operation chief of the Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau, and I'm also the president of the Hawaii Lifeguard Association. I've been, serving as a lifeguard now for over thirty years. Over those decades, I responded to countless emergencies, drowning and spinal injuries, and cardiac arrest.

In those moments, we're not waiting for the first responders. We're there before the first responders. We're there before the EMS, fire, police. We take care of the critical care of the patients before these other first responder agencies respond. The ocean is a big part of who we are, people in Hawaii, but it's also powerful and unforgiving.

Every second matters, and the actions taken in those first few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Despite the responsibilities we carry, lifeguards are still not formally recognized as first responders. After thirty years on the front lines, I can tell you clearly that recognition is long overdue. This is about protecting our communities, our Keiki, and the millions who visit our shores. It's about ensuring lifeguards have the support, training, and respect that matches the work that we already do.

I respectfully urge you to support this measure. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

We also have Grant Clifford, emergency physician in in person in support.

Morning, chairs. So my name is Graham Clifford. I'm a board certified ER doctor and EMS physician. I'm currently

the medical director for auto immune and patient safety.

I'm here today to speak about personal capacity, however, informed by my experience across the full continuum

of care and emergency medicine.

Before becoming a physician, I was an ocean bike guard. That experience is what set me up my career path from the shoreline to the ambulance system and now into the emergency department. And then kind of capitulating at medical oversight of this public safety agency we have here, Honolulu, the ocean safety department. So I've worked at every level of this system, and I wanna be clear about 1.0. Ocean lifeguards are not simply attendants to the beach.

They are first responders in every operational, clinical, and public safety sense of the word. Ocean lifeguards are there when we don't kinda recognize. As a lifeguard, I'm just frequently the first medically trained person on scene. At the start of my career, I initiated resuscitations. I stabilized cervical spine injuries and served and short break.

I treated heat stroke, cardiac events, trauma, overdose, critically ill patients, often in the austere time sensitive conditions where minutes determine the outcome. That's the definition of a first responder, the first trained individual to assess, intervene, and begin life saving care in an emergency. Now as an ER doctor, I see the downstream impact of those early interventions. The patients who arrive with a pulse after drowning, those outcomes are not accidental.

They are a direct result of immediate recognition, rapid extrication, and early high quality resuscitation performed on scene.

In drowning physiology, seconds to minutes define neurologic outcome. In cardiac arrest, early CPR and ADUs determine survival. In trauma, early stabilization prevents secondary injury. These are not theoretical concepts. They are clinical realities I see every day.

And importantly, the data strongly supports this. In Hawaii, there this is even more acute. Driving is consistently one of the leading causes of death among children. It disproportionately impacts native Hawaiian communities in a state where the ocean is not recreational for many, but a part of daily life. These incidents are not rare or isolated.

They are predictable, preventable public health events. This further underscores the importance of having highly trained personnel physically present at the shoreline capable of immediate recognition and intervention.

And Hi, mister Clifford. I'm sorry. You're out of time.

you so much, sir. Is there anyone else here in person to testify on this measure? Right here, then we'll go to your doctor.

Thanks. Thank

Aloha chair, vice chair, and members of the committee. My name is Jimmy Barrows. I'm the deputy director of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department. The department stands in strong support of this resolution, support of HCR 46. Our written testimony of myself and chief Lawyer has been submitted, and we're happy to answer any questions in support of this call.

Thank you, Strauss. K. We have more testimony coming right up right up. Hope you're good. Alright.

Aloha. My name is Lauren Duarte. I I'm I'm 13 years old, and I am support of HCR 46 and HR 42. I have been going to junior lifeguards for two years. Last year, I did for the whole summer.

Now I even wanna become one when I'm older. I believe that it is outrageous that they are not called first responders, even though they are literally the first to respond. Going back to the fact that in junior guards, they teach you to be the first responders on land and sea. And to not be called that? Ouch.

