STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3123

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 243

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 243, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

State Procurement Administrator

 

G.M. No. 243

AARON FUJIOKA,

for a term to expire 08-25-2013 (Term amended to 10-16-2013 by G.M. No. 318),

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Testimony in support of the nomination of Aaron Fujioka was submitted by the Comptroller; Deputy Comptroller; Cable Television Administrator, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Managing Director, Director of Finance, and Department of Finance Purchasing Agent of the County of Hawaii; fifteen staff members of the State Procurement Office; four private organizations; and eleven individuals.  The nominee also submitted a statement.  Written testimony presented to your Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Mr. Fujioka received a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Development and a Master in Social Work degree in Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Since then, he has accumulated more than twenty-five years of experience in planning, program development, public procurement, and contracts management.  For the majority of time between 1997 and the present, Mr. Fujioka has served in the State Procurement Office, first as Procurement Manager, then as Assistant Administrator and Procurement Officer, and currently as the Administrator and Chief Procurement Officer.  During 2005, Mr. Fujioka served as the Special Advisor to the Director of the Department of Community Services of the City and County of Honolulu.  From 1988 to 1997, Mr. Fujioka was the Senior Planner in the Office of Community Services, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, functioning as the chief planner, procurement manager, and contracts officer responsible for procuring services and managing seventy contracts annually.

 

     Your Committee finds that testimony submitted in support of Mr. Fujioka's nomination is universal in its praise of his thorough knowledge of the procurement laws and procedures and also his good judgment and integrity in carrying out these laws.  Additionally, testifiers commended Mr. Fujioka's focus on customer service within the State Procurement Office, benefitting both government agencies and companies with which the State contracts.  Specifically, Mr. Fujioka has offered state and county employees throughout the State extensive procurement training, including thirty-five different training workshops and over three hundred procurement training sessions.  This goal of customer service is also exemplified by his development and implementation of the pCard program, an alternative payment method to the paper purchase order, which has increased efficiency and provided cost savings for both government agencies and the companies with which the State contracts. 

 

Testimony submitted by members of the State Procurement Office staff also praised his integrity, professionalism, resourcefulness, and teamwork.  Your Committee also finds that Mr. Fujioka's willingness to submit well thought out and incisive testimony regarding legislative proposals is very much appreciated, both by testifiers and by your Committee.

 

     With the breadth of his experience and expertise in public procurement, contracts management, and planning and program development, your Committee finds that Aaron Fujioka is eminently qualified for the position to which he is nominated.

 

     Your Committee also notes that the term specified in Governor's Message No. 243, which would have expired on August 25, 2013, was extended to October 16, 2013 by Governor's Message No. 318.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, 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.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations,

 

 

 

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair