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Testimony of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means

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Testimony of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR STATE OF HAWAII STATE CAPITOL HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813 SHAN S. TSUTSUI LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TESTIMONY OF THE OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TO THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS HOUSE BILL NO. HB 500, H.D.1 Relating to the State Budget Chair Tokuda, Vice-Chair Kouchi and members of the Committee on Ways and Means, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor supports House Bill No. 500, H.D. 1, Relating to the State Budget. This measure appropriates funds for the operating and capital improvement budget of the Executive Branch for fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor (LTG 100) has worked to fulfill its duties under the previous and now current Administration, including continuing to perform the statutory duties of the office, while also assuming the responsibility for several new initiatives and programs. It has been a challenge to support and staff multiple initiatives, including initiating the R.E.A.C.H. after-school initiative for intermediate and middle school students, undertaking the Sports Development Initiative, spearheading the Hawaii Presidential Center initiative, assisting the Hawaii Growth Initiative, continuing to support Asia-Pacific relations, serving as vice chair of the Aerospace States Commission, and beginning a new program, the Commissioner of Deeds, as directed by the Legislature in 2013. The increased workload has required existing staff to undertake additional responsibilities and functions. We ask for the Committee’s favorable consideration of our additional budget requests to ensure that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor can continue to ably serve the public and support current programs and responsibilities: 1. Commissioner of Deeds position and administrative costs- The Office is seeking to properly implement the program and requires appropriate staffing and support resources to ensure success. Under Act 277, SLH 2013, the Legislature appropriated $60,000 for FY14 and FY15; however, no position was provided nor future funding to support the program. During the Regular Session of 2014, the Office requested the $60,000 appropriation be added to the LTG100 budget, rather than exist outside of the budget and in a bill, to ensure proper implementation of the program. Pursuant to Act 134, SLH 2013, as amended by Act 122, SLH 2014, a Commissioner of Deeds position was authorized in the LTG100 budget, but no associated funding was also provided. In the meantime, the Office had sought leave from the Governor to establish an unauthorized, unbudgeted position to administer this program. An employee was hired in early 2014, following the lifting of a hiring freeze, which delayed implementation of the program, and began work immediately, as provided above. The level of detail and understanding of the Commissioner of Deeds program, process, working group discussions, and Page 1 of 2 administrative rules process has and will continue to be instrumental in the initial phases of this program. The Legislature determined the need for enacting the law to establish the Commissioner of Deeds program, yet the Office of the Lieutenant Governor is committed to following through with implementation. We believe it is important to continue to maintain a position to work on the program and work on implementation, administration and maintenance, as well as corrective or modifying action. The position is necessary to fulfill the requirements of the law and providing stability in the position’s funding and existence is key to retaining qualified staff. Lack of a dedicated individual to work on the program will curtail implementation, monitoring, and oversight of the program going forward. Workload would likely taper off as the program is fully implemented, tested, altered and amended, as necessary. However, we believe that it will require some time to ensure proper and successful implementation and administration, which will not be sufficiently completed when the funding runs out at the close of FY15 or even FY16, as the H.D. 1 provides. Instead, we would suggest that perhaps at the end of the Lieutenant Governor’s current term, ending of FY18, the program and the position could be revisited and reevaluated to determine future need. 2. Governor’s Message No. 207- $50,000 for protocol fund and travel expenses of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Funds will enable the Lieutenant Governor to represent the State appropriately, be that through receiving visiting dignitaries, conducting meetings or traveling to meet with other dignitaries, tour facilities or conduct meetings with governmental or private business parties, among other things. The nature of the executive office requires flexibility in that the needs of the office in this area in particular are very dynamic, depending upon not only the initiatives and programs assigned to the Office, but also the current economic and political needs of the State. The Lieutenant Governor is often asked to take the place of the Governor in conducting meetings, within the State or a neighbor island, outside of the State