Majority Members Seek To Ensure Proper State Spending
Senate majority party members are working this session to guarantee proper government spending. Senate Bills 2824, 2825, 2826 and 2827, which are included in the Senate majority party bill package and seek to improve the state’s procurement practices, have passed through their committee hearings and will now move toward a floor vote and review by the state House of Representatives.
Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim (D-Moanalua, `Aiea, Fort Shafter, Kalihi Valley, Halawa Valley), who introduced the four bills, is also chairing a newly-created special Senate committee that is investigating a decision by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) to award a $8.7 million contract for a hydrogen renewable energy program.
On Sept. 25, 2007, DBEDT Director Ted Liu was directed by the state Procurement Office to rescind his selection for the contract. Liu had awarded the contract to H2 Energy LLC, though the company had been the lowest-ranking of three bidders in a procurement evaluation.
Sen. Clarence Nishihara (D-Waipahu, Pearl City, Crestview), vice chair of the new investigative committee, said that the committee was established to ascertain the facts of the contract decision and to maintain the public’s trust in government procurement.
Nishihara also chairs the Senate Tourism and Government Operations Committee, which was assigned to review the procurement legislation and passed all four majority package bills.
“The Senate will not hesitate to investigate practices that might not be in the public’s best interest. … State procurement should be open and equitable,” Nishihara said.