Bill Text: HI HB589 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To The Land Conservation Fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-12-01 - Carried over to 2020 Regular Session. [HB589 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-HB589-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
589 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to the land conservation fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. (a) During the regular session of 2017, the legislature enacted Act 209, which required the auditor to conduct a performance audit of the department of land and natural resources' land conservation fund and provide recommendations as appropriate. The audit required by Act 209, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, was submitted to the legislature in January 2019.
The audit found that the department of land and natural resources has struggled to properly manage the land conservation fund, hampering the program's effectiveness. Significantly, the department of land and natural resources has not established a resource land acquisition plan, which is required by law pursuant to section 173A-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The auditor noted that without this plan in place, the legacy land conservation program and the department of land and natural resources "lack an overall direction and purpose."
The auditor also found a number of more specific concerns with program implementation and financial management. Overall, the department of land and natural resources failed to exercise proper financial management over the land conservation fund, resulting in shortfalls, misspending, and a lack of transparency and accountability. For example:
(1) Program staff missed fiscal deadlines to create and execute contracts for grant awards, triggering a "domino effect" of borrowing anticipated future funds that had not yet been appropriated by the legislature. In practice, this reduced the amount of funding available for future projects;
(2) Program staff failed to track balances in the trust account used to hold legacy land conservation program funds awarded to state agencies, resulting in a complete lack of oversight and accountability;
(3) Department staff mistakenly paid nearly $685,000 for State central service fees during fiscal years 2016 and 2017, even though the land conservation fund had been statutorily exempt from paying the fees since 2015;
(4) The department of land and natural resources used the land conservation fund's limited administrative budget to support the salary of an employee unrelated to the legacy land conservation fund program; and
(5) The division of forestry and wildlife of the department of land and natural resources has at times sought and obtained funding from the land conservation fund for its own projects outside of the legacy land conservation program's grant award process, reducing transparency and accountability.
(b) The legislature agrees with the auditor that the department of land and natural resources must follow its obligations under the law and implement the policies and procedures required for the department to exercise proper financial management over the land conservation fund.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require the department of land and natural resources to implement certain recommendations made by the auditor, and allow members of the public to compel the department of land and natural resources to fulfill its statutory responsibilities under chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Specifically, this Act:
(1) Requires the department of land and natural resources to:
(A) Establish an initial resource land acquisition plan no later than January 1, 2020;
(B) Develop and implement written policies and procedures, including internal controls, to govern the grant award and blanket encumbrance processes;
(C) Develop clear and well-defined policies and procedures between the legacy land conservation program and the division of forestry and wildlife regarding the distribution of land conservation fund moneys;
(D) Maintain a record of the transfer of funds to and from any department of land and natural resources trust account and report these transactions to the governor and the legislature in the program's annual report;
(E) Maintain a centralized file system and establish a records retention policy for all awarded projects, including pending, completed and discontinued projects; and
(F) Report to the legislature and the auditor on its progress in meeting its obligations under this Act prior to the convening of the legislature's regular session of 2020;
(2) Requires the auditor to:
(A) Monitor the progress of the department of land and natural resources in implementing this Act; and
(B) Commence a full financial and management audit of the department of land and natural resources if the auditor finds the department is not in compliance with this Act; and
(3) Authorizes any person to commence a civil action against the board of land and natural resources or the board of land and natural resources to enforce chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
SECTION 2. Chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§173A- Private right of action. (a) Beginning July 1, 2019, any person may commence a civil action on that person's own behalf against the board, department, or commission, if the board, department, or commission is alleged to be in violation of this chapter.
(b) A person bringing an action pursuant to this section shall be entitled to recover the person's costs and reasonable attorneys' fees."
SECTION 3. Section 173A-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§173A-3 Resource land acquisition plan. In consultation with the senate president
and speaker of the house of representatives, the department shall prepare and,
from time to time, revise a plan for the acquisition of land having value as a
resource to the State[.];
provided that an initial plan shall be completed no later than January 1, 2020. This plan shall guide the board in acquiring [such]
applicable land in the exercise of its powers under this chapter. In preparing this plan, the department may
institute studies relating to the need for [such] the land and
shall consider any plan relating to the acquisition of [such] applicable
land that has been prepared by any state or county agency."
SECTION 4. Section 173A-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (l) to read as follows:
"(l)
The board shall:
(1) Track
amounts disbursed from the fund;
(2) Prepare
and submit an annual report to the governor and the legislature at least twenty
days prior to the convening of each regular session. The annual report shall include:
(A) A
summary of all interests or rights in land acquired during the preceding fiscal
year;
(B) A
summary of what value each newly acquired land has as a resource to the State;
(C) Proposals
for future land acquisitions, including a summary of the resource value that
the land may possess;
(D) A financial report for the preceding fiscal
year; [and]
(E) A record of the balance of and all transfers of funds to or from
any department of land and natural resources trust account established to hold
awards granted to state agencies. The
report shall include a list of all projects for which a grant was awarded and
the status of each project; and
[(E)] (F) Objectives and
budget projections for the following fiscal year; and
(3) Make copies of the annual report available to the public."
SECTION 5. No later than January 1, 2020, the department of land and natural resources shall:
(1) Develop and implement written policies and procedures, including internal controls, governing the grant award and blanket encumbrance processes to ensure that project contracts are executed on time and blanket encumbrance funds do not lapse;
(2) Develop clear and well-defined policies and procedures between the legacy land conservation program and the division of forestry and wildlife regarding distribution of moneys from the land conservation fund; provided that the procedures shall require the division of forestry and wildlife to follow the grant application process described in section 173A-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in order to receive funding from the land conservation fund; and
(3) Develop a centralized file system and establish a records retention policy for all awarded projects, including pending, completed, and discontinued projects.
SECTION 6. The department of land and natural resources shall submit a report of its progress in meeting its obligations under this Act to the auditor and the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2020.
SECTION 7. The auditor shall monitor the department of land and natural resources' progress in meeting its obligations under this Act. If, following the submittal of the report required by section 6 of this Act, the auditor determines that the department of land and natural resources is not in compliance with this Act, the auditor shall conduct a full financial and management audit of the department of land and natural resources. If an audit is required, the auditor shall submit a report on the audit's findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2022.
SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
DLNR;
Land Conservation Fund; Auditor; Auditor's Recommendations; Report to
Legislature
Description:
Requires
the Department of Land and Natural Resources to complete an initial resource land
acquisition plan no later than 1/1/2020.
Requires the department to develop and implement written policies, procedures,
and internal controls, including a centralized filing system and records
retention policy governing the land conservation fund and any grants awarded
therefrom. Requires the department to
maintain a record of funds transferred from the land conservation fund to and
from any department trust account.
Requires a report to the legislature.
Directs the Auditor to commence a full financial and management audit of
the department if the department does not comply with its obligations under the
Act. Authorizes a private right of
action to enforce chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
