GOP lawmakers State House Republicans say a new report that they commissioned found $668.1 million in wasted and mismanaged funds in state departments.
tally state waste
House Republicans say state departments
mismanaged funds totaling $668 millionBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comGov. Ben Cayetano had no immediate comment on the report and is reviewing the report with Cabinet members and will issue a statement later, said spokesman Cedric Yamanaka. It looks like a compilation of the same criticisms the Republicans have raised over the years and which already have been answered, Yamanaka said.
With two weeks remaining before the state's Nov. 5 general election, Republicans insisted yesterday's release of the 30-page House minority research report is to help them sharpen their focus on the next Legislature.
It had nothing to do with the upcoming elections, said Galen Fox, House minority leader (R, Waikiki).
"We're trying to find out where money can be reallocated, shifted from a waste area into a productive area (new programs)," Fox said. "The timing is right, if you're thinking in terms of getting ready for the next session. We've got to be ready as of Nov. 6."
The House GOP's Waste and Mismanagement Report No. 1, the first of a series of pre-session reports, is intended as a guide for proposed budget cuts in the 2003 session. The study used state auditor reports, legislative committee and hearing reports, legislative journals and news reports to pinpoint areas where state government can better function.
The report cited the largest examples of waste and mismanagement were in departments covering social services.
The $668 million figure is enough to pay for the state Department of Education's $600 million repair and maintenance backlog, said state Rep. Bud Stonebraker (R, Kalama Valley).
"This report is really a grave indictment of this administration," Stonebraker said.
For example, the report cites:
>> The loss of $528,000 in federal funds by the Department of Education last year because it failed to use the money within a 27-month period.>> A 1997 state audit that showed about 39,000 state library patrons had delinquent balances of more than $50 each. That is an outstanding cumulative balance of $4.3 million.
>> Seventy special and revolving loan funds totaling $98.4 million, identified by the auditor in July 2001, that should be repealed and the money returned to the state general fund.
>> The loss of more than $14 million in federal funds for free health insurance for poor children because the Department of Human Services "did not pursue locating children for the free health insurance."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.