LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU HAWAII STATE GOVERNMENT ORGAldIZAl'ION Selected Nemoranda Kenneth K. Lau, Acting Director Honoiulu, Hawaii Legislative Reference Sureau Septenbzr, 1959 University of Hawaii LEGiSLATtVE REFERENCE BUREAU STATEOF HAWAZI UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII HONOLULU 14. HAWAII September 10, 1959 TO: The embers of the First Legislature of the State of Havaii Subject: Hawaii State Covernmant Organization: Selected &morda, Two Volunrss The constitution of the State of Hawaii is a flexible docu- nsnt which provides the essential frarmwork for a state govermnt but leaves its specific organization to subsequent legislative aad execu- tive action. Great discretion and authority are given to the legis- lature; in fact, legislative action is needed in a number of areas before some of the constitutional provisions can be put into effect. Of frequent occurrenoe in the constitution are such phrases as "the legislature shall by law provide,t1 "as may be prescribed by law," and "unless otherwise provided by law.'l These legislative powers run the whole gamut of governmental matters, including areas of organization, personnel, compensation, finances, and functions and duties of offi- cials and agencies. Racogniaing the need for preparation for a smooth transi- tion to state government, the Thirtieth and last Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii created a Joint Legislative Interim Committee to consider the problems of reorganizing the territorial government in accordance with the provisions of the state constitution and to report its findingstathe first state legislature. At the request of this committee, the Legislative Reference Bureau prepared a number of background reports and memoranda of vary- ing length and soope. With the thought that soh of these papers may be of interest to the entire membership of the First Legislature of the State of Hawaii as it mets to undertake the important task of reorganizing the territorial goverwnt into a &ern and effective state government, these two volumes of selected memoranda have been published. bmth K. Lau Acting Director Papers in these v01~mswere prepared as separate st~diesand are separately pziged. They are arranged in two vol.unes in the order indicated below b~ithgreen s-ary sheets at the beginning of each report. 1. Background of Departmntal Reorganization in Eawaii, by Robert M. Kamins (Request No. 7505) .. 12 pp. 2. Principal De art.ments of Government, by Kenneth K. Lau (Request Pro. 75267 ... 5 pp. 3. Executive-Initiated Administrative Peorganization, by Joseph M. Gedan (%quest BJo. 7540) ... 5 pp. 4. The Office of Lieutenant Governor in Hawaii, by Yargaret E. Holden (Request No. 7535) ... 27 pp. 5. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Within the State Organizational Structure, by Albert H. Ogawa (Request No. 75%) ... 10 pp. 6. The Organization of Centralized Departrents for Licensing Trades and Professions, by Joseph M. Gedan (Request No. 7518) ... 12 pp. 1. Local School Advisory Councils under the State Constitution of Wawaii, by Xildred D. Kosaki (Request No. 7508) .. 2h pp. 2. Judges and Legislators: Con ensation and L?etirement, by Mildred D. Kosaki (~e~uestNo. 75207 ... 32 pp. 3. Selected References on Government Organization, compiled by Sanako Kobayashi (&quest i!o. 7548) . .. 5 pp. During tke past ten years, a :?,umber of attenpts have been mde to reorganize the departmental structure of xhe executive branch of the governmnt of :%waii. The 19429 session of the territorial legislat-are created a hold- over conrdttee to consider, mong rrany problems, how :he territorial government &ght be reorganized along more efficient lines. It mde a mmber or" recormrendations such as the creation of a legislative auditor, as latar provided in the state constitution, and the aboli- tion of most special funds, enacted in 1559. rn~wo mjor reorgani2atiolal measures reconmnded by the coimit+ee, one to create a departxnt of finance and another to establish a departoent of' treasary and comerce, vere passed by the 1951 legis- lature and pocket-vetoed Sy Governor Long, again passed by the 1953 legislature and again vetoed by rjovernor King. In 1954 Governor Xing appointed an advisory coxdttee on gov- ernmnt organization which, after a year of study, recomended that :he territorial pvernment be or~anizec?into 16 principal departments. Since then, a nwher of reports and surveys have been nade on various aspc;s o? governnental ~eorganization,scm by research agen- cies or personnel arracged for by the government ard sam 3y public spirited comunitj organizations interested in certain areas of gov- errmntal activities, suck as 'nealzh an& uiellare. The task confronting tk.e first lsgislature of tine State of Hawaii is how best to allocate ;he fwctions, posmrs and Zuties now exercised by sozie 1OOO Cepartmnts and. agencies smng and :;iShin sot more than 20 principal departrrents in such mmer as to group them according to major purposes so far as practicable. 