Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 11, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

begs leave to report as follows:

Upon review of the resume, vision statement, and other background information submitted by the nominee, your Committee finds that Lillian Koller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in the humanities with highest honors from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1976, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Martin Luther King, Jr., School of Law at the University of California at Davis in 1981. Following law school, Ms. Koller practiced law in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Maui for a number of years. In 1992, she served as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Maui County. From 1993-1999, she served as Deputy Corporation Counsel and was named County of Maui's Managerial Employee of the Year in 1994. In 1999, she was named Program Coordinator for the newly-established Maui Drug Court Program.

Testimony in support of the nominee was submitted by: the Department of Health; the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii; the Mayor of Maui County; a Maui County Councilmember; the Maui Department of Housing and Human Concerns; the Maui County Police Department; Aloha Care; the ARC of Kauai; Blueprint for Change; the Boys and Girls Club of Maui; Hawaii Coalition of Care Home Administrators; Hawaii Foster Parent Association; Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Hawaii Long-Term Care Association; Hawaii Primary Care Association; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Impact Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center; Maui Economic Concerns of the Community, Inc.; Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.; Maui Plastic Surgery, LLC; Network Enterprises, Inc.; Okamoto Consulting Group; Parents and Children Together; and twenty-eight concerned citizens.

Testimony in support of the nominee indicated that Ms. Koller is highly intelligent, competent, and compassionate, a rare combination, and has a strong commitment to enriching the lives of others through her work. Possessed of a strong work ethic, high energy, and the desire to solve problems collaboratively, Ms. Koller has impressed other state agency directors and service providers with her ability to quickly grasp difficult issues and willingness to consider new approaches to resolve concerns involving the Department of Human Services. In addition, she is well-respected for her leadership in coordinating an unprecedented public-private collaborative effort to provide drug treatment and rehabilitation for nonviolent drug offenders diverted to the Maui Drug Court. The nominee started the Maui Drug Court from nothing and in just three years developed it into a highly successful, nationally award-winning program, supported in large part by the community through Friends of the Maui Drug Court, a non-profit organization established by the nominee to raise funds for the program.

Your Committee diligently questioned the nominee regarding her qualifications for the position and her vision, priorities, and action plan for the Department of Human Services. In addition, your Committee requested that the nominee disclose potential conflicts of interest with her acceptance of this position, if any. Your Committee believes that the nominee more than adequately responded to the Committee's inquiries and further offered thoughtful visions of the Department of Human Services and her role as its director. Your Committee believes that, given Hawaii's challenging economic climate, the State will need to adopt new and innovative approaches to ensure that there is an adequate safety net of essential services to help families, children, elders, and those who are least able to care for themselves. This, the nominee has assured your Committee, is a task that she is ready, willing, and able to undertake.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, character, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.