REPORT TITLE:
Government


DESCRIPTION:
Provides for first deputies for the ombudsman, legislative
reference bureau, auditor, and legislative analyst.  Appropriates
funds to the public access room for moving and equipment costs.
Provides for performance-based budgeting review.  Requires the
legislature to sell and distribute legislative materials.  (SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        654
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE AGENCIES.



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

 1                              PART I
 
 2      SECTION 1.  Chapter 21F-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 3 amended to read as follows:
 
 4      "[[]§21F-6[]]  Office of the legislative analyst
 
 5 established.(a)  There is established the office of the
 
 6 legislative analyst to be administered by the committee.  The
 
 7 committee shall appoint a legislative analyst who shall serve for
 
 8 a period of four years.  The committee, by a three-fourths vote
 
 9 of its members, may remove the legislative analyst from office,
 
10 but only for cause.  The committee shall fix the salary of the
 
11 legislative analyst.
 
12      (b)  The legislative analyst may appoint a first deputy,
 
13 subject to the advice and consent of the joint legislative
 
14 management committee.
 
15      [(b)] (c)  The legislative analyst may employ other clerical
 
16 and technical employees as may be necessary to carry out the
 
17 functions of the office.  The legislative analyst and other
 
18 clerical and technical employees shall be entitled to participate
 
19 in any employee benefit program plan or privilege generally
 

 
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 1 available to state employees."
 
 2      SECTION 2.  Chapter 23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 3 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 4 read as follows:
 
 5      "§23-     First deputy to the auditor.  The auditor may
 
 6 appoint a first deputy, subject to the advice and consent of the
 
 7 joint legislative management committee."
 
 8      SECTION 3.  Section 23G-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended to read as follows:
 
10      "§23G-2 Assistant; staff.  The director shall appoint a
 
11 first assistant and such other officers and employees as may be
 
12 necessary to carry out the functions of the bureau.  The
 
13 appointment of the first assistant shall be subject to the advice
 
14 and consent of the joint legislative management committee.  All
 
15 employees, including the first assistant, shall be hired by the
 
16 director and shall serve at the director's pleasure.  In
 
17 determining the salary of the employees of the bureau, the
 
18 director shall consult with the department of human resources
 
19 development; provided that, effective January 1, 1989, and
 
20 January 1, 1990, the salary of the first assistant shall be
 
21 $69,748 and $72,886 a year, respectively.  The director and the
 
22 director's full-time staff shall be entitled to participate in
 
23 any employee benefit program plan or privilege."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 4.  Section 96-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§96-3 Assistance, staff, delegation, funding.  The
 
 4 ombudsman shall appoint a first assistant and such other officers
 
 5 and employees as may be necessary to carry out this chapter.  The
 
 6 appointment of the first assistant shall be subject to the advice
 
 7 and consent of the joint legislative management committee.  All
 
 8 employees, including the first assistant, shall be hired by the
 
 9 ombudsman and shall serve at the ombudsman's pleasure.  In
 
10 determining the salary of each such employee, the ombudsman shall
 
11 consult with the department of human resources development and
 
12 shall follow as closely as possible the recommendations of the
 
13 department.  Effective January 1, 1989, and January 1, 1990, the
 
14 first assistant's salary shall be $69,748 and $72,886 a year,
 
15 respectively.  The ombudsman and the ombudsman's full-time staff
 
16 shall be entitled to participate in any employee benefit plan.
 
17      The ombudsman may delegate to the ombudsman's appointees any
 
18 of the ombudsman's duties except those specified in sections
 
19 96-12 and 96-13; provided that during the absence of the
 
20 ombudsman from the island of Oahu, or the ombudsman's temporary
 
21 inability to exercise and discharge the powers and duties of the
 
22 ombudsman's office, such powers and duties as contained in
 
23 sections 96-12 and 96-13 shall devolve upon the first assistant
 

 
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 1 during such absence or inability.
 
 2      The funds for the support of the office of the ombudsman
 
 3 shall be provided for in the act providing for the expenses of
 
 4 the legislature."
 
 5                              PART II
 
 6      SECTION 5.  The Hawaii state legislature has demonstrated
 
 7 its commitment to the principle of public access to the
 
 8 legislative process by creating programs such as the public
 
 9 access room, legislative broadcast project, and the legislative
 
10 website.  Hawaii is considered to be one of the country's models
 
11 in the development of public access programs, as evidenced by
 
12 complimentary commentaries in the national and local media.
 
13      To maintain its commitment to public access, the legislature
 
14 believes that the current level of service to the public from the
 
15 public access room should be maintained.  Public requests for
 
16 services of the public access room have increased dramatically
 
17 since its beginning in 1990.  In fiscal year 1997-1998 alone, the
 
18 public access room received over five thousand eight hundred
 
19 calls for legislative and other information, serviced about four
 
20 thousand people who visited the public access room or made
 
21 requests for service in person, and conducted public access
 
22 workshops for over two hundred fifty residents.  To meet this
 
23 increased demand, additional space, equipment, and furniture are
 

 
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 1 needed to accommodate citizens' needs for legislative access and
 
 2 related services.  The legislature finds that the current space
 
 3 allotted for the public access room is insufficient to meet the
 
 4 rise in demand for its services and, at the same time, maintain
 
 5 its high quality.
 
 6      The purpose of this part is to make an appropriation to
 
 7 provide for the costs of relocating the public access room, and
 
 8 for electronic equipment and furniture purchases.
 
 9      SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
10 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $       , or so much
 
11 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, to provide
 
12 for moving and equipment costs for the public access room.
 
13      SECTION 7.  The sum appropriated by this part shall be
 
14 expended by the legislative reference bureau for the purposes of
 
15 this part.
 
16                             PART III
 
17      SECTION 8.  In recognition that the legislature needs its
 
18 own separate fiscal policy office to provide legislators with the
 
19 information needed to develop sound economic and fiscal policies
 
20 for the State, the office of the legislative analyst was
 
21 established in Act 347, Session Laws of Hawaii 1990.
 
22      Other states have established nonpartisan, highly
 
23 specialized legislative fiscal analysis offices, in addition to
 

 
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 1 the professional staffs of each chamber's money committees, to
 
 2 review executive branch proposals and to appraise the performance
 
 3 of the executive branch in administering legislative enactments.
 
 4      Since the legislature meets for only four months of the
 
 5 year, it has come to rely heavily on the use of session-only
 
 6 staff or employees on loan from the executive branch.  Hawaii is
 
 7 the only state in the nation utilizing staff on temporary loan
 
 8 from executive agencies to support the work of its money
 
 9 committees.
 
10      As a result, the legislature has been at a disadvantage in
 
11 fulfilling its trust to the people of the State to ensure that
 
12 approved appropriations are executed in compliance with
 
13 legislative policy.  The legislature can provide effective
 
14 legislative oversight only if it has its own capacity to review
 
15 and analyze the budget, state economic conditions, and overall
 
16 tax structure and attendant policies.
 
17      The purpose of this part is to require the legislative
 
18 analyst to review all performance-based budgets submitted to the
 
19 legislature as provided by law.
 
20      SECTION 9.  Section 21F-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
22      "(a)  The purpose of the office of the legislative analyst
 
23 shall be:
 

 
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 1      (1)  To provide the legislature with research and analysis
 
 2           of current and projected state revenues and
 
 3           expenditures;
 
 4      (2)  To provide the legislature with a report analyzing the
 
 5           governor's proposed levels of revenue and expenditures
 
 6           for biennial budgets submitted under chapter 37 as well
 
 7           as other supplemental budget submittals to the
 
 8           legislature by the governor;
 
 9      (3)  To provide an analysis of the impact of the governor's
 
10           proposed revenue and expenditure plans for the next
 
11           biennium;
 
12      (4)  To conduct research matters of economic and fiscal
 
13           policy and to report to the legislature on the result
 
14           of the research;
 
15      (5)  To provide economic reports and studies on the state of
 
16           the State's economy, including trends and forecasts for
 
17           consideration by the legislature;
 
18      (6)  To conduct budget and tax studies and provide general
 
19           fiscal and budgetary information;
 
20      (7)  To review and make recommendations on the operation of
 
21           state programs in order to appraise the implementation
 
22           of state laws regarding the expenditure of funds and to
 
23           recommend means of improving their efficiency; [and]
 

 
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 1      (8)  To recommend to the legislature changes in the mix of
 
 2           revenue sources for programs, in the percentage of
 
 3           state expenditures devoted to major programs, and in
 
 4           the role of the legislature in overseeing state
 
 5           government expenditures and revenue projections[.]; and
 
 6      (9)  To review all performance-based budgets submitted to
 
 7           the legislature as provided by law."
 
 8                              PART IV
 
 9      SECTION 10.  Section 23G-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended by amending subsection (11) to read as follows:
 
11    "(11)  Perform the function of statute revision and
 
12           publication and sale of session laws, supplements, and
 
13           replacement volumes; and"
 
14      SECTION 11.  Section 23G-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended to read as follows:
 
16      "§23G-18  Sale and distribution.  The session laws,
 
17 supplements, and replacement volumes shall be sold and
 
18 distributed by the [lieutenant governor] legislature at a price
 
19 fixed by the [lieutenant governor.] legislature. The money
 
20 received therefor shall be paid into the state treasury to the
 
21 credit of the [general] Hawaii legislative publications special
 
22 fund.  The [lieutenant governor] legislature may furnish the
 
23 session laws, supplements, and replacement volumes to public
 

 
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 1 officials for official use free of charge.  As used in this
 
 2 chapter, public officials include officials of the state and
 
 3 county governments, of the congressional delegation of the State,
 
 4 of the United States District Court, District of Hawaii, and of
 
 5 the United States Attorney's Office in Hawaii."
 
 6      SECTION 12.  Section 26-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 8      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided by law, the lieutenant
 
 9 governor is designated the secretary of state for
 
10 intergovernmental relations and shall perform the duties and
 
11 functions heretofore exercised by the secretary of Hawaii.  The
 
12 duties and functions shall include, but not be limited to,
 
13 [recordation of all legislative and gubernatorial acts,]
 
14 certification of state documents, and maintenance of an official
 
15 file of rules adopted by state departments as provided in chapter
 
16 91.  The lieutenant governor may employ staff as necessary
 
17 without regard to chapters 76 and 77."
 
18      SECTION 13.  Section 93-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended to read as follows:
 
20      "§93-15  Legislative journals; sale and distribution.  The
 
21 journals of the senate and house of representatives, published in
 
22 accordance with the rules of each house of the legislature, shall
 
23 be sold and distributed to the public by the [lieutenant
 

 
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 1 governor] legislature at a price fixed by the [lieutenant
 
 2 governor.] legislature.  The money received therefor shall be
 
 3 paid into the state treasury to the credit of the [general]
 
 4 Hawaii legislative publications special fund.  The [lieutenant
 
 5 governor] legislature may furnish the journals of the senate and
 
 6 house of representatives to public officials free of charge.  As
 
 7 used in this section, public officials include officials of the
 
 8 state and county governments, of the congressional delegation of
 
 9 the State, of the United States District Court, District of
 
10 Hawaii, and of the United States Attorney's Office in Hawaii."
 
11                              PART V
 
12      SECTION 14.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 15.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.