STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2331

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2786

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Education and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2786 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Education to establish a searchable budget database website that will be made publicly available no later than July 1, 2011.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by one state agency and three individuals.  Comments were submitted by one private organization.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committee finds that the requirements of this measure will enhance the transparency of operations within the Department of Education that will enable the Legislature to further assist the Department in achieving its mission and objectives.  Your Committee also finds that implementation of a searchable budget database would benefit the Department of Education by improving its financial accountability.  Your Committee further finds that the Department of Education has indicated some concerns in implementing the requirements of this measure that appear to be valid, thus your Committee believes that this measure is worthy of further discussion on the merits of the concerns raised by the Department.  Your Committee also recommends that all other state agencies, including the University of Hawaii, adopt policies that implement and provide semi-annual updates to a searchable budget database that is comparable to the requirements discussed for the database in this measure.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that salary costs of employees would be disclosed as ranges of salaries, rather than specific salary amounts, in accordance with section 92F‑12(a)(14), Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

     (2)  Deleting the requirement for the Department of Education to provide a description of the planned uses for expenditures of $1,000 or more in each fiscal year;

 

     (3)  Adding the requirement that the searchable budget database shall update the financial data posted on a semi-annual basis; and

 

     (4)  Providing the Department of Education with the alternative to establish and implement the searchable budget database in phases if the Department receives less than one hundred per cent of the appropriation needed to complete the searchable budget database in one fiscal year; provided that the initial phase shall be implemented and completed no later than July 1, 2011.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2786, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2786, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education and Housing,

 

 

 

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair