Bill > SB2662

This bill aims to reduce the State of Hawaii's reliance on external consultants by requiring purchasing agencies to provide detailed justifications for hiring them, including demonstrating a lack of in-house expertise and conducting cost-benefit analyses compared to hiring state employees, and to publish these justifications for public and legislative review. Furthermore, agencies will need legislative approval for consulting contracts exceeding a specified dollar amount and must submit annual reports to the Legislature detailing the number of consultants used and the percentage of their budget spent on consulting services. The Compliance Audit Unit within the Office of the Auditor will regularly audit these contracts to ensure cost-effectiveness and compliance, with exceptions for specialized expertise unavailable internally and for short-term emergencies like disaster response. Additionally, chief procurement officers, who are responsible for overseeing the acquisition of goods and services, will be explicitly required to ensure that core government functions are not outsourced to contractors. These provisions are set to take effect on January 1, 2525.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2662&year=2026