Bill Text: HI SR48 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Office Of Hawaiian Affairs To Conduct An Independent Fiscal Audit Of All Limited Liability Corporations Created Or Controlled By The Office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-12 - Report and Resolution Adopted. [SR48 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR48-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	48
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the office of hawaiian AFFAIRS to conduct an independent fiscal audit of all limited liability corporations created or controlled by the office.

 

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to Article VII, section 10, of the Hawaii State Constitution, the Office of the Auditor shall conduct post‑audits of the performance of all offices and agencies of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, independent audits are necessary to assess government performance and to hold agencies accountable for their policy implementation, program management, and expenditures of public funds; and

 

     WHEREAS, the purpose of independent audits is to help eliminate waste and inefficiency in government and to ensure that public funds are expended effectively; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has created and used limited liability companies (LLCs) to distribute Native Hawaiian Trust Fund monies, including in instances when the recipient would not have otherwise met Office of Hawaiian Affairs requirements for receiving funds; and

 

     WHEREAS, LLCs are a relatively new legal construct, and it is unsettled whether LLCs created by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are state organizations and subject to laws generally applicable to state agencies, like laws pertaining to the State Procurement Code, State Ethics Code, Sunshine Law, and Uniform Information Practices Act; and

 

     WHEREAS, the transactions, accounts, procedures, and performance of the LLCs created and used by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs were not included in the scope of the Office of the Auditor's 2018 Audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of the Auditor's 2018 Audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs raised concerns regarding spending irregularities and possible breaches of the Office's fiduciary duties; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ongoing fiscal health of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is vital to its mission of improving the conditions and well-being of present and future Native Hawaiians and Hawaiians; and

 

     WHEREAS, an independent audit of LLCs created by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is integral to understanding the Office's fiscal health and mission compliance; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requested to conduct an independent fiscal audit of all LLCs created or controlled by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requested to report the findings and recommendations of the independent fiscal audit to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and State Auditor.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Limited Liability Corporations; Independent Audit