Requires the legislative reference bureau to track and monitor submission of annual and other reports to the legislature. Requires agencies to submit summary or highlights of each report, and post electronic copy of report on agency's website.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to improve legislative oversight over the executive and judicial branches of government. This Act accomplishes this by establishing a system through which the legislature will be better able to track and monitor the submission of annual and other reports, and also make it easier for individual legislators to stay abreast of reports submitted.

According to research conducted by the legislative reference bureau, Hawaii statutes require the submission of approximately two hundred annual reports. To minimize duplication and overlap, the legislature allows agencies to consolidate their annual reports. While this is an efficient use of government resources, it makes it difficult to determine whether an agency has submitted an annual report that is required by law.

In addition, the legislature, during each regular session, also requires or requests agencies to conduct studies and submit reports on a variety of issues. During the 1999 regular session alone, the legislature either required or requested over one hundred of these studies and reports. If submittal of copies of these studies to the legislative reference bureau library (which executive agencies are directed to do by governor’s memorandum) is any indication of agency response, then the legislature is being ignored. Eighteen months after these studies and reports were requested, responses to only about one-third of those requested were on file at the library.

At present, the legislature has no means by which to systematically track and monitor the submission of reports that are required by law or legislative request. While it might not be difficult to determine whether a particular report was submitted, there is no way to ascertain compliance by agencies as a whole. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is, therefore, the purpose of this Act to:

SECTION 2. Chapter 23G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated, and to read as follows:

"§23G- Annual and other reports to be submitted to legislature; tracking, monitoring, reporting, coordination. (a) The legislative reference bureau shall develop a system to:

(b) The legislative reference bureau may adopt formats or other guidelines for the publication of annual and other reports to facilitate the tracking, monitoring, reporting, or coordination required by this section."

SECTION 2. Section 93-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§93-12 Annual and other reports. (a) All annual reports that are or shall be required to be submitted by a state agency to the governor or another state agency, shall be submitted on a fiscal year basis; provided that the governor may prescribe other due dates for annual reports when the fiscal year basis would not be feasible. Further, any law to the contrary notwithstanding, in order to make optimal use of available state government resources, the governor may waive annual report requirements if information included in such reports is available in other reports and is acceptable for the purpose required or is deemed to be no longer pertinent for program reporting purposes. If there is duplication of information in annual reports within an agency, these annual reports shall be consolidated. In lieu of the submittal of individual annual reports by state departments, agencies, boards, or commissions, the governor may submit a consolidated annual report for the executive branch or direct the consolidation of one or more reports. These provisions shall not preclude the legislature from requesting specific reports through concurrent resolution.

(b) The judiciary and any executive agency responsible for producing any annual or other report that is either required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative resolution, shall comply with the following requirements with respect to each report:

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.