That's an insult. Please pass HR CR 46 and HR 42. For my uncles and aunties, and not just for my future, but many others, thank you for your time.

Anyone else in person to testify? Please come up.

Aloha. My name is Aubrey Jones Owens, and I'm an ocean safety lifeguard here in Hawaii. Everyday lifeguards respond to life threatening emergencies in the ocean. We are often the first on scene for drowning, spinal injuries, cardiac arrest, and traumatic incidences that some of the most dangerous environments imaginable. Yet despite the reality of this work, lifeguards are not fully recognized as first responders.

The lack of recognition has real consequences for us. First responders status would help provide essential training, critical supporting services, including therapies and resources designed to address PTSD and other cumulative traumas that we experience on the jobs. Studies show that more than half of the lifeguards report to be involved in critical incidences during their careers, yet almost no research on the psychological impact of those events. Meanwhile, PTSD rates among first responders such as EMS can reach to nearly twenty percent.

Lifeguards face many of the same traumatic situations but often are fall into a gap that is unrecognized and unsupported.

Because of this gap, Reese, and research, we are referred to as the forgotten first responders. This resolution helps close that gap. You can help us bypassing this, and for your support and time today. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else in person? Okay. On Zoom, we have Rosemary Johnson oh, sorry. Oh, please please

come on. I'm so sorry. Okay. Sorry.

Aloha, My name is. My brother just went out. And I just wanted to say that after doing junior lifeguards and seeing all of them and meeting all of these lifeguards who really put their lives on the line every day really, like, taught me how much respect we should be giving them. And even though this seems like a small issue, like it's just like changing words or, like, how we address people, it actually means a lot. So we should be respecting them for everything that they deserve.

Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in person? K. We're going to Zoom. We got Rosemary Johnson, director for the Hawaii Search and Rescue Alliance on Zoom in support.

Aloha, and I wanna thank you, Chair and Vice Chair, for allowing this testimony. I just want to I stand by my testimony. I just want to say, add one thing. It is in my testimony, but I will say that being from Maui, the lifeguards were the first to respond in the aftermath. If they are not first responders, I don't know who are.

That's it. Thank you.

Thank you. We also have Rachel Abel in support on Zoom.

Not present.

Not present. And Lauren on Zoom. You guys you guys already went in person. I love that. Thank you for showing up.

Okay. No one else on anyone else on Zoom? No. K. We also have support from the Department of Health, Ocean Safety Bureau, County Of Maui, Ocean Safety Bureau, Hawaii County Fire Department, Albuquerque Okehana Moku Foundation, North Shore Chamber of Commerce, the Rescue Duke Foundation, Hawaiian led birds HGEA unit fifteen, HGEA, and and 31 individuals in support.

Members, any questions? I have a question for either Kirsten, Kalani. My my only question is and and I think this is generally something we support. How does this designation in any way impact the first impact the lifeguards ability or willingness to jump in and help?

It probably makes them more willing to jump in and help. There's no question. You you've seen it over the last week with the floods. Lifeguards, they simply wanna save your life, and they're gonna do that whether they have the title or not. It's time to recognize them that way.

So I don't think that it would impact them one way or the other, except that I think that there you would see a lot of square shoulders if we gave them this designation, and it will provide opportunity for additional training and coordination and things that they don't get right now because they're not recognized. So clearly, there's gonna be more than a resolution. There'll be more steps coming to solidify that, but this is truly the first step to getting the recognition they deserve and need. Sure. Yeah.

Thank you.

Man.

That's actually a really good question because when we seek federal funding in different types of grants, especially for training, because it's hard to get that type of training, especially in Hawaii. For example, driver's training or something like that. Most of those are developed around first responders as it's laid out in the grants or the RFPs, and we're we can't. We don't have that designation, so it it limits us while we meet all the other criteria, like, above and beyond some of that criteria.

So that's a huge one for us that we would like to go towards more of that funding to allow our our guys and our women to get better training through those funding mechanisms.