1. Recent attenots a t reorganization in Hanaii . HOLDOWR This is the tenth anniversary of a rather sustained effort by the C Cil2 IITTZE OF 1949 government of Hawaii to reorganize its deprtmental structure. The history of this effort begins nith the 1949 regular session of the territorial legis- lature, which created a holdover committee of eight Senators and 12 Representatives, and authorized the committee to consider, among many problems, ho~the government of the Territory might be reorsanized so as to eliminate ltunnecessary expenditures con- sistent zith the most efficient performance of government services" and to remove "duplication and overlapping of services" . A subcommittee on Governmental Efficiency vas created to study means of accom- plishing these tno broad objectives. The subcoavittee recommendel, and the full com- mittee approved for consideration by the next legislature, six measures relating to governmental reorganization, particularly of financial administration. Over the course of the nexb several years, some of these recommendations nere enacted into lam, including the establishment of a legislative auditor (provided in the state con- stitution) and the abolition of most special funds (a 1959 enactrxent), XEGRGA>EZATION The tvio major reorganiza tional steps proposed by the holdover com- SILLS VETCED nittee, however, nere successfully opposed. Gne measure mould have created a Deprtment of r'inance, to include budgeting, auditing and related ranagerial functions; another riould have establishef! a Department of Treasury and Corcmerce. Both bills nere passed by the legislature in 1951, but nere then pocket- vetoed by Governor Long. The sarne thir,g liippened in 1953 under Governor King. Minor steps towards reorganization were legislated. The bureau of conveyances was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Public Lands (1951); administration of territorial tax laws was centralized in the lkpartment of the Tax Commissioner (1953) when collection of the fuel, death and insurance taxes was made a function of that department, instead of the Treasurer's, However, the number of departments was expanded as new agencies were created -- for example, as the Survey Department was split off from the Department of Public Lands in 1949, the Commission on Children and Youth established in 1949, the Industrial Research Advisory Council (now Economic Planning and Coordination Authority) in 1949, the Commission on His- torical Sites and the Civil Defense Agency in 1951, the Hawaii Water Authority in 1953 and the Territorial Planning Office in 1957. CONSTITUTIOKAL The Hawaii state constitution, drafted in 1950, gave a new direc- E..OVISI ON tion to departnental reorganization. Borrowing an idea from the New Jersey constitution of 1947, the Hawaii convention included in the proposed state constitution a provision (Article IV, Section 6) limiting to 20 the number of "prin- cipal departments'' of the state and requiring all non-temporary executive and admin- istrative offices to be allocated within those 2f) departments. The constitution places responsibility for carrying out this provision on the legislature. However, if the legislature does not act within three years of statehood, the Governor is directed to. In February 1954, Governor King appointed an Advisory Committee on Government Crganization. For approximately one year the committee and its several subcommittees and advisory groups considered means of reorganizing the territorial government in accordance with the constitutional requirement. The re2ort of the committee, which was transmitted to the legislature on April 20, 1955, recommended that all terri- torial agencies be placed in or under the following 16 departments: Attorney General Education Finance University Personnel Libraries Natural Resources Labor & Industrial Relations Trade and Commerce Public Works Health Defense Institutions Hawaiian Homes Commission Public Welfare M.~.torVehicles Four public corporations -- the Housing Authority, Harbor Commissioners, Aeronautics Comission and Irrigation (now Water) Authority -- were to be separately established and administered, as was the office of the Secretary of Hawaii. PROPOSED No legislation was introduced in 1955 to effectuate these recom- LEGISLATION IN 1957 mendations, since the legislative session was then almost oon- cluded, but measures were prepared by the administration for introduction aC the 1957 session. These included the twice-vetoed bills to establish departments of finance and commerce (HB 301, and 306), and new proposals for an industrial development