Officials in tiff over
alleged privacy breachLingle's staff and the state auditor debate
blame for what may be a costly mistake
A legal wrangle has erupted between the Lingle administration and state Auditor Marion Higa over an alleged breach of a federal welfare confidentiality law by Higa's staff.
It is a breach that administration officials say could jeopardize some or all of the $8.8 million the state gets annually to administer the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food stamp program, as well as federal bonuses for accuracy in operating that program.
Higa's attorney said the administration, not Higa, violated confidentiality.
This comes on the heels of two vetoes by Republican Linda Lingle and one veto override by the Democratic-controlled Legislature involving bills to expand the state auditor's access to the state's books to see if programs are being well managed.
The auditor's office is an agency of the Legislature.
The legal dispute surfaced yesterday when Higa's office released a report on its audit of the state electronic benefit transfer program, which includes food stamps, child care and financial assistance.
Human Services Director Lillian Koller sent Higa a letter July 28, saying Koller's response to the audit was delayed due to the attorney general's "investigation of your staff's actions while conducting this audit with respect to federally protected food stamp information."
The preliminary investigation determined Higa's office "unquestionably obtained" information in violation of federal regulations, she said.
Koller said yesterday that the federal agency has been notified of the breach, and it is not known if there will be a penalty.
Koller said she inherited the records access dispute between the department and Higa when she took over the department in January.
Higa's office hired private attorney Kerry Komatsubara to respond to the attorney general's investigation of the confidentiality issue.
Komatsubara said Koller's claim that Higa's office breached the federal confidentiality law is incorrect because the responsibility for maintaining confidentially rests with the department, not the auditor.
In a letter to the Attorney General's Office, Komatsubara noted most of the food stamp files the department provided Higa's office had the names and other personal information eliminated.
"Why all other restricted information were not redacted is something the state auditor cannot answer.However, we think that it is unfair and unwarranted to lay blame with the state auditor in this case," he said in the letter, sent Monday.
Lingle said yesterday that she was aware of the issue.
