STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1828

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 988

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 988, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROCUREMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the Hawaii Public Procurement Code to prohibit the disclosure of a competing offeror's proposal or evaluation score to a non-selected offeror during a debriefing, until after any protest is resolved and the contract is executed.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, Department of Transportation, and State Procurement Office.

Your Committee finds that under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code, the purpose of a debriefing is to explain the purchasing agency's overall ranking of all proposals and provide a summary of the rationale for the contract award. Your Committee further finds that disclosure of details regarding the debriefed proposal to non-selected offerors would compromise the integrity of a procurement if a reevaluation of proposals were ordered later in the procurement process. Your Committee recognizes that prohibiting the disclosure of a competing offeror's proposal or evaluation score up to the point of contract execution will protect the fairness of the procurement process and help to ensure that agencies receive the best value from public moneys.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 988, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair