HB2349

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that state and county agencies charged with natural resource management are underfunded, understaffed, and unable to fully address management, restoration, and climate resiliency needs associated with the State's stressed natural resources, and in particular, the State's watersheds and nearshore waters. The inability to adequately manage those resources jeopardizes the State's food and water security.

The legislature recognizes that article 11, section 1, of the Hawaii State Constitution provides:

For the benefit of present and future generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the State.

All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for the benefit of the people.

The legislature further finds that the State has not successfully developed collaborative public-private partnerships or governmental practices that increase the capacity urgently needed to fulfill the State's natural resource stewardship mandate. Collaborative approaches to natural resource management that embrace community non-profits and their related networks have proven to be effective in their capacity to restore watersheds, increase food supplies, address systemic inequities, develop green jobs, and enhance the State's economy. The legislature acknowledges that collaborative networks are eligible to pursue significant federal funding streams, including grants through the department of land and natural resources and United States Fish and Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. However, the legislature also finds that there have been instances where non-profits have been informed that the state procurement system did not allow for the distribution of funds to non-profits, even though the grant had been approved.

The legislature finds that the state procurement system is outdated, with limited options for providing funds to non-profit organizations collaborating with governmental agencies on projects, including those projects mandated by the Hawaii State Constitution to meet the State's natural resource management responsibilities.

The purpose of this Act is to convene a working group within the department of accounting and general services to study and recommend improvements to the management of the state procurement office and methods of procurement, particularly in the area of natural resource management.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established a working group within the department of accounting and general services for administrative purposes. The working group shall consist of the following members:

(1) The state comptroller or the comptroller's designee, who shall serve as the chairperson of the working group;

(2) The administrator of the state procurement office or the administrator's designee;

(3) The chairperson of the state procurement policy board;

(4) The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources or the chairperson's designee;

(5) The attorney general or the attorney general's designee; and

(6) A member of the commission on water resource management, excluding its chairperson, to be selected by the commission.

(b) The working group shall also invite:

(1) A member of the non-profit community with a specialty in natural resource management, designated by the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources; and

(2) Any other entity, agency, or designee deemed appropriate by the members of the working group.

(c) The working group shall serve until it has accomplished the objectives of this Act or twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2023, whichever occurs first.

(d) The working group shall investigate improvements to the management of the state procurement office and methods of procurement, particularly in the area of natural resource management. The investigation shall also include but not be limited to an examination of the following:

(1) Ways to enhance procurement practices and policies that include collaboration with non-profit organizations with expertise and experience in natural resource management;

(2) Ways to reduce timeframes for review of proposals targeting natural resource management, including water restoration, food security, and climate resiliency;

(3) Changes necessary in Hawaii law to streamline these processes while maintaining high standards of ethical procurement;

(4) Expected benefits, financial or otherwise, that may accrue to the State, as a result of such policy and practice changes;

(5) Identification and separation of pertinent issues for purposes of drafting statutes and rules; and

(6) Any other objective deemed necessary by the state comptroller or the comptroller's designee, or the working group.

SECTION 3. The state comptroller or the comptroller's designee, in consultation with the working group, shall submit a report to the legislature, including findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2023.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2349
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII