STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2584

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2838

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Government Operations and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2838 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROCUREMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend certain sections of the statutes governing the procurement of health and human services in Hawaii. Specifically, this measure:

(1) Requires purchasing agencies of health and human services to analyze proposed costs and prices and document the agency's determination that such costs and prices are fair and reasonable;

(2) Allows departments and agencies to establish their own lists of qualified health and human services providers from which they can use the treatment purchase of service procurement method to procure their services;

(3) Increases the threshold for small purchase purchases for health and human services; and

(4) Reduces the number of members of the Procurement Policy Board and removes the requirement that at least one board member be a certified professional in the field of procurement.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the State Procurement Office. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committees find that updating and streamlining the procurement laws relating to the purchase of health and human services will promote procurement efficiency, program success, and government accountability of procurement procedures. Your Committees further find that by reducing the number of board members and membership requirements of the Procurement Policy Board will improve the ability for the board to reach quorum and promulgate procurement rules.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Adopting language as jointly submitted by the State Procurement Office and Department of Human Services, which better reflects the intent of this measure; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Government Operations and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2838, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2838, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Government Operations and Human Services,

________________________________ RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair

________________________________ LAURA H. THIELEN, Chair