The Senate Committee on Labor and Technology voted March 28, 2025, in Conference Room 224 at the Hawaii State Capitol to pass SCR 145 and SR 117 as amended, directing the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to convene a legislative working group to develop recommendations for a state paid family and medical leave program.

The move, adopted by recorded voice votes from chair and committee members, instructs the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to assemble stakeholders, commission an actuarial analysis of Hawaii’s workforce and potential beneficiaries, and permits DLIR to retain independent third‑party consultants for facilitation, legal and regulatory review, comparative analysis, compliance and eligibility review, staffing and operating requirements, legislative language drafting, and preparation of a final report.

Chair Aquino, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor and Technology, described the package of technical amendments while presenting the measure for passage, saying, “We’re gonna amend the title to reflect that the Department of Labor is requested to, to convene a working group,” and outlining the consultant and study provisions as part of the SD1 changes.

The amendments specified that federal and state laws and regulations — including ERISA and the state Prepaid Health Care Act — should be reviewed as part of the working group’s charge. The committee also inserted language requiring an actuarial study or analysis of Hawaii’s workforce, employers and potential beneficiaries as an element necessary to implement a paid family and medical leave program.

The committee removed the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) as a named technical assistance resource in the resolutions and instead clarified that DLIR may contract for those services; the change was described as stemming from budgetary concerns referenced in LRB’s testimony. The amendments also add a representative of OOPA to the working group and give the working‑group chair discretion to add additional stakeholders as needed.

Voting recorded on the resolutions shows Chair Aquino voting “aye,” the vice chair voting “aye,” Senator Ihara voting “aye,” Senator Moriwaki voting “aye,” and Senator Fevella voting “aye.” The committee clerk announced that the recommendations were adopted.

The resolutions direct the two standing committees on labor (the Senate Committee on Labor and Technology and the House standing committee on labor) to convene a joint legislative working group to develop recommendations and report back; the adopted SD1 language expands the working group’s scope to include contracting authority for consultants and specific study elements. The resolutions set duties and deliverables for the working group but do not themselves appropriate funds or set an implementation timeline in the text recorded at the hearing.

Next steps indicated in the amendments include DLIR convening the working group and arranging for any contracted actuarial or consultant work and drafting recommended legislative language and a final report. The transcript does not specify deadlines, funding sources, or the final report’s submission date.

Votes at a glance: SCR 145 and SR 117 — recommendations to pass as amended (SD1) adopted by committee (5 ayes, 0 no recorded).