Report Title:

Office of the Legislative Budget Officer (OLBO)

Description:

Repeals the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Office of the Legislative Analyst; establishes the OLBO; makes the OLBO accountable to the House Speaker and Senate President; grants expanded powers to the OLBO; appropriates funds for the OLBO.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

646

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to legislative agencies.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that timely, accurate, and complete information collection and analysis of state fiscal matters by legislative agencies is essential in helping legislators make prudent and intelligent policy decisions for the people of Hawaii. This is particularly important during times of fiscal constraint and economic uncertainty, when the State must find ways to address problems with limited funding and uneven revenue collection.

Currently, the office of the legislative analyst represents the primary legislative agency tasked with providing research, analysis, information, reviews, and recommendations on fiscal matters including state revenues, expenditures, budgets, and programs. However, the legislature finds that the effectiveness of the office is compromised by several significant problems and weaknesses. Foremost among them is a lack of funding which is obviously a requirement if an office is to be properly staffed and equipped.

In addition, the legislative oversight provisions for this office, involving the joint legislative budget committee, appear cumbersome and unwieldy, and serve to potentially politicize the office to a degree that would negatively impact the office's ability to carry out objective analysis of state fiscal matters.

Finally, the enforcement powers of the office are insufficient to allow the office to effectively carry out its duties.

The purpose of this Act is repeal the joint legislative budget committee and the office of the legislative analyst and instead establish the office of the legislative budget officer. The office of the legislative budget officer will retain all of the duties of the office of the legislative analyst, but will also include improved enforcement and investigative powers and will operate under more streamlined and efficient legislative oversight. This Act also provides funding to properly staff and equip the newly established office.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICER

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

"Office" means the office of the legislative budget officer.

§ -2 Office of the legislative budget officer established. (a) There is established the office of the legislative budget officer. The speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate shall appoint a legislative budget officer who shall serve for a period of four years. The minority leaders of both houses may submit three names each for consideration for each appointment. The speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate may remove the legislative budget officer from office, but only for cause. The speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate shall fix the salary of the legislative budget officer.

(b) The legislative budget officer shall have the sole authority to employ clerical and technical employees as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the office. The legislative budget officer and other clerical and technical employees shall be entitled to participate in any employee benefit program plan or privilege generally available to state employees.

§ -3 General purposes of the office of the legislative budget officer. (a) The purpose of the office of the legislative budget officer shall be:

(1) To provide the legislature with research and analysis of current and projected state revenues and expenditures;

(2) To provide the legislature with a report analyzing the governor's proposed levels of revenue and expenditures for biennial budgets submitted under chapter 37, as well as other supplemental budget submittals to the legislature by the governor;

(3) To provide an analysis of the impact of the governor's proposed revenue and expenditure plans for the next biennium;

(4) To conduct research matters of economic and fiscal policy and to report to the legislature on the results of the research;

(5) To provide economic reports and studies on the state of the State's economy, including trends and forecasts for consideration by the legislature;

(6) To conduct budget and tax studies and provide general fiscal and budgetary information;

(7) To review and make recommendations on the operation of state programs to appraise the implementation of state laws regarding the expenditure of funds and to recommend means of improving their efficiency; and

(8) To recommend to the legislature:

(A) Changes in the mix of revenue sources for programs;

(B) The percentage of state expenditures devoted to major programs; and

(C) The role of the legislature in overseeing state government expenditures and revenue projections.

(b) In performing the duties under subsection (a), the legislative budget officer shall consider, among other things:

(1) The relative dependence on state tax revenues, federal funds, and user fees to support state-funded programs, and whether the existing mix of revenue sources is appropriate, given the purposes of the programs;

(2) The relative percentages of state expenditures that are devoted to major programs such as education, assistance to local government, aid to individuals, state agencies, and institutions, and debt service; and

(3) The role of the legislature in overseeing state government expenditures, including legislative appropriation of money from the general fund, legislative appropriation of money from funds other than the general fund, state agency receipt of money into revolving and other dedicated funds and expenditure of money from these funds, and state agency expenditure of federal funds.

§ -4 Agencies to cooperate. All departments, agencies, offices, and political subdivisions shall comply with requests of the office of the legislative budget officer for information, data, estimates, and statistics on programs, budgets, revenues, expenditures, fiscal projections, and other affairs of the department, agency, office, or political subdivision.

§ -5 Enforcement and investigative powers. (a) The legislative budget officer may examine and inspect all accounts, books, records, files, papers, and documents and all financial affairs of every department, office, agency, and political subdivision.

(b) The legislative budget officer may cause search to be made and extracts to be taken from any account, book, file, paper, record, or document in the custody of any public officer without paying any fee for the same; and every officer having the custody of the accounts, books, records, files, papers, and documents shall make such search and furnish such extracts as thereto requested.

(c) The legislative budget officer may issue:

(1) Subpoenas compelling at a specified time and place the appearance and sworn testimony of any person whom the legislative budget officer reasonably believes may be able to provide information relating to any investigation undertaken pursuant to this chapter; and

(2) Subpoenas duces tecum compelling the production of accounts, books, records, files, papers, documents, or other evidence, which the legislative budget officer reasonably believes may relate to an investigation being conducted under this chapter.

Upon application by the legislative budget officer, obedience to the subpoena may be enforced by the circuit court in the county in which the person subpoenaed resides or is found in the same manner as a subpoena issued by the clerk of the circuit court.

§ -6 Examination under oath. The legislative budget officer may administer oaths to persons summoned to appear before the legislative budget officer and may question such persons, under oath, concerning receipts and expenditures of money and concerning all other things and matters necessary for the due execution of the duties vested in the legislative budget officer by this chapter.

§ -7 Penalty for violation and false evidence. Any person summoned or subpoenaed as provided in section -5 to give testimony or to produce any accounts, books, records, files, papers, documents, or other evidence relating to any matter under inquiry, who wilfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertaining to the matter under inquiry, shall be fined:

(1) Not less than $100 nor more than $1,000;

(2) Imprisoned not less than one month nor more than twelve months; or

(3) Both.

If any person, in the course of the person's examination before the legislative budget officer, wilfully gives false evidence, the person so offending shall incur the same penalties as are or may be provided against persons convicted of perjury."

SECTION 3. Chapter 21F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is

repealed.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003-2004 and the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005 to fund personnel, equipment, and other current expenses for the office of the legislative budget officer.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the office of

the legislative budget officer for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

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