HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	108
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

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HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A management AUDIT OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.

 

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is a need to conduct a management audit of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to ensure that the PUC is equipped to handle the challenges of the 21^st century; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that previous management audits of the PUC were conducted in 1975 and 1989 at the request of the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, the 1975 audit, consisting of three volumes, found serious organizational, procedural, and staffing deficiencies at the PUC, and spurred the Legislature to examine and reorganize the State's public utilities regulatory program that resulted in legislative changes; and

WHEREAS, the 1989 audit also found serious concerns with the PUC that included among other things, heavy workloads and inadequate resources that were often cited as reasons for not doing such things as bringing rules up-to-date or developing more adequate complaint handling and consumer education programs; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that the PUC is currently faced with many challenges in meeting the needs of Hawaii's residents in a changing global economy; and

WHEREAS, since the 1989 audit of the PUC, there have been significant technological advances in such areas as telecommunications and electrical restructuring that require a reexamination of the role of the PUC's regulatory activities; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature also recognizes the need for a regulatory structure that fosters innovation and efficiency in dealing with the competitiveness of a new economy; and

WHEREAS, therefore, an audit would be helpful in assisting the PUC in making such a transition; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the Senate concurring, that this body requests the Auditor to conduct a management audit of the PUC to assess the adequacy of the present utility regulatory process in dealing with issues, problems, and developments in complex and changing areas, such as telecommunications, energy deregulation, and intergovernmental relations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the PUC management audit include, but not be limited to, the role of the management of the PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy in terms of providing technical and analytical staff support in case management and enforcement of PUC's rules; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the Chairperson of the PUC, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to the chief executive officers of each electric utility company in the State.

Report Title:

Management Audit of the PUC by the Auditor