HONOLULU — State lawmakers are looking at introducing legislation that would speed up the implementation of projects funded by the federal economic stimulus measure, state Rep. James Tokioka, D-15th District, said Friday. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote Monday
HONOLULU — State lawmakers are looking at introducing legislation that would speed up the implementation of projects funded by the federal economic stimulus measure, state Rep. James Tokioka, D-15th District, said Friday.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote Monday on the U.S. House-passed bill, which slated some $2.3 billion for Hawai‘i.
The state House Legislative Management Committee, chaired by Tokioka, held an informational briefing on Thursday afternoon at the Capitol in Honolulu to discuss the economic stimulus packages from the federal, state and county levels.
A major concern of stakeholders was the government’s ability to procure and execute the contracts within a timely basis, and participants discussed potential government hurdles regarding the bid process, procurement and project execution, according to a release from Tokioka.
The committee’s intent in holding this briefing was to address these concerns and, if need be, use the legislative process to introduce and pass any necessary legislation.
“We want to address any potential road blocks or issues regarding the economic stimulus package coming down from President Barack Obama and our Hawai‘i congressional delegation,” Tokioka said. “U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, as chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, has been especially imperative in ensuring that federal funds directed toward our state are handled efficiently. It’s important for all of us to work together so we can get our men and women back to work.”
Tokioka said Hawai‘i’s share of the stimulus will probably be increased after it enters Inouye’s committee. The senior senator has represented Hawai‘i since it became a state in 1959.
Members of Congress have said they will have the bill on Obama’s desk by mid-February.
Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. stressed to the Legislative Management Committee that everyone needs to be ready to get the projects moving and completed, according to the release.
“If all of these projects come to fruition, we need to look at how we procure, permit and proceed to get these done,” Tokioka said. “We have to be ready.”
One piece of legislation the representatives said he plans to introduce would increase the small purchase amount, currently $25,000, to $500,000. This would enable projects to avoid a lengthy procurement process because only three qualified bids would be needed before a project manager or department head can award the bid, Tokioka said.
“It gets the jobs out sooner,” he said. “If the money is coming to the state … if the jobs are not done by a certain time, we could lose the money.”
The provision would be for a two-year period and sunset thereafter, Tokioka said.
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann thanked Tokioka and the committee for including the counties in the discussion, the release states.
Carvalho and Hannemann, along with Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares, Hawai‘i Mayor William Kenoi, and several key state and federal departments were among the participants at the briefing.
