Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3186 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require certain state procurement contracts to be reviewed and approved by the Attorney General to ensure expenditure safeguard provisions are included, and to provide for a theft offense for the unauthorized expenditure of public moneys by persons entrusted with expenditure of those moneys.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from one individual.

This measure is intended to prevent and punish incidences of misspending of public moneys by persons who are in charge of expending those moneys. The intent is to guard against contractors who are awarded a state or municipal contract and proceed to squander the funds in unauthorized expenditures. Your Committee finds that these incidences are all too commonplace. Current law is lacking in adequate safeguards and criminal penalties. This measure fills that void.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3186 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.