Bill Text: HI SB502 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 502 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating To Government Accountability.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-03-07 - Referred to LMG, FIN, referral sheet 27 [SB502 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SB502-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	502
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that every year laws are enacted that require government departments, agencies, and offices to conduct new studies and audits and report the findings and recommendations of those studies and audits to the legislature. The volume of reports required each year and the number of reporting entities involved in creating those reports makes it difficult for the legislature to effectively track and review the required reports for purposes of accountability. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a streamlined system in which the legislature can be accurately informed about which departments, agencies, and offices are and are not meeting their reporting requirements.

The legislature also finds that the legislative reference bureau is already tasked with creating a report outlining the measures that require the submission of a report to the legislature. The legislative reference bureau is therefore the appropriate entity to collect and manage more detailed information relating to required reports and the submission of those reports to the legislature each session.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Require the appropriate receiving elective officer of each chamber of the legislature to promptly notify the legislative reference bureau of the receipt of any report required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution;

(2) Require the legislative reference bureau to develop a spreadsheet informing members of the legislature on the status and subject of all reports to be submitted to the legislature as required by law or requested by legislative concurrent resolution;

(3) Require the legislative reference bureau to inform the legislature of all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution that were not timely submitted; and

(4) Require governmental agencies that submit reports to include certain information in their reports to facilitate the legislative reference bureau's timely reporting of the submission of those reports.

SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending its title to read:

"LEGISLATIVE [~~HEARINGS AND PROCEDURE~~] OPERATIONS"

2. By designating sections 21-1 to 21-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as "Part I. Legislative Investigating Committees".

3. By amending sections 21-1, 21-2, 21-6, 21-13, 21-15, and 21-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by substituting the word "part" wherever the word "chapter" appears, as the context requires.

4. By adding a new part to be appropriately inserted and to read:

"PART . GENERAL PROVISIONS

§21- Reports received by the legislature; notification to the legislative reference bureau. Upon the receipt of any report required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution, the appropriate receiving elective officer of each chamber shall promptly notify the legislative reference bureau of the date of receipt of the report."

SECTION 3. Section 23G-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§23G-5[]] Annual and other reports to be submitted to legislature; tracking, monitoring, reporting, coordination. (a) The legislative reference bureau shall develop a system to track and monitor the submission of reports to the legislature by executive agencies and the judiciary. The system shall encompass all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature[,] or requested by legislative concurrent resolution.

(b) For all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution, the legislative reference bureau shall create a spreadsheet detailing the following:

(1) The number of the law or laws or legislative concurrent resolution requiring the report;

(2) A description of the required contents of the report;

(3) If applicable, the amount appropriated for the report or for a study that was the basis for the report, if the appropriation amount is clearly specified in the law or laws or legislative concurrent resolution or is made available by the agency required to submit the report or study, pursuant to section 93-16(a)(3);

(4) The date on which the report is due to the legislature; and

(5) The date on which the legislature received the required report, as provided to the legislative reference bureau pursuant to section 21- .

The legislative reference bureau shall make the spreadsheet available to all members of the legislature after the forty-five day veto override time period has elapsed. The legislative reference bureau shall resubmit the spreadsheet to the legislature by the first day of each regular legislative session to indicate which required or requested reports have been submitted.

(c) A copy of all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution shall be provided to the legislative reference bureau by the submitting government agency in accordance with section 93-16.

(d) No later than ten days after the convening of each regular session, the legislative reference bureau shall notify the legislature of all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution that were not timely submitted."

SECTION 4. Section 93-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"(a) Notwithstanding any other statute, law, charter provision, ordinance, or rule to the contrary, whenever a government agency is required to submit a report to the legislature, the report shall [be]:

(1) [~~Available~~] Be available in printed form;

(2) Clearly identify the law or laws or legislative concurrent resolution that required or requested the report, as appropriate;

(3) Include the amount appropriated for the report or for a study that was the basis for the report, as appropriate;

(4) Include the date by which the report was to be submitted to the legislature for review;

[~~(2)~~ ~~Submitted~~] (5) Be submitted in printed form to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the legislative reference bureau library; and

[~~(3)~~ ~~Posted~~] (6) Be posted on the designated central State of Hawaii website[;] or

[~~(4)~~ ~~Posted~~] on the Internet in an [~~easily-located~~] easily located manner.

(b) If a government agency submits a report to the legislature that is a consolidation of reports mandated by law or requested by legislative concurrent resolution of that agency or of other agencies that are administratively attached to the government agency submitting the consolidated report, then the agency submitting the consolidated report shall also include:

(1) A listing of each mandated report that is being included in the consolidated report[~~; and~~] by clearly identifying the law or laws or legislative concurrent resolution, as appropriate, that required or requested the report;

(2) The specific time period covered by the particular government agency's report, if different from the time period covered by the consolidated report[.]; and

(3) The amount appropriated for the compiled report, broken down by cost for each report or study that is the basis for the report, as appropriate, that is included in the consolidated report."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Government Accountability; Legislative Reference Bureau; Reports

Description:

Requires the legislative reference bureau to develop a spreadsheet informing members of the legislature on the status and content of all reports to be submitted to the legislature as required by law or requested by legislative concurrent resolution. Requires the legislative reference bureau to inform the legislature of all annual and other reports required by law to be submitted to the legislature or requested by legislative concurrent resolution that were not timely submitted. Requires reporting entities to submit a copy of all reports submitted to the legislature to the legislative reference bureau. (SD1)

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