Failure of four measures to make it past April 11 second crossover deadline makes them dead for the year
State Director Michael Iosua reports from the State Capitol on the small business agenda for the legislative week ending April 12
The second crossover deadline for bills to remain alive in the 2024 session of the State Legislature was April 11, 2024. Any bill that failed to pass third reading in the non-originating chamber is effectively dead for this session. Below is a list of NFIB Hawaii’s priority bills that died since our mid-session report:
HB 2552 – Relating to Employee Benefits
Extends the family leave period for up to eight additional weeks for employees when the birth of a child requires them to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit and requires the Civil Rights Commission to amend its rules to include neonatal care as a related medical condition. HB 2552 was not scheduled for a hearing by the Ways and Means Committee and the bill failed to meet the second crossover deadline.
HB 2757 – Relating to Paid Family Leave
Requires Dept. of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR) to establish a family and medical leave insurance program and begin collecting payroll contributions to finance payment of benefits by January 1, 2027 and paying benefits by the following year. Specifies eligibility requirements and employee protections under the program. HB 2757 was not scheduled for a hearing by the Finance Committee and failed to meet the crossover deadline.
SB 2474 – Relating to Family Leave
Requires DLIR to administer a family leave insurance program. Extends the family leave period to 16 weeks and eliminates the 100-employee threshold for applicability. House companion, HB 1768, was not scheduled for a hearing. SB 2474 was not scheduled for a hearing by the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee and failed to meet the second lateral deadline.
SB 2695 – Relating to Privacy
Adds definitions of “identifier” and “specified data element” and amends the definition of “personal information” for the purposes of notifying affected persons of data and security breaches under existing state law that governs the security breach of personal information. Includes licensees subject to the Insurance Data Security Law, article 3B, chapter 431, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, among the businesses deemed compliant with security breach notice requirements under existing state law. SB 2695 was not scheduled for a hearing by the Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee and did not meet the second crossover deadline.
The top remaining priority bills for NFIB Hawaii include the following:
SB 2615 – Relating to County Labor Standards
Authorizes the counties to require contractors to disclose information regarding their employees’ wages, benefits, hours, and employment status and deny, revoke, or suspend a building permit application for violating laws relating to wages, benefits, hours, and employment status, under certain conditions. We were able to limit to general contractors and focuses on the employers seeking subsidies for county building projects. NFIB Hawaii was able to work with stakeholders to limit applicability to contractors in the construction industry as defined in HRS Sec. 444-1. The bill passed third reading in the House and will be assigned to a conference committee.
SB 2715 – Relating to Unfair Labor Practices
“Captive audience” bill. Makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten any adverse employment action against an employee because the employee declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting that communicates the opinion of the employer about political matters, or declines to receive or listen to a communication from the employer that communicates the opinion of the employer about political matters. NFIB Hawaii is working with committee chairs for further amendments to clarify the definition of political matters and which employers this law would apply to or defer the bill. SB 2715 passed third reading in the House and will be assigned to a conference committee.
