STAND. COM. REP. 864

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 1300

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BUDGET OF THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide the necessary appropriations for the operation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for fiscal biennium 2003-2005.

OHA and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill.

Your Committee recognizes the role and responsibilities of OHA in providing programs and services for its beneficiaries and appreciates the efforts of OHA's Board of Trustees in submitting a biennium budget proposal that addresses the needs of the Hawaiian community. Your Committee also appreciates OHA's desire to be treated on an equal level with all other state departments.

In deliberating on this and other bills affecting the State's finances, your Committee seriously considered the impact of lower revenue projections and the possibility of a conflict in the

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle East. At the same time, your Committee is aware that across-the-board reductions are being absorbed by all executive departments and, therefore, has taken a conservative approach in developing OHA's biennium budget.

On January 8, 2003, OHA presented a biennium budget at a joint hearing of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Finance Committee. At this hearing, OHA requested $2,532,647 in general funds and $4,029,866 in trust funds to be expended for fiscal biennium 2003-2005.

On January 16, 2003, OHA's Board of Trustees approved a second, revised fiscal biennium budget requesting $5,700,000 in general funds and $1,275,905 in trust funds for fiscal year 2003-2004 and $5,700,000 in general funds and $1,190,898 in trust funds for fiscal year 2004-2005. This revised biennium budget was then presented at a joint hearing of the House Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs Committee and Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. This budget was submitted with the understanding that all positions within OHA, with the exception of the Board of Trustees, would now be funded through the State general fund.

In considering the second biennium budget proposed by OHA on January 16, 2003, your Committee recognized that as a result of the current fiscal situation, all executive departments were undergoing reductions to their respective budgets, with many departments taking a 5 percent reduction in fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Mindful of this situation, your Committee has amended this bill to reflect the original biennium budget presented by OHA on January 8, 2003.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

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DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair