REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF NO-BID CONTRACTS ISSUED BY STATE AND COUNTY AGENCIES UNDER PROCLAMATIONS DECLARING STATES OF EMERGENCY DURING THE SIX-YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 2020, AND DECEMBER 31, 2025.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Sharon Moriwaki

Audits no-bid emergency contracts from 2020–2025 to assess justifications, pricing, and accountability, with findings and reform recommendations to the Legislature.

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 851).

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Purpose and intent

SCR 74 requests the Hawaii State Auditor to conduct a comprehensive audit of no-bid contracts issued by state and county agencies under proclamations declaring states of emergency.

Timeframe: contracts awarded during the six-year period from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2025.

Goals: assess justifications, standards, pricing, and accountability for emergency procurements to identify reforms to emergency procurement laws and practices.

Key provisions and focus areas

Audit scope:

No-bid contracts issued by state agencies and county agencies under emergency proclamations within the 2020–2025 period.

Evaluation criteria:

Justifications and standards used by agencies to issue no-bid contracts.
Vendor selection standards and the price valuation methods used to determine appropriate pricing.
Other accountability standards employed to evaluate the contracts.

Reporting requirement:

The Auditor must present findings and recommendations to the Legislature.
The report should include any proposed legislation.
Deadline: no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027.

Administrative action:

A certified copy of SCR 74 must be transmitted to the Auditor to initiate the requested audit.

Who/what is affected

State agencies in Hawaii, including the executive branch procurement activities.

County agencies within Hawaii that utilized no-bid contracts under emergency proclamations.

Vendors and contractors engaged through emergency procurements during declared states of emergency.

The Legislature, which will receive the Auditor’s findings and any proposed follow-up legislation.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Legislative path:

SCR 74 is a concurrent resolution directing the Auditor to perform an audit, not a bill mandating immediate statutory changes.

Audit timeline:

The Auditor’s report is due to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the 2027 Regular Session convenes.

Enactment status:

The measure has advanced through multiple committees (GVO, PBS, FIN) and approvals in both chambers in 2026, culminating in adoption and transmittal to the Senate, then back to the House.

Sponsor:

Primary sponsor: Senator (as indicated by the resolution’s origin in the Senate) with co-sponsor Senator Sharon Moriwaki.

Potential impact and implications

Enhances transparency and accountability in emergency procurement during states of emergency.

Could inform future policy reforms to Hawaii’s emergency procurement framework, including potential changes to the Hawaii Public Procurement Code provisions (chapter 103D) and related emergency suspension authorities.

May influence how no-bid contracts are justified, priced, and reviewed for prudence of public funds during emergencies.

Provides legislators with data-driven recommendations to strengthen procurement integrity and reduce risk of improper spending in future emergencies.

If you’d like, I can extract specific dates, committee vote counts, or compare SCR 74’s proposed audit scope with existing statutes on emergency procurements for a deeper, point-by-point briefing.

Bill