Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 559 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize purchasing agencies to use nongovernmental employee reviewers in the screening and selection process for procurement of design professional services. This measure also requires selection of design professionals based on a qualifications based selection system.

Your Committee received testimony supporting this measure from the State Procurement Officer, Pacific Geotechnical Engineers, Inc., the Hawaii Chapter of the American Public Works Association, and the American Institute of Architects. Testimony in opposition was received from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Accounting and General Services. The Office of Information Practices (OIP) provided comments on this measure.

Your Committee supports both aspects of this measure. Allowing nongovernmental employees to sit on screening and selection committees will broaden the pool of available, qualified individuals to sit on those committees. Therefore, purchasing agencies will more easily be able to convene a qualified committee to review proposals.

In addition, strict adherence to qualifications based selection criteria will ensure that the most qualified firm or individual is selected for each project, thereby providing the best value for the public.

Your Committee amended this measure based on comments received by the OIP, to specify that the names and qualifications of the nongovernmental persons sitting on screening and selection committees shall be public information. The OIP indicated that there had been some doubt in the past regarding this issue, and your Committee believes that, like employees of the government, the public should have access to information regarding these individuals.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 559, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 559, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.