That's a huge one for us with the first responders as well as giving them the respect that they deserve because they are first on scene. So So the definition of first responder is our open water lifeguards. Thanks.

Members, any other questions? Okay. We'll be moving on. Moving on to hcr 172. We just wanna thank everyone who came to testify. Thank you.

You have a second here.

So they're gonna go Go ahead. K. Okay. We're moving on to HCR 172 related to procurement and audits. First to testify in person, Director Hashimoto from DHRD in opposition.

Morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members. My name is Brian Furuto. I'm the deputy director for DHRD. Director Hashimoto is currently in a BU arbitration, so she can't be here today. We stand on a written testimony in opposition, particularly as it and it's all written out out here, but particularly as it relates to us not paying our bills.

That is something that we'll take to the grave, and we'll fight that one because I know we we pay, and we pay on time. And we stand by for any other questions. Thank you. Thank you.

Next in person, Kathy Wilson, president for the Aloha Billing Company, in support.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Kathy Wilson, and I've been working at workers' comp here in Hawaii for over twenty years. I am a patient advocate as well as an advocate for the providers who treat injured workers. This audit is about DHRD and IMS's conduct, not outlying or excuse me, outlying physician dispensing. Turning this hearing into attack on one distribution channel distracts the core question.

Has DHIRD through IMS complied with chapter one eighty three d and chapter three eighty six, and are their practices harming access to care? Do not use a few extreme outliers to condemn compliant dispensing and five zero three b products. That is like judging the entire pharmacy sector by a handful of fraud cases.

Some of the actors if some of the actors are violating HR three eighty six or FDA rules enforcing against them, do not use a few outliers to justify systematic denials and delays on compliant bills. Five zero three products and deposition dispensings are readily regulated and can be audited directly.

Five zero three outsourcing facilities operate under federal oversight. A truly balanced audit, as IMS claims to want, can easily distinguish, one, products from registered five zero three b facilities, which have NDCs and FDA oversight, two, a five zero three a pharmacy compound, and three, non five zero three b products or novel OTC. Lumping them together is very misleading. It's IMS's own incentives warrant scrutiny, not a free pass.

IMS has a bill reviewer vendor that profits by finding savings on medical and pharmacy claims, so it has a direct financial interest in characterizing as many claims as possible as waste, fraud, and abuse.

IMS should not have a say or final word on this issue. We find them to be the issue.

I'm sorry.

Thank you for your time. Thank you. I'm available for any questions.

Thank you. K. Next, testify in person, Matt Matsunaga, attorney for the Work Injury Medical Association of Hawaii in support.

Good morning. Thank you very much, Mister Chair, Mister Vice Chair, for hearing this very important resolution. This resolution is an essential starting point to help start healing the, workers' comp industry, what ails it. You have my written testimony. I went through some legal issues that, we're seeing happening in the workers' comp industry.

I'd like to just bring these these issues to life with a real life example. So let's say during a conference committee, your committee clerk gets injured carrying boxes or rounding up votes for a conference. And so Mark goes to, his physician, and the physician says, I'm sorry, don't take workers' comp patients. It's too much of an administrative burden and unlikely not to get paid. So Mark tries to get a referral to a physician who will treat his, let's say it's an injured rotator cuff.

And right now it takes about three weeks to get in to see a physician. So Mark might miss conference committee or have to deal with a lot of pain. The the physician might say, well, I can prescribe and dispense this wonderful pain relieving medication called Protech, but I'm not getting reimbursed for it from from your employer's bill reviewer. So I can instead give you the oral pill, cataprofen, and Mark says, well, it's gonna upset my stomach. It's gonna make me drowsy.

But some physicians are faced with that dilemma. They're either gonna have to take the loss because they're not getting reimbursed for dispensing that frotech, or they're just some physicians that are simply refusing to dispense those types of medications to patients that are employed by DHRD, for example. So that's the dilemma that's affecting the workers' comp industry right now, and they're just not getting the the medications that they should get.

Thank you very much, Nava. Thank you. Appreciate it. Next to testify, we have Chris Kadilawa, cofounder and managing director for the Solaire Integrated Medical Solutions with comments in opposition unless amended in person.

Good morning, aloha, Chair Sayama and Vice Chair Lee and Members of the Committee. My name is Chris Kasalava, and as you, realize this resolution is is is about us. So, just as a as a preface, about twenty five years ago, we were hired by the, Hawaii state auditor to audit all of the workers' compensation programs that the state has, which is DHIRD, DOE, and the judiciary. So, you know, our position is, you know, we're we're not really opposed to this or or or for it.

I don't think it's our decision to make because there will be a conflict of interest of us to to have any opinion on whether you decide to proceed with this resolution and do the audit or not.

However, if you do decide to advance this resolution and and and conduct an audit, you know, we just have concerns that it's not a one-sided, you know, inquisition into us and DHEAR and that it's fair and reasonable and it goes across, you know, all the state agencies that have their own workers' compensation programs.

And I and I and I think you should also do conduct a direct verification with claimants regarding actual use of dispensed topicals, treatment times for office visits and physiotherapy, and whether the claimants were pressured to accept the medications because we have several cases of that, with our clients where the claimant says, hey. I don't take this stuff. I don't really want it. The the doctor says, hey, just take this bag home with you because they they kinda bag everything up, you know, for for the claimants.

I think there's a lot to be uncovered in an audit if you decide to do that, but I think it, again, should be fair and equitable and go across the entire state. And whereas we're accused of not paying or or reducing payment for for certain compounds like mister Matsunaga said, the 503 b compounds. Well, I think you should conduct an audit, hire a qualified auditor with at least the credentials of a certified professional medical auditor.

You know, we have auditors like that in in our office and thank you. And, yeah, I I I, you know, it just has to be a it just has to be a qualified audit.

But with regard to, you know, physician dispensed medications and the the the the gross violations that we're being accused of, I I think you should really take a close look at exactly what's going on under under the surface and verify services, you know, verify pricing. You know, what we've seen in the industry is really quite outrageous. Mister Matsunaga, folks have filed, you know, multiple insurance complaints against me, my staff, and my company. Not long. Sorry.

Those have been resolved. Thank you.

K. Next, testify in person, Caroline Naone, executive assistant for the Premier Medical Group of Hawaii in support.

Yes. Good morning. I'd like to thank the committee for giving us this opportunity, and I stand by my written testimony. And I also like to make comments on DHIRD and IMS' testimonies. The self insured status that DHIRD holds is not a benefit to state employees.

It actually hurts them. Unlicensed adjusters are not held to the standards of others in their field. They are not required to have yearly continuing education that keep them abreast of current laws, regulations, medical advances, and other chain changes in medical billing. Because they are not kept abreast of current billing laws, medical billing is consistently downcoded, cheating medical professionals out of well earned income, whether it be for medication or for procedures done in office.

Annual reports are not made readily available to the public, so we are not we don't know if they're actually doing their jobs.

An audit would uncover any mismanagement or mishandling of claims. I have a folder of all the inappropriate treatment plans in Niles that I've been camping for the last year from DHEARD. That will because of time constraints, I was not able to get HIPAA compliant authorizations from my patients, but I am more than willing to share the results with us.

The IMS's current billing processing company has a vested interest in opposing this bill if the findings uncover unfavorable results, And Ottawa also reveal any medical billing practices from both IMS and medical providers, which we welcome, and any discrepancies from either party. IMS's testimony only focuses on billing and not in the entirety of the workers' compensation practices as a whole and misses the market on its purpose.

I'd like to thank you, and I am available for questions.

Here is now. K. Anyone else? So you're gonna testify this measure in person or online in Zoom? Members, any questions?

Did you hear? What is the history with IMS? When when did they start work when did they start working on these things with the group?

I don't have the exact date. Do you have the exact date, Jen? Chris?

01/01/2020.

2020. And, definitely, at at the time, were you were you were you with you heard at the time?

No. There was a different administration, different administrator, different color. So Yeah.

So what we know is that IMS didn't go out for bid. Can you eliminate us a little bit on on how that process went or or why it hasn't went out to bid yet?

Yeah. That's a great question. So prior administration, prior director, This goes back maybe a decade or so, maybe even longer. We're not even sure of this. There was a discussion between SPO, state procurement office, and the administrator at the time.

And there is under 103D dash 102 b two d, subject b two d, long one. It's in the testimony, though. It was the it we actually have an exemption, and the exemption reads as follows. This chapter shall not apply to contracts by governmental bodies two d for entitlement programs including public assistance, unemployment and workers compensation programs established by state or federal law.

New administration came in under current director Hashimoto with the new chief procurement officer and there was a discussion with our current administration and the current CPO, and she said that this only applies to the payments of workers' compensation.

So that's how we we we end up where we're at. So we're currently out to bid for that contract right now, and we hope to, you know, go through our process, obviously, and and and award as as as such.

And is there and maybe later for IMS. Are you aware of, I guess, some of the testimony that's coming up? It is more than just recently. It sounds like it's there's it sounds like it's been proposed that there's a history of, either Malpractice or, you know, bad faith. What is the is this the first day of return of it?

Have you what have you done to address it?

Well, I think, as a whole, and and I think everyone in this room would admit that workers' compensation is is always gonna be some is gonna be, contentious. Right? No. So it's not it's not the first. We'd be we'd be living on a rock to that this is the first we've heard of it, but at the same time, there's a process, particularly when it comes to billing, in which there is a a third new third party Neutral Party party.

It's under director Butai in in department of labor industrial relations, and it's DC giving, and and they will handle any type of bills, disputes, or anything of that nature. With regard to any type of claim of malpractice or or denial of treatment plan, you know, each case would have to be reviewed, you know, individually. So I I can't really speak to that. Thanks.

Thank you. Members, any other questions? Hi, miss? Mister Solano? Yeah.

Thank you for the for the opportunity. The other testifier stated that we have a vested interest in in denying payments. Like we get paid a percentage of that. We've never or 33 year business history in Hawaii ever done that. We charge actually on a percentage of bill charge or on a per unit basis.

So I just wanted to clear that allegation that that is factually, completely, 100% false. We have no incentive to deny any payment. In fact, we have every incentive to not deny payment because the physician dispensers have been incredibly aggressive about their collections. And sometimes, they resubmit the same the same claim with no new information, like, 16 times.

There are times when I come into the office and, you know, we have a high we have high volume printers, and there is a stack of of resubmissions this thick in the morning, that's just, you know, faxed in willy nilly from the very aggressive bill collectors.

So I just wanted to clarify that. Thank you for the opportunity. Alright. Thank you.

K. Members, any other questions? K. Moving on to HCR 147 and HR 139 related to working group for a global war on terror- on a global war on terror memorial on the grounds of Hawaii State Capitol. First to testify on Zoom is John Alamodin, Office of Veterans Services, Hawaii State Department of Defense for comments.

Aloha, chair. Sayo, vice chair, Lee, members of the committee, John Yawamoto, Office of Veterans Services, State of Hawaii Department of Defense.

I stand on my testimony and comment, but just to note or restate that there is a ongoing working group comprised of Office of Veterans Services, our engineering division in the Department of Defense, design committee members, as well as FBI architects to do a in the right now conception, the design conceptual stage that's envisioned to have a a g watt memorial on the grounds of the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery. And I will stand by for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in the room or on Zoom here to testify on this measure? K. We also have comments from a controller at DAGS. I do have a quick question for you on Zoom.

Thank you for your time. Yes, Peter. So you said that you there's already a working group for this on the grounds. Can you give us a quick update on on where we're at and maybe where we get started?

Okay. Thank you, chair, for the opportunity to answer. So currently, it's in the conceptual stage of design. So essentially, FBI came up with the first concept. If you're familiar with the cemetery grounds at the Hawaii Civilian Cemetery in Kaneohe, Towards the top of the cemetery where the columbarium is is essentially like a a two lane road, if you will, that's currently roadway access toward and then coming down in terms of for folks to be able to park, visit their lance zones and so forth.

So the concept is to integrate that section of the cemetery into the entire design concept. It's meant to be sort of like a a walking museum or monumental experience, if you will. And the intent of that is to not only provide that experience, but also perhaps provide then a concept that potentially can be replicated in our other state veterans cemeteries in the counties statewide.

So essentially right now, I would say if you look at the total percentage, we're probably around the 35% stage in terms of the design concept.

Thank you, director. Members, any questions? Okay. Moving on to HCR 112 and HCR 104 related to D. Hurd and state department agencies. For satisfied in person, director Hashimoto.

D. Hurd, in support.

Morning again, chair, vice chair, members. Brian Furuto, deputy director. We are in support of this, measure. It is something that we're, doing. The legislature supported us last year through an appropriation to hire a contractor to help us review our entire classification system.

They've already begun work. So we contracted back in January. They began work, about a month later. A report has already been provided to the legislature as required, and, you know, we're really looking forward to it. In fact, I believe the committee will be receiving an invitation to sit down with the contractor sometime in June.

There are no sooner to testify on this measure. And we also have testimony from HGEA in support. Members, any questions? OK. Moving on to HCR 100, HR 92 related to workforce development.

First to testify, director Hootai, DLIR in support.

Good morning, chair, vice chair, members of the community.

Thank you. Also here to testify, Sherry Menor, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Hawaii in support. Thank you. Also, Matthew Perlberg, policy and comms director for Honolulu Collaborative in support.

Well, chair, vice chair, members of the committee, Matthew Prellberg on behalf of Honolulu collaborative. We will primarily stand on our written testimony. I was just asked by some other members of the Live, Work, Thrive Hui that have been working on this for years, to apologize for their absence. There is currently a workforce, development data convening happening at and also a p twenty meeting happening at the same time.

I know at least one person said they had three places to be at once, and they couldn't split their body that way.

So I was a designated survivor for today, and I'm just in very strong support of this resolution and really appreciate the vice chair for introducing it. One of the main points in ours and other testimony is that it's projected over the next decade that there needs to be 170,000 living wage jobs for our Keiki. And right now, it's only projected that we're going to have a 100,000 of those jobs.

Facilitating the alignment of the efforts of various state agencies and providing a long term generational commitment to help make sure we are working towards, living wage jobs for our Keiki is something that a lot of folks are actively working on and want to use this resolution to continue working on. And I will be able to answer any questions you may have.

Mahalo.

Thank you. OK. Anyone else in person gets a final Okay. We do have testimony from Yasmin Cheney, executive director for the Hawaii State Commission, for status of women in support on Zoom.

Good morning. Yasmin Cheney for the commission on the status of women. I stand on my written testimony in support of this measure and just have a couple of points that I'd like to make this morning. The commission asked that future statewide workforce development efforts include the perspectives and needs of women and girls, include targeted equity and inclusion strategies, and the use of gender disaggregated data for evaluation and reporting.

And that strategies be included that address persistent gender disparities such as occupational segregation, wage gaps, and underrepresentation of women in high growth sectors.

The commission looks forward to collaborating with the Workforce Development Council and stakeholders to ensure Hawaii's workforce strategies are inclusive, data driven, and advanced true opportunity for all. Thank you very much for this opportunity to provide testimony and for your consideration.

Thank you, director. And lastly, we have Justina Acevedo Cross, senior director of the Hawaii Community Foundation in support on Zoom.

Aloha, Chair Sayama and Vice Chair Lee, and members of the committee. My name is Justina Acevedo Cross. I'm with the Hawaii Community Foundation, and we're in strong support of the Resolution 100 and HR 92. The Hawaii workforce challenge is structural. This is something we deeply care about addressing so that there are jobs, especially for our young people, to return to in the future.

And it also is something that is really deeply affecting the financial strain for households as well as out migration to things that the Bike Me Foundation has been very active in addressing. We really see these resolutions as a practical step forward, something that has durability and begins to really do the work of having a shared long term goal around workforce and how we do that.

Really thankful to see that this could get included or embedded into the state's unified plan, and that really would move us beyond some of this fragmented approach to workforce development for stronger systems change. And for these reasons, I really hope that you consider approving and passing these resolutions forward. Mahalo.

Thank you. Anyone else on Zoom? K. Recess. We can make the House Committee on Labor for decision making.

First off today's list, we have HCR 92 HR84. Recommendation is to pass as is. Members, any comments? Seeing none, Chair for the vote.

Voting on HCR 92, Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. [Roll call]

Thank you, chair. Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to HTR46, h r 42, related to lifeguards and first responders in the state. Recommendation is to pass with amendments, with technical amendments made for clarity, consistency, and style. I know the kids have to leave, but I do wanna thank them for showing up, you know, during the school day.

And a lot of the testimony, I do believe this is an important resolution, and that any way we can bolster our true first responders and support them, not only in their efforts and in recognition, but also in support of their continued development as life as first responders, I think is really important.

So we'll pass it with technical amendments. Any comments? Chair for the vote.

Voting on htr 46, hr 42. Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. None of the excused absence of reparam Garrett. Any members voting with reservations? Any member is voting no.

Thank you, chair. Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Moving on to hcr 172 related to an audit for DHEARD. We're going to be my recommendation is to pass this with amendments needed for clarity, consistency, and style. But noting some of the testimony, especially that IMS is the problem for one of our testifiers. I know there's a lot of conversations about holders compensation, and there's a back and forth between v heard, IMS, and some of the other testifiers.

We need to clean this up and work together. I'm gonna be changing the nature of the titles so that I'm gonna be requesting an audit to conduct a performance of procurement audit of the Department of Human Resources Development to review its compliance with the Hawaii Public Procurement Code. But I'll be striking the rest of the title, and I'll be striking items four on line six and items six through nine on lines 10 through 18. Members, any comments?

Sure. Sorry. Just one more on

eight I'm I'm sorry. Right. I'm sorry. We we we received your testimony. Thank you.

Members, any comments? K. Seeing none, chair for the vote.

Voting on HCR 172 chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments, noting an excuse of absence of repair. Any members voting, no. Any members voting with reservations? Thank you, chair. Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Hey. Voting on HCR 147 HR 139 related to a global war on terror memorial on on the grounds of Hawaii State Capitol. I appreciate the testimony. I'm glad to find out that there is already a working group working on this.

I wanna thank the introducer for this, and I will let the introducer know that there is already a working group working on this, and I appreciate their efforts. So recommendation is to so we will be deferring this. K. Moving on to h c r one one two h r one zero four, related to do you heard to collaborate with state departments, agencies, and labor organizations to complete the comprehensive review of the classification compensation systems for all service positions.

Chair's recommendation vice chair's recommendation is to pass as is.

Members, any comments? K. Chair for Coke.

K. Voting on ACR 112, HR 14. Recommendation is to pass as is. None in excuse, absence of rep Garrett. Any members voting no?

Any members voting with reservations? Seeing none, recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Lastly, voting on HCR 100, HR 92, related to workforce development council to recommend to the governor inclusion of the state unified plan and the comprehensive statewide workforce strategy. Recommendation is to pass as is. We need to fill those 70500%. Members, any comments?

Seeing none, chair for the vote.

Voting on HCR 100, HR 92, chair for the recommendation is to pass as is. The only excuse, absence of record. Any member is voting no. Any member is voting with reservations. Thank you, chair.

Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. This meeting is adjourned.