RELATING TO STATE EMPLOYMENT.

SB3180

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

3180

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO STATE EMPLOYMENT
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that the State's
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.2 per cent as of November 2025, according
to data from the department of business, economic development, and tourism.
�
Due to this historically low unemployment
rate, many state agencies have continued to struggle to fill vacant civil
service positions despite efforts to promote the State as an employer of choice,
increased marketing and outreach to potential job candidates, and the State's
flexible compensation programs.

����
The
legislature further finds that the State must remove unnecessary barriers that
inhibit the provision of critical government services by facilitating
additional pathways to employment, while also increasing accountability by ensuring
that departments and agencies continue to recruit to fill vacant positions.

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Therefore,
the purpose of this Act is to:

����
(1)
�
Repeal language limiting the temporary
employment of a person in a single position to two terms of eighty‑nine
days;

����
(2)
�
Require each department and agency to
submit an annual report to the legislature that includes certain information
about the department or agency's employment of eighty-nine-day hires; and

����
(3)
�
Automatically abolish positions that
have been vacant for more than forty-eight months.

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SECTION

2
.
�
Section
76-28.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read
as follows:

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"(a)
�
[
No
]
A
department or agency of
the State [
shall
]
may
temporarily employ [
the same
]
a

person in [
the same
]
a vacant
position that is wholly funded by
general funds for [
more than two
]
multiple
terms of eighty-nine
days; provided that [
with the approval of the governor, a department or
agency of the State may temporarily employ the same person in the same position
for eight terms of eighty-nine days within a consecutive twenty-four-month
period.
]
, no later than twenty days prior the convening of each regular
session, each department or agency shall submit a report to the legislature that
includes information on the department or agency's employment of eighty-nine-day
hires by position, including the:

����
(1)
�
Position number;

����
(2)
�
Job title;

����
(3)
�
Division, branch, section, unit, and
island;

����
(4)
�
Salary range;

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(5)
�
Bargaining unit;

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(6)
�
Date the position was last occupied
by a regular civil service appointee;

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(7)
�
Number of eighty-nine‑day
appointments made by the department or agency for the position during the
preceding twenty-four-month period;

����
(8)
�
Agency's recruitment efforts to permanently
fill the position
; and

����
(9)
�
Department or agency's justification
for retaining that position, including why the position should not be abolished
and why funding for the position should be retained.

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A
position that has been vacant for more than forty-eight months, regardless of whether
the position was filled by a temporary hire pursuant to this section for any
portion of the forty-eight months, shall be automatically abolished unless the
legislature affirmatively retains and funds the position.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION
4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

State
Employment; Temporary Employment; Eighty-Nine-Day Hires; Limits; Abolishment;
Annual Reports

Description:

Repeals language that limits the temporary employment of a
person in a single position for 2 terms of 89 days.
�
Requires each department and agency to submit
an annual report to the Legislature that includes certain information about the
department or agency's employment of 89-day hires.
�
Automatically abolishes positions that have
been vacant for more than 48 months.

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