Ige’s Cabinet told to ‘get their act together’ on paid-leave bill

House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke berated Gov. David Ige and some of his department heads over conflicting testimony and tepid support for a proposal to set up a state-managed paid family leave program for Hawaii workers.

Luke took issue with the governor releasing media statements in support of the proposed legislation while individual state departments testified about serious concerns with the plan.

Senate Bill 2990 initially tasked the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations with drafting administrative rules by Jan. 1, 2020, to “establish and codify paid family leave for all workers in the state.”

The bill also calls for an “implementation board” made up of stakeholders and experts including large- and small-business owners, labor unions, state department heads and family leave advocates to analyze at least two funding models: social insurance, which relies on across-the-board payroll deductions, and expansion of temporary disability insurance.

During a bill hearing before Luke’s House Finance Committee Wednesday night, Luke indicated she was puzzled by testimony from the directors of the Departments of Labor and Budget and Finance that she said conflicts with the governor’s stated position.

She ultimately removed the Labor Department as the lead agency on the initiative and replaced it with another department she said she believes would be “more supportive.”

“I guess I’m a little bit confused. What is the position of the administration?” Luke asked Leonard Hoshijo, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

“Because at the same time the governor sends out a press release saying, ‘We better do this right away,’ and he’s going to sign this bill … but two of his major departments — B&F, which is supposed to be the financing department, and DLIR, which according to this bill is supposed to help with implementation — is not fully in support,” said Luke, who is supporting U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in the Democratic primary for governor.

Ige issued a one-sentence statement on March 21 — one day after the House Labor and Public Employment Committee and the Senate Labor Committee voted to advance nearly identical paid family leave bills. Ige said, “Paid family leave would benefit Hawaii’s working families, and I fully support the Legislature’s efforts to establish a plan for moving it forward.”

Hoshijo testified that his department supports the intent of the bill but raised concerns about having adequate resources to roll out a program. He also noted that implementing a social insurance program has proved costly for Washington state.

“We haven’t opposed the concept. There’s been a lot of hours thinking about how it could work. As our staff thinks about it, more questions come up, so our testimony changes,” Hoshijo said. “I think the governor and therefore the administration’s position is in support. We’re looking at how can it be implemented, what are the practical and realistic steps and time frame.”

Luke said it would be helpful if the governor’s cabinet had a consistent and aligned position.

“I would think the administration would take the departments’ concerns into consideration. I mean, don’t you guys have cabinet meetings where you guys vet some of these issues out?” she asked. “I mean, this is kind of a big issue.”

Ford Fuchigami, the governor’s administrative director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the Ige administration is in full support of the measure.

“The reason why the Department of Labor supports the intent and does not fully support it the way the administration does is because they do not know basically what the protocols will be until we’re done doing our job, meaning the committee comes up with the protocols,” Fuchigami said. (In response to a request from Fuchigami, the family leave bill previously was amended to have the governor’s administrative director serve as chairperson of the implementation board.)

The Finance Committee voted to move the bill forward with one change: Swap out the Labor Department as the agency to propose the implementation rules, and replace it with the Department of Human Services.

After the hearing Luke defended the move.

“The point was if we are going to charge this department with standing up a new program the public wants, then maybe it shouldn’t go to that department, and there should be better coordination between what the governor’s office is doing and what his departments are saying,” she said. “We just wanted them to get their act together.”

She added, “We would like to work with individuals who are in support … of the concept and who believe it can be stood up as opposed to trying to work on something for the next several years with a department that is not in support.”

A representative from the Department of Human Services referred comment to Fuchigami.

He said it remains to be seen whether the Department of Human Services is the right agency to take on the bill’s requirements.

“This is something that I want to work out with the two (Labor Committee) chairs to see whether or not this is the best option,” Fuchigami said. “This will be a collaborative decision with the Senate, the House as well as the administration as we move forward.”

Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Dayton contributed to this report.