Committee finds external audit panel for University of Hawaii unnecessary, recommends deferral

House Committee on Higher Education members heard competing testimony on Senate Bill 741 on March 14, 2025, a measure that would create an external audit committee to review the University of Hawaii system and Board of Regents and require annual reports to the Legislature. The committee’s chair said testimony and department responses indicated existing audit mechanisms are active and recommended deferring the bill indefinitely.

The measure was introduced with opposition testimony from a representative of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, who “stand[s] on our written testimony” and said the board has an office of internal audit and employs external auditors. Christian Furr of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (UHPA) likewise testified in opposition and said UHPA stood on its written testimony. The record also notes comments from the Office of Information Practices, the Office of the Auditor, the Public First Law Center, and four individuals.

Why it matters: SB 741 would add a statutorily required external audit committee and an annual reporting requirement for the university system. Supporters of additional oversight have argued for outside review; opponents, including the Board of Regents and union representatives, told the committee the system already has regular internal and external audit activity.

Committee discussion focused on whether new statutory structures would duplicate existing processes. When asked about the last time audits were conducted, a Board of Regents representative said the system schedules regular and special audits each year and also uses external auditors. The chair concluded that, based on the testimony, the bill appears duplicative and unnecessary and recommended indefinite deferral. The transcript shows the chair’s recommendation to defer but does not record a roll-call vote on the deferral.

The committee did not adopt any amendment on the record; the chair’s recommendation was to defer the measure indefinitely and there is no formal vote recorded in the transcript on that deferral. The committee moved on to other bills after the recommendation.