STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2158

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 666

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 666, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Director of the Office of Planning, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

G.M. No. 666

MARY ALICE EVANS, for a term to expire at noon on 12-05-2022,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Mary Alice Evans for service as the Director of the Office of Planning.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination for the appointment of Mary Alice Evans from the Governor; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Department of Transportation; Department of Health; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Agriculture; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Taxation; Department of Human Services; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Office of Planning; Office of Environmental Quality Control; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Hawai‘i Tourism Authority; Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i; Hawaii Community Development Authority; Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority; Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority; Hawaii Technology Development Corporation; Hawai‘i Gas; Hawai‘i Farm Bureau; Oahu Economic Development Board; Oahu County Committee Oahu County Democrats; and eighteen individuals.

Your Committee finds that for over four decades, Ms. Evans has served in a wide range of government roles affecting sectors such as central state services, human resources, land use, renewable and alternative energy development, economic development, and tourism. Ms. Evans is currently the Planning Program Manager of the Special Plans Branch of the Office of Planning. She briefly served as the interim Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism from 2011 to 2018. Additionally, among other positions, Ms. Evans has served as a Deputy Comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services, Special Assistant for Research at the Office of the Governor, and Employment Analyst and Community Services Planner at the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Ms. Evans is affiliated with diverse professional organizations throughout the State. She served as President of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Planning Association. She is also a member of the Hawaii Economic Association, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Honolulu City Planning Commission, and Urban Land Institute. Testifiers commented on Ms. Evans' consistently strong work ethic and her many years of public service to the State, and noted Ms. Evans' depth of institutional knowledge, particularly the inter-workings of government and her extensive experience managing staff, budgets, operations, and projects, her generosity in sharing this knowledge, and desire to accelerate departmental and state progress. These qualities provide a foundation for long-term state efforts in planning and coordinating future public and private sector projects.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land 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 Water and Land,

____________________________

KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair