For the most part, Hawaii’s budget process is open to public participation and scrutiny. But the State Integrity Investigation found that when it’s time for lawmakers to hammer out the final budget, important decisions are made behind closed doors.

The state got a D, or 64 percent score for State Budget Processes. Leading the pack was Nebraska. Hawaii tied for 38th with place with Georgia. Oklahoma came in last.

Hawaii got dinged for lacking transparency as key debates happen outside the view of the public.

Overall, the State Integrity Investigation ranked Hawaii 10th after Civil Beat reporters researched 330 “Corruption Risk Indicators” across 14 categories of government. (Click here to learn more about the methodology used for the project.)

Bottom line: The real budget negotiations happen behind closed doors. The Legislature exempted itself from Hawaii sunshine laws regarding closed-door meetings.

Here’s the basis of the D grade. Each day we’ll print a different question and the criteria used to come up with a score for each question. It’s your turn to evaluate whether Civil Beat got it right and to share what you think should be done to improve the situation. Share your comments at the bottom of this story.

Here’s the second of five questions the State Integrity Investigation asked about Legislative Accountability.

Can Citizens Access the State Budgetary Process?

Overall score: 68%

Here are the criteria Civil Beat used to answer that question and what we found.

1. In practice, the state budgetary process is conducted in a transparent manner in the debating stage (i.e. before final approval).

Notes: State lawmakers review the governor’s budget proposal. Then both chambers advance their own versions of the budget. Many budget meetings are public. In March 2011, the House held back-to-back public hearings on the budget from 9 a.m. through 2 a.m., according to Honolulu Civil Beat. But when it comes time for both chambers of the Legislature to negotiate one final budget in what’s known as “conference committee”, the important decisions are made behind closed doors.

Although lawmakers hold public conference committee hearings in which they reveal some of the sticking points in their negotiations, the hearings are just for show. The real negotiations happen behind closed doors, which is permitted under law. The Legislature exempted itself from Hawaii sunshine laws regarding closed-door meetings.

In order to identify the authors of individual items, one would need access to internal working documents of the Legislature, which make these facts clear. The final and public version of the budget does not contain such details. But “working documents” of the Legislature are exempted from the public records law.

Sources:

• Hawaii News Now, staff, 5/3/11, “Lawmakers approve state budget”

• Honolulu Civil Beat, Nanea Kalani, 4/19/11, “Hawaii Lawmakers Will Hammer Out State Budget Over Next Week”

• Honolulu Civil Beat, staff, 3/1/11, “Off The Beat: While Hawaii Was Sleeping”

• Chad Blair, State Reporter, Honolulu Civil Beat, 12/30/11 phone interview.

Score: 25%

Scoring criteria: These are the scoring criteria for this question.
Very Strong: Budget debates are public and records of these proceedings are easily accessible. Authors of individual budget items can easily be identified. Nearly all budget negotiations are conducted in these official proceedings.
Fair: There is a formal, transparent process for budget debate, but major budget modifications may be negotiated in separate, closed sessions. Some items, such as non-secret defense projects, may be negotiated in closed sessions. Authors of individual line items may be difficult to identify.
Very Weak: Budget negotiations are effectively closed to the public. There may be a formal, transparent process, but most real discussion and debate happens in other, closed settings.

2. In practice, citizens provide input at budget hearings.

Notes: The public may submit testimony to provide their input at budget hearings. State lawmakers may hear testimony from the public. The state Senate Ways and Means Committee in April 2011 heard testimony from residents and businesses opposed a proposal to increase the state’s general excise tax, according to the Associated Press. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Hawaii Association of Realtors, both representing business interests, testified against a tax increase, according to Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Sources:

• Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Derrick DePledge, 4/7/11, “Business leaders protest tax increase”

• Associated Press, Mark Niesse, 4/6/11, “Hawaii weighs big tax hike despite opposition”

Score: 75%

Scoring criteria: These are the scoring criteria for this question.
Very Strong: Citizens, usually acting through CSOs, can provide information or commentary to the budget debate through a formal process. This information is essential to the process of evaluating budget priorities.
Fair: Citizens or CSOs can provide input, but this information is often not relevant to budget decisions.
Very Weak: Citizens or CSOs have no formal access to provide input to the budget debate.

3. In practice, citizens can access itemized budget allocations.

Notes: Budget worksheets are available on the Hawaii State Legislature’s website at (http://132.160.246.3/session2011/worksheets/default.asp). However, Honolulu Civil Beat found that key documents on capital improvement projects were kept secret, but obtained the internal documents. Working budget documents are exempt from the state’s open records law.

Sources:

• Honolulu Civil Beat, Nanea Kalani, 5/18/11, “Analysis: Budgets Swell for All but Two Hawaii Depts.”

• Honolulu Civil Beat, Chad Blair and Michael Levine, 5/20/11, “District Pork Hard to Track at the Ledge”

Score: 75%

Scoring criteria: These are the scoring criteria for this question.
Very Strong: Citizens, journalists and CSOs can access itemized lists of budget allocations. This information is easily available and up to date.
Fair: Citizens, journalists and CSOs can access itemized lists of budget allocations but this information may be difficult to access, incomplete, or out of date.
Very Weak: Citizens cannot access an itemized list of budget allocations, due to secrecy, prohibitive barriers or government inefficiency.

4. In law, is there a separate legislative committee which provides oversight of public funds.

Notes: The House Committee on Finance and Senate Senate Ways and Means Committee oversee the state budget process. The House Finance Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee have final responsibility on the state’s financing policies.

Sources:

Rules of the House of Representatives, III Committees, Rule 13.2, Committee on Finance: Special Responsibility. (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/house/rules/HOUSE_RULES.pdf)

Rules of the Senate, Part II Committees, Rule 19, Committee on Ways and Means. (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2009/senate/2009SenateRules.pdf)

Score: 100%

Scoring criteria: These are the scoring criteria for this question.
Yes: A YES score is earned if there is a dedicated legislative committee (or equivalent group located in the legislature) that oversees the expenditure of public funds.
No: A NO score is earned if no such body exists within the legislature. A NO score is also earned if there is a body executing this function but it is not part of the legislature (such as a separate audit institution and/or Inspector General).