THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	929
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to the department of transportation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that a financial and compliance audit of the department of transportation highways division was conducted by the office of the auditor, and the audit report was issued on February 3, 2022. The audit examined the financial statements relating to government activities and each major fund of the highways division for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The legislature also finds that the highways division has managed federal funding for projects within the State, and that the audit report focused on ensuring compliance with federal laws and regulations relating to such funding.

The legislature further finds that the audit report made several findings relating to one material weakness and one significant deficiency in internal control over financial reporting, and two significant deficiencies in internal control over compliance. While the department of transportation concurred with the findings and developed corrective action plans, further action is needed to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to mandate the department of transportation highways division to adopt and implement the recommendations made by the office of the auditor.

SECTION 2. (a) The department of transportation highways division shall implement the audit recommendations made by the office of the auditor regarding effective authentication requirements by December 1, 2023.

(b) The highways division shall:

(1) Perform a comprehensive review of its internal controls in accordance with the five elements of internal controls specified in the standards for internal control in the federal government, with an emphasis on the control activities element to include policies and procedures that require manually or electronically documented reviews and approvals of accounting data before posting to any system or subsystem;

(2) Implement effective authentication requirements for the highways division's information technology systems by working with either the developer of its current system, if the highways division retains its current system, or a new consultant if the highways division implements a new system;

(3) Implement formal change management policies and procedures for the highways division's financial systems;

(4) Train all program personnel responsible for federally funded programs on the policies and guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants tracking system user's manual, including processing and disbursing advances;

(5) Train program personnel on federal requirements, including Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, P.L. 109-282, subaward reporting requirements; and

(6) Direct program personnel to obtain access to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, P.L. 109-282, subaward reporting system and direct program personnel to perform the necessary subaward reporting.

SECTION 3. The department of transportation shall submit a report of its progress regarding implementation of the recommendations on effective authentication requirements to the legislature no later than forty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2024.

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

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Transportation; Highways Division; Audit Recommendations; Report

Description:

Requires the Department of Transportation Highways Division to implement recommendations made by the Office of the Auditor regarding compliance with federal funding laws and regulations and information technology authentication.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.