Under a bill proposed in the state House of Representatives, future University of Hawaii coaches would be excluded from union membership, ending a more than 40-year practice.

House bill 1619 was introduced by Calvin Say (D, Palolo-Saint Louis Heights-Kaimuki) at the request of an unidentified party and would cover head coaches as well as their assistants.

The bill, if passed, would not affect coaches currently employed by UH.

UH officials have said they believe the school is the only one among more than 200 members in NCAA Division I whose coaches are required to be members of a union. The practice is said to have begun more than 40 years ago before UH joined Division I, when coaches of many sports and their assistants were full-time campus employees and part-time coaches.

Although they negotiate their own contract terms, UH coaches pay union dues and their contracts are signed off by the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the state’s largest union.

The issue of whether coaches should be represented by the HGEA has grown since former men’s basketball coach Gib Arnold’s suit against UH.

Arnold, who was fired without cause by UH in 2014 amid an NCAA investigation, received a settlement valued at $948,000 last year to close out several claims against the school and was represented in grievances by the HGEA.

Union representation of 21 head coaches has been a subject of discussion at UH Board of Regents meetings and at a recent House Higher Education Committee briefing.

A UH spokesman said the school did not request the bill and declined comment “at this time as we see to continue to assess and see how this proposed measure and the dozens and dozens of other bills that impact UH proceed, especially this early in the process.”

An HGEA spokeswoman declined comment “at this time.”

The bill has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.