SCR32.DOC

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Hawaii requires all public officers to take an oath of office to swear or affirm that they will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, and faithfully discharge their duties to the best of their ability; and

WHEREAS, chapter 323D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, states that the State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) shall be headed by an Administrator to be appointed by the Governor pursuant to section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, under chapter 323D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, SHPDA is responsible for promoting accessibility for all the people of the State to quality health care services at reasonable cost and for conducting studies and investigations as to the causes of health care costs; and

WHEREAS, the SHPDA Administrator is responsible for the health planning activities of the State and the Certificate of Need Program, which regulates certain aspects of health care facilities and health care services; and

WHEREAS, in performing the Administrator's job duties, the SHPDA Administrator is required to follow all laws and rules related to SHPDA's functions; and

WHEREAS, chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Hawaii's Sunshine Law, expressly declares that it is the policy of the State that the formation and conduct of public policy, including the discussions, deliberations, decisions, and actions of government agencies, shall be conducted as openly as possible; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Sunshine Law declares the Legislature's intent that provisions requiring open meetings be liberally construed and the provisions providing exceptions to open meeting requirements be strictly construed against closed meetings requiring that, minus certain exceptions, all discussions, deliberations, decisions, and actions of a board or commission relating to official business must be conducted as part of a public meeting; and

WHEREAS, the State Office of Information Practices has opined that the SHPDA Administrator has violated the Sunshine Law on numerous occasions; and

WHEREAS, after being informed of such violations, the SHPDA Administrator failed to take any action to remedy the violations; and

WHEREAS, the SHPDA Administrator chaired a recent public hearing during which the Administrator was ineffective in preventing an attorney from repeatedly and vocally objecting to a State Representative's public testimony being presented to the Committee; and

WHEREAS, SHPDA has not published the State's Annual Health Care Utilization Report since 2007, the same year the SHPDA Administrator took office, and this Report's data is crucial to health care planners and professionals statewide in planning for the provision of health services; and

WHEREAS, the SHPDA Administrator has allowed several of the State's neighbor island Subarea Health Planning Councils (SACs) to lose membership to less than a handful of members; and

WHEREAS, the SACs, by statute, are required to review, seek public input, and make recommendations relating to health planning for the geographical subareas they serve; and

WHEREAS, under the SHPDA Administrator's direction, many of the SACs have not met in almost a year, which has resulted in an inability for SHPDA to fulfill its duties related to neighbor island health care planning functions; and

WHEREAS, the SHPDA Administrator violated statutory law by allowing a health care provider to serve as chairperson of a SAC; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's health care is a public utility that is too precious to be developed and regulated in a manner that is inconsistent with the Hawaii Revised Statutes and the Hawaii Administrative Rules; and

WHEREAS, section 21-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes the establishment of a legislative investigating committee by resolution, and Rule 13 of the 2011-2012 Rules of the Senate allows for the establishment of special committees; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the House of Representatives concurring, that a Joint Legislative Committee is established pursuant to chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to investigate the Administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency for any inconsistent adherence to the Hawaii State Constitution's oath of office, the Hawaii Revised Statutes, and the Hawaii Administrative Rules; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate is requested to appoint the Senate Special Committee on Accountability, pursuant to Rule 20 of the 2011-2012 Rules of the Senate, to investigate the above-mentioned issue; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is requested to appoint, as the Speaker deems appropriate, a House investigative committee with membership similar to the Senate Special Committee on Accountability, to investigate the above-mentioned issue; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate Special Committee on Accountability and the House investigative committee as established by the Speaker of the House, are requested to convene a Joint Legislative Committee to investigate the Administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency on matters consistent with this Concurrent Resolution by holding public meetings and hearings, receiving all relevant information, and submitting a final report to the Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Joint Legislative Committee to investigate the SHPDA Administrator shall have every power and function allowed to an investigating committee pursuant to chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including without limitation the power to:

(1) Adopt rules for the conduct of its proceedings;

(2) Issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum requiring the production of books, documents, records, papers, or other evidence in any matter pending before the committee;

(3) Hold hearings appropriate for the performance of its duties, at such times and places as the committee determines;

(4) Administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses at hearings of the committee;

(5) Report or certify instances of contempt as provided in section 21-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(6) Determine the means by which a record shall be made of its proceedings in which testimony or other evidence is demanded or adduced;

(7) Provide for the submission, by a witness's own counsel and counsel for another individual or entity about whom the witness has devoted substantial or important portions of the witness's testimony, of written questions to be asked of the witness by the chair; and

(8) Exercise all other powers specified under chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, with respect to investigative committees; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may, from time to time, instruct the Senate Special Committee on Accountability and the House Investigative Committee to convene a Joint Legislative Committee to investigate specific matters that fall within the scope and jurisdiction of the Joint Legislative Committee, and the Joint Legislative Committee shall work in cooperation with the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the purposes stated in this Concurrent Resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Joint Legislative Committee shall submit its written findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Director of Health, Attorney General, State Ethics Commissioner, and the Auditor.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

State Health Planning and Development Agency

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	32
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII