STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1607

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 747
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 747, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE GOVERNMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purposes of this measure include the following:

     (1)  Continuing the ongoing work to transform the State's
          accounting system and budgeting system to a
          performance-based budgeting system, and to develop a
          managed process that enables state and county
          governments to implement public-private competition for
          government services;

     (2)  Requiring the procurement policy office to adopt rules
          for a managed procurement process that evaluates the
          efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of the purchase
          using uniform accounting standards;

     (3)  Requiring all State departments and agencies to
          identify their goals, objectives, and policies to be
          submitted to the Legislature twenty days before the
          2000 Regular Session, and annually thereafter;

     (4)  Streamlining and improving the delivery of government
          services by restructuring state government;


 
a                                                     HB747 SD2
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1607
                                   Page 2


     (5)  Making mandatory the Comptroller's present
          discretionary authority to collect assessments from
          state agencies for the risk management revolving fund;

     (6)  Requiring the Auditor to contract with independent
          auditors to conduct comprehensive annual financial
          audits of state and county governments;

     (7)  Prohibiting state agencies from charging other state
          agencies for services or goods provided to other state
          agencies, that are funded by general funds;

     (8)  Transferring the responsibility for advocacy services
          for persons with developmental disabilities and mental
          illness from the Department of Accounting and General
          Services to the Civil Rights Commission; and 

     (9)  Prohibiting the Department of Health from issuing a
          permit for a medical waste sterilizer without a public
          hearing and an environmental impact statement.

     Your Committee has amended the measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the part of the measure on the prohibition of
          state agencies charging other state agencies for
          services or goods;
     
     (2)  Deleting the part of the measure that designates the
          Civil Rights Commission as the agency responsible to
          provide advocacy services to persons with developmental
          disabilities and mental illness;

     (3)  Deleting the part of the measure that deals with
          medical waste sterilizers; and

     (4)  Making the following amendments to the section on
          government restructuring:

          (a)  Changing the advisory committee to a joint
               legislative task force;

          (b)  Requiring the task force to solicit input on the
               roles of the departments and making
               recommendations to the Governor, rather than the
               Legislature, to implement ideas on streamlining;
               and

          (c)  Leaving the amount of the appropriation blank, and
               creating two separate appropriation provisions,

 
a                                                     HB747 SD2
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1607
                                   Page 3


               each subject to the control of one of the
               presiding officers of each house of the
               Legislature;

     (5)  Removing the part on government audits and in its place
          inserting the similar contents of S.B. No. 4, S.D. 2,
          without reference to the counties and an annual audit.
          This amendment additionally:

          (a)  Authorizes the auditor to hire independent
               auditors to conduct audits of state government to
               ultimately reduce government waste and enhance
               government spending, and requires the auditor to
               report to the 2000 legislative session with its
               findings and recommendations; and

          (b)  Creates a joint legislative task force to conduct
               interim hearings related to state government
               efficiency.  The task force is to receive public
               input and may submit suggestions to the auditor on
               possible subjects for audits.

     Your Committee acknowledges that concerns exist among
residents adjacent to medical waste facilities, and that it is
important to both receive their input and communicate information
to them, regarding the siting or permitting of such facilities.
Although current law does not mandate the convening of public
hearings prior to the issuance of permits for these facilities,
your Committee understands that as a matter of policy the
Department of Health has indicated that it will in fact conduct
public hearings prior to the issuance of medical waste permits.
In light of the foregoing, your Committee feels that it is not
necessary at this time to mandate the conduct of such hearings.
Appropriate legislative committees may continue to monitor the
variety of issues pertaining to medical waste facilities and may
revisit this particular issue if the Department's policies do not
provide adequate protection for the safety of nearby residents.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B.
No. 747, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B.
No. 747, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.


 
a                                                     HB747 SD2
 
 
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1607
                                   Page 4


                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
a                                                     HB747 SD2