THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

132

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting a financial program and management audit of the department of hawaiian home lands.

 

 

WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands administers certain public lands, known as Hawaiian home lands, for homesteads; and

WHEREAS, these homesteads are designed to allow native Hawaiians to return to their lands and to promote self-sufficiency, self-determination, and preservation of the values, culture, and tradition of native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands leases homesteads to native Hawaiians who are at least fifty per cent Hawaiian by blood; and

WHEREAS, homestead leases may extend up to one hundred ninety-nine years, with each lessee paying a rental fee of $1 per year; and

WHEREAS, in addition to administering homestead leases, the Department carries out other duties, such as the development of Hawaiian home lands for income-producing purposes or for homestead use and managing homelands that are not used for homestead leases; and

WHEREAS, a financial audit of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands performed by the Office of the Auditor in September 2002, revealed several glaring problems with the financial operations of the Department, including:

(1) Insufficient documentation of the methodology used to determine the allowance for doubtful accounts for loans receivable;

(2) Failure to ensure that all departmental accounting policies and procedures are in place and enforced; and

(3) Improper record-keeping of infrastructure improvements; and

WHEREAS, another audit would prove useful in determining whether and the extent to which the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has addressed the problems identified in the previous audit, or another audit may reveal new concerns that need to be addressed; and

WHEREAS, expanding the scope of a follow-up audit to include management issues would provide further insight into the operation of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands as a whole; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct a management, program, and financial audit of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the audit of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands include, but not be limited to, a review and analysis of all sources of funding used or managed by the Department; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is requested to reimburse the Office of the Auditor for any costs incurred for conducting the audit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Auditor is requested to submit any findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

 

 

Report Title:

DHHL; Management and financial audit,