or abroad, and it is difficult to predict the precise course of events. Additionally, travel/protocol expenses may be incidental to the work of the Office and its initiatives/programs. To ensure savings, the office has foregone certain opportunities/expenses, including, among other things, converting to a VOIP phone system, as the Legislature has and the Governor’s office plans to, because we do not want to incur additional expenses and have to take money away from positions or other operating costs. The impact on the office without these funds will be negative and may require reducing other expenses or delaying hiring, where necessary, and/or foregoing engaging visitors and other travel opportunities that would otherwise benefit the State. The additional House additions and reductions to the LTG100 budget are unclear, as they do not provide specifics or appropriate corresponding funding amounts. Aside from the aforementioned requested amounts, no additional changes to the budget are requested by this office at this time. Page 2 of 2 DOUGLAS MURDOCK DAVID Y. IGE Comptroller GOVERNOR STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES P.O. BOX 119, HONOLULU, HAWAII 96810-0119 TESTIMONY OF DOUGLAS MURDOCK, COMPTROLLER DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES TO THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS ON APRIL 1, 2015 H.B. 500, H.D. 1 RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET Chair Tokuda and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on H.B. 500, H.D. 1. The Department of Accounting and General Services supports H.B. 500, H.D. 1. We support H.B. 500, H.D. 1 as it includes our executive budget requests, items contained in Governor’s Message No. 207, salary adjustments for our Deputy Comptroller, and a new position in the Office of Elections. The measure addresses the funding requirements which are crucial for our programs to achieve their mission critical objectives. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this measure. DAVID Y. IGE SCOTT E. ENRIGHT Governor Chairperson, Board of Agriculture SHAN S. TSUTSUI PHYLLIS SHIMABUKURO-GEISER Lt. Governor Deputy to the Chairperson State of Hawaii DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1428 South King Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96814-2512 Phone: (808) 973-9600 FAX: (808) 973-9613 TESTIMONY OF SCOTT ENRIGHT CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF AGRICULTURE BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE WAYS AND MEANS APRIL 1, 2015 9:10 A.M. HOUSE BILL NO. 500, H.D.1 RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET Chairperson Tokuda and Members of the Committee: Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on House Bill 500 H.D.1, Relating to the State Budget. This bill provides operating and capital improvement appropriations and authorizations for Executive Branch agencies and programs in Fiscal Biennium (FB) 2016-2017. The House draft of the budget makes numerous changes to the Executive budget request. Many of the changes concern the utilization of the Agricultural Development and Food Security special fund. This fund provides essential funding for various initiatives that aid in attaining food security goals for the State including vital positions, many of which are currently filled. We realize the budget will still undergo further iterations before reaching its final form and look forward to working with the committees to craft a budget that is amenable to all those involved. The continued support of the Legislature in the budget and other legislation is appreciated. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony. TESTIMONY BY WESLEY K. MACHIDA DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND FINANCE STATE OF HAWAII TO THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS ON HOUSE BILL NO. 500, H.D.1 April 1, 2015 RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET House Bill No. 500, H.D. 1, appropriates funds for the operating and capital improvement budget for the Executive Branch for the Fiscal Biennium 2015 to 2017. The Department of Budget and Finance (Department) strongly supports the Executive Budget submittal and the Governor’s Messages submittals to the 2015 State Legislature. The Department stands by its impact statements and the concerns that were transmitted to both the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Committee on Finance dated March 23, 2015 as it pertains to the budget adjustments which are contained in H.B. 500 H.D.1. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on this important measure. DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR LUIS P. SALAVERIA DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, MARY ALICE EVANS DEPUTY DIRECTOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM No. 1 Capitol District Building, 250 South Hotel Street, 5th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 586-2355 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, Hawaii 96804 Fax: (808) 586-2377 Web site: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt Statement of LUIS P. SALAVERIA Director Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism before SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS Wednesday, April 1, 2015 9:10 AM State Capitol, Room 211 HB 500, HD 1 RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET.
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