RELATING TO INDEBTEDNESS TO THE STATE.

Labor

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: SAYAMA, LEE, M.
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide details about negotiation terms between employees and disbursing officers.

Rules About Paying Back Money Owed to the State

This bill sets rules about how government workers must be told if they have overpaid their salary or wages, and it changes how much can be taken from their paychecks to repay this debt based on their income level.

What This Bill Does

Requires disbursing officers to notify employees within sixty days of determining that an indebtedness has occurred due to salary or wage overpayment.
Limits the amount a disbursing officer may deduct from an employee's salary, wage, or compensation based on the employee's gross income.

Who It Names or Affects

Government employees who have been overpaid and need to repay this amount.
Disbursing officers responsible for managing payroll transactions and recovering debts from government workers.

Terms To Know

disbursing officer: A person in charge of handling the payment of salaries, wages, or other compensation to employees.

Limits and Unknowns

This bill does not specify what happens if an employee disagrees with the determination of overpayment.
It is unclear how this will affect employees who have already been overpaid but whose cases are still pending as of July 1, 2050.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: Hawaii published version HD1 1

This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.
The official amendment text was available, but an easy plain-English summary could not be produced automatically during the last sync.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment changes how much money can be deducted from an employee's salary to repay a debt caused by overpayment, based on the employee's income level.

The disbursing officer will now deduct different amounts depending on the employee's gross income per pay period: $50 or 5% for less than $2,000; $75 or 15% for between $2,000 and $3,000; and $100 or 25% for more than $3,000.
The amendment also allows the employee to agree with the appointing authority on a specific deduction amount as long as it meets certain minimums.

The exact process of how these changes will be implemented is not fully detailed in the provided text.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-03-19 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2025-03-19 S
Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1157) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2025-03-12 S
The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Aquino, Lee, C., Ihara, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Moriwaki.
2025-03-10 S
The committee(s) on LBT deferred the measure until 03-12-25 3:01PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2025-03-07 S
The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-10-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2025-03-04 S
Referred to LBT, WAM.
2025-03-04 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-04 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 87).
2025-02-28 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick, Templo, Ward excused (4). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 910), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-21 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 12 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Miyake, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M., Morikawa, Alcos, Ward.
2025-02-19 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-21-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-12 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Sayama, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-12 H
Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 478) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-02-06 H
The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2025-02-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by LAB on Thursday, 02-06-25 9:00AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to LAB, FIN, referral sheet 1
2025-01-16 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-14 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO INDEBTEDNESS TO THE STATE.
Indebtedness; Salary or Wage Overpayment; Overpayment Payroll Transactions; Deductions for Recovery; Notice
Requires disbursing officers to notify employees within sixty days of making a determination that an indebtedness has occurred to the government resulting from salary or wage overpayment. Amends the amount that a disbursing officer may deduct from an employee's salary, wage, or compensation based on the employee's gross income. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB164

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

164

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO INDEBTEDNESS TO THE STATE
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 78-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:

����
"
(e)
�
If the indebtedness has occurred as a result
of salary or wage overpayment, the disbursing officer shall determine the
amount of indebtedness and notify the employee in writing of the indebtedness[
;
]

within sixty days of making the determination;
provided that, to be an
actionable cause of action, the determination and notice to the employee shall
be made within two years from the date of the salary or wage overpayment, and
not after.
�
If the employee contests the
disbursing officer's determination of indebtedness, the employee may request a
hearing pursuant to chapter 91.

����
(f)
�
Regardless of whether a contested
determination of indebtedness is pending, the disbursing officer shall commence
immediate recovery of the indebtedness as provided in this subsection.
�
[
If the indebtedness is equal to or less
than $1,000, the disbursing officer shall immediately deduct from any
subsequent periodic payment normally due the employee any amount up to the
total amount of indebtedness and for indebtedness greater than $1,000, the
disbursing officer shall deduct:

����
(1)
�
An amount agreed to by the employee and the
appointing authority, but not less than $100 per pay period; or

����
(2)
�
One-quarter of the salary, wages, or
compensation due the employee until the indebtedness is repaid in full.
]

The disbursing officer shall deduct:

����
(1)
�
For an employee earning a gross
income of less than $2,000 per pay period:

���������
(A)
�
An amount agreed to by the employee
and the appointing authority, but not less than $50 per pay period; or

���������
(B)
�
Five per cent of the salary, wage,
or compensation due to the employee until the indebtedness is repaid in full;

����
(2)
�
For an employee earning a gross
income of $2,000 to $3,000 per pay period:

���������
(A)
�
An amount agreed to by the employee
and the appointing authority, but not less than $75 per pay period; or

���������
(B)
�
Fifteen per cent of the salary,
wage, or compensation due to the employee until the indebtedness is repaid in
full; and

����
(3)
�
For an employee earning a gross
income of more than $3,000 per pay period:

���������
(A)
�
An amount agreed to by the employee
and the appointing authority, but not less than $100 per pay period; or

���������
(B)
�
Five per cent of the salary, wage,
or compensation due to the employee until the indebtedness is repaid in full.

In addition to [
paragraph (1),
]

paragraphs (1) through (3),
an employee and the appointing authority may
agree to offset any remaining amount of indebtedness by applying the current
value of appropriate leave or compensatory time credits posted in the
employee's respective accounts as balances that would otherwise be payable in
cash upon separation from service; provided that credits shall not be applied
to any extent that would require a refund of any moneys already deducted or
repaid or that would require the payment of any moneys to the employee
equivalent to a cashing out of leave or compensatory time credits."

����
SECTION 2.
�

Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 3.
�

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Indebtedness;
Salary or Wage Overpayment; Overpayment Payroll Transactions; Deductions for
Recovery; Notice

Description:

Requires
disbursing officers to notify employees within sixty days of making a
determination that an indebtedness has occurred
�
to the government resulting from salary or
wage overpayment.
�
Amends the amount that
a disbursing officer may deduct from an employee's salary, wage, or
compensation based on the employee's gross income.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.