REPORT TITLE:
Airport Taxi Concession; Audit


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            10
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
    TRANSPORTATION'S REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PROCESS FOR THE
    TAXI MANAGEMENT CONCESSION CONTRACT COVERING THE HONOLULU
    INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.



 1        WHEREAS, the legislature finds that the recent request for
 2   proposals process for the Honolulu International Airport taxi
 3   concession contract may not have been fairly or properly
 4   handled during this most recent term; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, in particular, the Legislature finds that there
 7   have been allegations of improprieties, or an appearance of
 8   impropriety, in the following acts or omissions:
 9   
10        (1)  The opening of bids prior to the deadline for the
11             submission of bids, allegedly to time-stamp bids,
12             which compromises the "sealed bid" process;
13   
14        (2)  The alleged failure to open other request for
15             proposal envelopes, which leads to the possibility
16             that all of the components regarding one or more bid
17             proposals may not have been reviewed; and
18   
19        (3)  Failure to adequately consider or give sufficient
20             weight to a bid that was substantially higher than
21             the winning bid.  The request for proposals indicate
22             that the winning bidder, SIDA of Hawaii, Inc. (SIDA),
23             bid only $1,524,000 for the taxi concession contract,
24             while another bidder, the Honolulu Cabbies'
25             Association (HonCab), bid over twice that amount at
26             $3,300,000;
27   
28   and
29   
30        WHEREAS, in response, the Department of Transportation
31   noted that the request for proposal process, rather than the
32   sealed bid process, was used to award the new contract at the
33   Honolulu International Airport.  As such, envelopes containing
34   proposals could be opened and inspected by authorized

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            10
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   department staff prior to the deadline for submission of
 2   proposals; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the department further contended that all
 5   envelopes and copies of proposal documents were opened and
 6   reviewed, evaluated, and scored by members of the evaluation
 7   committee; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, in addition, the department has noted that the
10   large dollar amount bid by HonCab, which represents the
11   proposer's total guaranteed fees offered to the State over the
12   four-year term of the contract, accounts for only thirty per
13   cent of the proposer's total points awarded by the six-member
14   evaluation committee under department criteria; and
15   
16        WHEREAS, even though HonCab received the highest number of
17   points (180) on this criterion, HonCab's combined score on the
18   seven other evaluation criteria ranked HonCab third of four
19   proposals submitted at 317 points out of a maximum 600 possible
20   points, behind SIDA with 358 points and Signature Cab Holdings,
21   Inc., with 329 points; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, however, despite the fact that HonCab has no
24   prior experience in running a taxi venture, while SIDA has
25   thirty-five years of experience, the Legislature finds that the
26   Department of Transportation should have ascribed more weight
27   to the total guaranteed fees offered to the State over the
28   four-year term of the contract.  Failure to give more weight to
29   this criteria was not in the best interests of the State in
30   this period of fiscal uncertainty; and
31   
32        WHEREAS, moreover, the fact that SIDA has served Honolulu
33   International Airport for thirty-five of the thirty-seven years
34   that such a system has existed should be given less weight in
35   the request for proposals process, given allegations that SIDA
36   has failed to improve the quality of taxi service at that
37   airport and the fact that their contract was not renewed in
38   1994; and
39   
40        WHEREAS, these allegations, together with recent allegedly
41   inappropriate dealings of the director of transportation, raise
42   questions as to the fairness and objectivity of the
43   department's request for proposal bidding process; and

 
 
 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            10
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   
 2        WHEREAS, accordingly, there is an immediate need for an
 3   audit of the request for proposals process for the taxi
 4   management concession contract covering the Honolulu
 5   International Airport; now, therefore,
 6   
 7        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 8   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
 9   Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to
10   conduct an audit of the Department of Transportation's request
11   for proposals process for the taxi management concession
12   contract covering the Honolulu International Airport; and
13   
14        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the audit is requested to
15   include a review of the following:
16   
17        (1)  The completeness, fairness, and objectivity of the
18             most recent request for proposal process for the
19             Honolulu airport concession, including an independent
20             review of all proposals submitted for that contract;
21   
22        (2)  A review of whether the Department of Transportation,
23             or the evaluation committee selected to review the
24             requests for proposals, unfairly pre-selected SIDA as
25             the winning bidder of that contract;
26   
27        (3)  A review of whether the evaluation committee gave
28             sufficient weight in evaluating and scoring each of
29             the eight criteria used to award the taxi concession
30             contract; and
31   
32        (4)  A review of whether future requests for proposal for
33             the taxi management concession contract covering the
34             Honolulu International Airport should give greater
35             weight to "evaluation criteria H", relating to the
36             proposer's total guaranteed fees offered to the State
37             over the four-year term of the taxi management
38             concession contract, in determining the total points
39             awarded for the contract;
40   
41   and
42   

 
 
 
 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            10
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to
 2   submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed
 3   implementing legislation, to the Governor and the Legislature
 4   no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular
 5   Session of 2001; and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 8   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of
 9   Transportation and the Auditor.
10   
11 
12 
13 
14                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________