Senate Floor

Will the Senate please come to order? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

[Roll Call] 19 present, 6 excused.

Thank you. The Chair has read the journal of the preceding day and approves the same. Are there any introductions this morning? You know, this is kind of weird. You guys are looking at me. I'm, as usual, looking at you. However, right behind Senator Kim is now a TV monitor, and I am looking at me, looking at me, looking at me. And it's a little disconcerting here. Do we have... Do we have any introductions this morning? Again, none. Madam Clerk.

On pages one to 20, governor's message numbers 502 to 639, transmit nominations to various boards and commissions.

Governor's message numbers 502 to 639 are referred in accordance with the referrals listed on the order of the day.

Introduction of measures. No, go ahead.

Mr. President. I move that the Senate Bills, numbers 1210 to 1584, pass first reading by title and be referred to committee.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Any objections? Hearing none, the motion is carried.

Senate Concurrent Resolution numbers 2 through 7 for referral to committee.

So ordered. Madam Clerk.

Referrals and re-referrals.

Referrals and re-referrals are made in accordance with the order of the day and any supplemental orders of the day that may be filed later today.

No further business, Mr. President.

Are there any announcements today? Senator Keohokalole.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, on Friday... Oh, I rise on a point of personal privilege. Thank you. Colleagues, on Friday, the Chair of the Department of Agriculture, Sharon Hurd, provided the Legislature in a Joint Legislative briefing with the House, an update on the status of her department's efforts in implementing Act 231, which last year appropriated $20 million to the DOA to fight a range of invasive species, including coconut rhinoceros beetle, little fire ant, brown tree snake.

And as you know, that $20 million appropriation was cut by the Governor in half to 10 million. In her report on Friday into how much, into the status of how that $10 million appropriation was being spent, the Ag Chair, Sharon Hurd, reported in a slide deck that 52% of the program monies from Act 231, or about $4 million were encumbered. In truth, only 1.3 million was encumbered.

And I know that because I checked with the Comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services that morning and received an email confirmation at 11:29am. When I questioned the Chair about this in the briefing at the table, she flatly denied that her numbers were inaccurate and repeatedly refused to acknowledge the truth, which is that almost 90% of the funds from Act 231 have not yet been encumbered.

Yesterday, my office received a letter from the Department of Agriculture that reads on the last paragraph of the six page letter as follows, and I quote, to date, HDOA has encumbered $1,354,522.09 of the 10 million. 13.55%. So Mr. President, the reason I bring this up on a point of personal privilege is that the public and this body deserve to have confidence that what is being presented to the Legislature and the public in our official proceedings by this administration is the truth.

In the letter, the director stated, I apologize, and I quote, I apologize if my presentation created confusion on the progress HDOA is making to spend down the appropriation for biosecurity. If you go back in and look at the YouTube recording of that briefing, the confusion in the briefing seems to me to be her lack of understanding of what the term encumbrance actually means. This is a member of the cabinet and a confirmed department head of state government.

The term encumbrance is a fundamental state budgeting term that's actually featured in Article 7, Section 12 of the Constitution. Which is why I brought it up. Because that $10 million appropriation lapses on June 30th and we are halfway through the fiscal year. The public and the Senate deserve better than to be drawn into debates about facts.

Maybe that works in Washington D.C., but it shouldn't stand here. So I would like this letter, Mr. President, respectfully, to be entered into the journal so that the record reflects the facts and so that we can move forward accordingly. Thank you.

So ordered. Any further announcements?

Mr. President, your Committee on Higher Education is holding an info briefing following up on the Ways and Means of Budget for the University of Hawaii at 2pm in room 229. Thank you.

Thank you. Further announcements? If not, I have several. Today is the last day for bill introduction. The limit is five bills per Member and the deadline is 4:30pm this afternoon. The joint session to receive the Chief Justice's State of the Judiciary address will convene at 10am in the Senate chamber. Please remain here or return by 9:45am so we can start on time. Senator Wakai.

Mr. President, I move that the Senate stand in recess until 10 o'clock the morning to meet with the House in joint session to receive the Chief Justice's State of the Judiciary address, leaving the journal open until 4:30pm to receive Senate bills for introduction. And I further move that the Senate reconvene on Monday, January 27th, at 11:30 in the morning.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

It's been moved and seconded. If there are no objections from the Members, the Senate will stand in recess, leaving the journal open until 4:30pm, and will reconvene at 11:30am on Monday. And I know you have marked it, Madam Clerk, but I will state for the record the presence of both Senators Fukunaga and Hashimoto.

Yes, Mr. President.