”’Editor’s note: This is the legislation proposed by the governor’s administration. The proposals are listed by Departments and have a brief summary. The proposals will now be assigned bill numbers and then be referred to committees for hearings.”’
”Department: AGR Department of Agriculture”
*AGR-01 RELATING TO THE EXEMPTION OF LEASES AND UTILITY AND ACCESS EASEMENTS: Allow landowners to place reasonable restrictions on the agricultural uses of their land that they lease, which is located within a State agricultural district.
*AGR-02 RELATING TO LAND USE: Allow the counties an integral role in fulfilling the State’s duty to identify important agricultural lands, thus helping to fulfill the constitutional mandate to conserve and protect ag lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.
*AGR-03 RELATING TO MILK CONTROL: Eliminate the requirement that the Governor sign an order every month establishing the minimum price or salvage value of milk. This is not necessary as the formula upon which the price is set was approved by the Governor.
*AGR-04 RELATING TO THE AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: Stagger the terms of the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) Board of Directors, to provide continuity. The current terms of the Governor’s 8 appointees all expire on June 30, 2005.
*AGR-06 RELATING TO MICROORGANISM IMPORT: Eliminate unimplemented statutory provisions for microorganism import certification for medical and scientific purposes, as recommended by the Legislative Auditor, because they are not necessary or practical.
*AGR-07 RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES: Allow the department of agriculture to hire temporary inspectors to assist with some certifying activities, freeing-up permanent inspectors to conduct more complex certifications. Place all laws pertaining to grades, standards and certification into one Chapter of the HRS, and all laws pertaining to marketing, promotion and advertising into another.
*AGR-08 RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL WATER USES: Amend the State Water Code to provide assurances that the use of water for agriculture is given the same high protection as that given to traditional and customary Hawaiian rights, domestic, and in-stream flow standards.
*AGR-10 RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL LANDS: Amend Hawaii Revised Statutes to allow multiple, non-geographically adjacent parcels of land to be transferred from DLNR to DOA.
”Department: AGS Department of Accounting and General Services”
*AGS-01 RELATING TO THE STATE ART MUSEUM: Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and update the duties required of the Arts in Public Places and Works of Art Programs and the State art Museum.
*AGS-03 RELATING TO THE TRANSFER OF THE OFFICE OF ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGN SPENDING COMMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES: Exclude the employees of the Office of Elections and the Campaign Spending Commission from collective bargaining. These offices were transferred from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to the Department of Accounting and General Services last year and the excluded status of the employees was not retained. This proposal will assure that the employees conduct their duties in an apolitical, nonpartisan environment.
*AGS-06 RELATING TO PROCUREMENT: Prevent the practice of “bid shopping” on State contracts for the construction of public projects.
*AGS-07 RELATING TO PROCUREMENT: Require the Procurement Policy Board to develop and adopt contract rules, procedures, and clauses to ensure contracting agencies properly enforce HRS chapter 104. Also requires the Board to establish a protest procedure that permits interested parties to stay procurement actions until the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations rules on any alleged contracting agency failure to comply with chapter 104.
*AGS-08 RELATING TO THE ELECTIONS APPOINTMENT AND REVIEW PANEL: Amend the reporting due date of the biennial performance evaluation of the operation of elections and the performance of the chief election officer. This will allow for a more detailed and thorough report.
*AGS-09 RELATING TO PROCUREMENT: Establish contracting preferences to promote training and employment opportunities for disabled persons in Hawaii by expanding existing authority for agencies to make non-competitive awards to organizations that train and employ disabled persons.
*AGS-10 RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING. Improve public accessibility to campaign spending information by requiring that Senate, House and Office of Hawaiian Affairs candidates file by electronic means. This is already required of candidates for all other offices in the state.
*AGS-11 RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING. Housekeeping amendments to campaign spending law and break the connections between the officers of a corporation and the corporate entity for purposes of allowable donations. Repeals treatment of an individual and general partnership or an individual who owns a controlling interest in a corporation as one person; prohibits contributions from the corporation or company to a corporate or company noncandidate committee; clarifies time period for contributions and registration; clarifies language on return of improper contributions to candidates; amends code to conform to amended federal regulations; clarifies that candidates and elected officials have four years to return contributions if not running for office.
*AGS-12 MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO RISK MANAGEMENT: Increase the spending ceiling of the risk management revolving fund to pay for prior year’s and current losses (such as floods and school fires) that exceed the current ceiling.
*AGS-13 RELATING TO ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT RECORDS. Expand the options available to government agencies for creating, accepting, retaining, and storing government records from paper and film to electronic format, thereby increasing public access to government records and increasing government flexibility in record use.
*AGS-14 RELATING TO PROCUREMENT: Repeals various state agency statutory exemptions from Hawaii’s procurement law.
*AGS-15 RELATING TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Allow the head of the specified agency to have more of a participatory function on an administratively attached agency, board or commission by having a voting seat on it.
*AGS-16 RELATING TO THE PROCUREMENT CODE: This measure will remedy an unanticipated effect of the new procurement law that could limit the ability of state agencies that must rely on goods or service providers from beyond Hawaii