THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

138

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

PROPOSED

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting a financial and management audit of the office of hawaiian affairs.

 

 

     WHEREAS, recent news reports have indicated that the Governor and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have been negotiating a settlement to longstanding issues surrounding the Public Land Trust; and

 

     WHEREAS, upon reaching a tentative negotiated settlement, the Governor and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs provided the Legislature and the public with terms of the proposed settlement by means of legislation submitted during the 2008 Regular Session; and

 

     WHEREAS, prior to submitting the legislation, neither the Governor nor the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was forthcoming with any Public Land Trust settlement details or if in fact any negotiations were being conducted at all; and

 

     WHEREAS, during the 2008 Regular Session, the Legislature was put in the awkward position of considering whether to accept and enact the settlement proposal without any forewarning or prior information being provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs or the Governor to the Legislature, the beneficiaries of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or the general public; and

 

     WHEREAS, these actions have led the Legislature to question whether the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is adequately managing its affairs and its financial resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, in order for the Legislature to be confident that any Public Land Trust settlement executed will be properly managed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Legislature believes that the Auditor should conduct a management and financial audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a management and financial audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report of the Auditor's findings and recommendations on the results of the financial and management audit not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Auditor.

Report Title: 

Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Audit