Slash state government,
panel tells task force

Only absolutely essential
services should be provided,
the group recommends

By Rob Perez
Star-Bulletin

State government must be cut to a level where only absolutely essential services are provided, a group examining the role of government says.

That means eliminating duplication within the state, between the state and county governments and, where possible, between the state and federal governments, according to the working group for the Economic Revitalization Task Force.

That was among the recommendations the group made yesterday to be forwarded to the task force.

The 27-member task force will take those and other recommendations and, meeting in secret, decide on a plan to boost the economy.

The role-of-government group said the state needs to determine what services it must provide for health and safety reasons and what services should be provided by the private sector.

The theme mirrors what members of several other working groups have suggested: that the state government needs to become smaller and more efficient at what it does.

Along those lines, yesterday's working group said the state must develop a long-term strategic plan that defines the role of government while adopting performance standards so efficiency can be measured.

As part of that process, the group recommended a comprehensive review of civil service laws, setting up a one-stop shop for state permitting and evaluating the need for temporary programs and jobs.

Programs and positions determined necessary would be phased out after a specified period.

The group's other recommendations included:

Settling the Hawaiian claims issue by providing money, land and other resources so the Native Hawaiian community can "cut the umbilical cord" from the state and be able to resolve such issues as sovereignty on its own. With such resources and independence, the Hawaiian community would become a major economic player in the state, according to the scenario.

Freeing the University of Hawaii from control by the legislative or executive branches of government, essentially becoming a fourth branch.

That would enable the university to more effectively deal with businesses and stimulate economic development, the group said.

Group member and union executive John Radcliffe, echoing a theme heard from other participants in the task force process, said many of the recommendations have been made in the past but weren't implemented.

"We've been down this road before," he said. "We need to get to the end of the road this time."