Police deferred retirement scheduled for public hearing by House Committee on Labor

The House Committee on Labor will hear public testimony at 9 a.m. Tuesday on a bill aimed at recruiting and retaining police officers in Hawaiʻi.

House Bill 378, which is similar to Senate Bill 273, would establish a deferred retirement option program to allow qualified officers who are eligible for retirement to continue working.

The bill is on the Committee on Labor’s agenda, along with other measures. The agenda has links to submit written public testimony and to view the meeting, live-streamed, on YouTube.

The Committee on Labor is chaired by Rep. Jackson Sayama and vice chaired by Mike Lee, both of Oʻahu.

Senate Bill 273, introduced at the request of the Maui County Council, would allow police officers to continue working beyond the requisite 25 years of service and carry on with protecting and serving the community.

That measure includes a legislative finding that the recruitment and retention of police officers has been difficult for counties and their respective police departments.

Other bills set for public hearing before the committee include:

House Bill 201, which would appropriate an as yet undetermined amount of pay for a State Fire Marshal, a position that would take on greater responsibilities in the wake of the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

House Bill 325, which would prohibit employers from discriminating against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment based on the person’s status as a medical cannabis registry card holder, under certain conditions. The bill would authorizes an employer to use a fit-for-duty test for medical cannabis qualifying patients in potentially dangerous occupations. Certain occupations would be exempted, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, water safety officers and lifeguards, employees authorized to carry or use firearms, emergency services personnel, healthcare workers who administer drugs, people who care for children or the elderly and operators of vehicles and heavy equipment.

A couple of bills relating to workers’ compensation also will be heard.