Bill Text: HI HCR36 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Auditor To Conduct A Financial Audit Of The Attorney General's Expenditure Of Moneys From The Notaries Public Revolving Fund During Fiscal Years 2010-2014.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-10 - Referred to JDC/WAM. [HCR36 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-HCR36-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
36 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the auditor to conduct a FINANCIAL audit of the attorney general'S expenditure OF MONEYS from the NOTARIES PUBLIC REVOLVING FUND during fiscal years 2010-2014.
WHEREAS, the Notaries Public Revolving Fund was established by Act 290, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998, to account for receipts from the fees associated with the original issuance or renewal of a notary public's commission; penalties and fines for violations of chapter 456, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and any interest earned on money in the fund; and
WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2004, the Auditor began performing a review of the fund's financial data every five years, with the first review covering the period of fiscal years 2000-2004, the second review covering fiscal years 2005-2009, and the third and last review covering fiscal years 2010-2014; and
WHEREAS, the Auditor's review of the fund's financial data for fiscal years 2000-2004 indicated that the average yearly expenditure from the fund was $49,400, with $80,000 remaining in the fund at the end of fiscal year 2004; and
WHEREAS, the Auditor's review of the fund's financial data for fiscal years 2005-2009 indicated that the average yearly expenditure from the fund was $50,800, with $262,000 remaining in the fund at the end of fiscal year 2009; and
WHEREAS, the Auditor's review of the fund's financial data for fiscal years 2010-2014 indicated that the average yearly expenditure from the fund was $135,000, with $2,000 remaining in the fund at the end of fiscal year 2014; and
WHEREAS, the Auditor noted in the review of financial data for fiscal years 2010-2014 that: "The fund spent more than it generated during the review period, jeopardizing its capacity to be self-sustaining. According to the department, the program can be successfully implemented if general funds are appropriated. We note that Section 456-9(d), HRS, provides that if the revolving fund is terminated, moneys are to be deposited into the general fund."; and
WHEREAS, the Auditor also described in the 2010-2014 review that the Attorney General expanded the uses of the fund greatly during that period, which appears to have been necessary; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, approximately one year before the Auditor's last review of the fund, the Attorney General received permission from the Legislature to increase the current fees associated with Hawaii notaries' commissions and to collect additional fees from Hawaii notaries; and
WHEREAS, although the Attorney General gave many justifications for the increased and additional fees in 2013, if the Attorney General was aware of the moneys expended from the fund during fiscal years 2010-2013, the Attorney General likely would have known that the fund would be unsustainable by the end of 2014; and
WHEREAS, although the budgets for each fiscal year during the 2010-2014 review period were requested to be made available pursuant to the Uniform Information Practices Act, the Attorney General has yet to furnish any budgets from this period; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a financial audit of the Attorney General's expenditure of $675,000 from the Notaries Public Revolving Fund during fiscal years 2010-2014; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is also requested to require that the Attorney General publish the budgets of the Notaries Public Revolving Fund each year on the Notary Office's website; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General and the Auditor.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Auditor; Audit; Notaries Public; Notary; Attorney General; Fees
