HB 1341 Summary

• Establishes a new office of public accountability administratively attached to the legislature, with an executive director appointed by majority vote of the legislature for a six-year term and removable by two-thirds vote for neglect of duty, misconduct, or disability.

• Consolidates oversight and administrative responsibility for five agencies under the office of public accountability: office of the auditor, office of the ombudsman, office of information practices, Hawaii state ethics commission, and campaign spending commission, organized into four divisions (audit, complaints, ethics, and campaign spending).

• Requires the legislature to set the salaries of the executive director, auditor, ombudsman, director of the legislative reference bureau, and executive director of the Hawaii state ethics commission, which cannot be diminished during their terms of office.

• Removes administrative responsibility for these five agencies from their current departments and consolidates their funding under the office of public accountability instead of separate appropriations.

• Appropriates funds from general revenues for fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 for the office of public accountability's operating expenses, effective July 1, 2021.