Bills would clip powers of UH board, president

Following through on a pledge to pursue measures aimed at improving accountability and transparency at the University of Hawaii, Senate President Donna Mercado Kim introduced a package of bills Wednesday that would limit some of the UH president’s powers in procurement, require Board of Regents members be trained about their own policies and on state laws and adjust how regents are selected.

Kim said the six bills confront the concerns and recommendations of a Senate panel convened last year to investigate a botched Stevie Wonder concert, which was to be a benefit for the cash-strapped athletic department but ended up costing the school more than $200,000 in an alleged scam.

UH President M.R.C. Greenwood and the Board of Regents received hefty criticism for their handling of the concert debacle, in a months-long saga that triggered a public outcry about university governance and operational issues and evolved into a crisis for the university when it was unclear whether Greenwood would hold on to her position.

Kim said she’s hopeful the legislative package will spur "a lot more transparency."

"What we’re trying to do is get the Board of Regents to be more responsive and oversee more of their jobs," said Kim, who led the eight-member investigatory committee. "We don’t want to do it for them." 

The university’s autonomy, she said, "has evolved to a point where the Senate feels that, in the interest of statewide concern, the University of Hawaii needs to be held more accountable and operate in full transparency."

UH officials would not comment on the proposed measures, saying they were being reviewed and that UH would present testimony "at the appropriate time."

Observers were still analyzing the content of the bills Wednesday, but the measures themselves did not appear be earth-shattering for the university or for its hard-fought autonomy.

But the measures have no doubt put the university on notice, and may fundamentally change some aspects of university operations.

The six bills would:

» Repeal the UH president’s authority to serve as chief procurement officer for construction contracts, transferring that authority to the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

» Limit the Board of Regents to appointing only one university general counsel, and allow the board to contract with independent attorneys only when the general counsel and attorney general "lack sufficient expertise."

» Require the board to undergo annual training on board policies and procedures and the state’s open-records and open-meetings laws. Members would have to receive certification verifying they have successfully completed training, something that could include passing a test.

» Requires that regents file an annual disclosure of financial interests with the state Ethics Commission.

» Give the governor the authority to reject the list of nominees to the board from the Regents Candidate Advisory Council. If a list is rejected, the council would have to provide another list of nominees within 60 days.

» Reduce the number of members on the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii’s board of directors. Senate Bill 1388 would also remove the authority of UH’s president to serve as president of RCUH’s board of directors and clarify that the corporation’s exemption for procurement requirements applies only to contracts directly related to research.

In addition, Kim said she would also likely introduce a resolution requesting a legislative audit of some aspects of university operations.

Bob Cooney, former chairman of the UH Faculty Senate and an outspoken critic of the university’s administration, said he is happy to see the Legislature was taking steps to deal with concerns about accountability.

He also said he is in favor of mandatory training for regents, and would support taking away some duties from the president.

"The Board of Regents, they don’t know what their job is," he said. "They need training in all aspects of what their responsibilities are."

The board deferred comment on the measures to UH.

State Sen. Brian Tani­guchi, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said of the legislative package, "We’re certainly going to look at them. We do have some questions about accountability and transparency."

He added while he had not studied the bills yet — and so could not say whether he supports them — he generally is in favor of finding a "happy medium" between the university’s autonomy and accountability.

"Representing the general public, we would need to have some notice or some idea that autonomy is not absolute," he said. "We’ve got to draw the line somewhere."

Taniguchi said the university appears to be taking steps —without legislation — to respond to criticism that emerged in the aftermath of the botched concert and to operate more fully in public view.

"I don’t know as of today whether they’ve turned any kind of a corner, but they’re definitely making an effort," he said.

In recent months, the board has conducted an internal management review, expressed support for Greenwood after a tense period during which her future at UH was in doubt, and participated in a series of public meetings.

The problems for UH began in July, when then-Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced the Wonder benefit concert would not happen because the pop star and his representative had not authorized the event.

The Senate convened its investigatory panel in September, and its final report two months later concluded that a lack of communication, oversight and due diligence was to blame for the loss of the $200,000 concert deposit.

A North Carolina concert promoter has been indicted in connection with the alleged scam, and a second man accused of transporting the money as part of the deal has pleaded guilty.