House Labor Committee advances state construction manager pilot after mixed testimony on staffing and scope

The House Committee on Labor on March 19 voted to pass SP2543 SD2, a bill to create a five‑year Office of the State Construction Manager within the comptroller’s office to review plans, specifications and accessibility compliance for state construction projects.

Keith Rian, controller for the Department of Accounting and General Services, told the committee he and his agency “feel that there’s merit to this bill” but warned the office would face a large workload. Rian said the agency identified “about 1,200 projects” that could fall under the office’s review and raised concerns about hiring and operational capacity to manage that volume. He suggested the committee consider a dollar threshold so the office would cover the most significant projects rather than every state project.

Supporters said centralized oversight could reduce cost overruns and delays. Michael Osua, speaking for the Hawaii Iron Workers, said the state needs “a central point of contact for state projects to be able to have an oversight and ensure that there aren’t cost overruns and… projects that are significantly delayed.” Cliff Laboy, representing the Hawaii Building and Construction Trade Council, told the committee the labor groups back the bill as a way to protect taxpayers and keep work flowing to local trades.

Opponents and those with operational experience questioned the bill’s near‑term feasibility. Miltonita, a former DAGS construction inspector with military construction experience, testified it would be “very difficult” for DAGS to staff the office as drafted and said many qualified hires would come from retired Corps of Engineers or Navy personnel. A representative of the Hawaii General Contractors Association said they were not against the office in principle but asked that positions not be exempt from chapter 76 (civil service) hiring rules.

After discussion, the committee adopted amendments clarifying the measure would apply statewide (not only to Honolulu), removed language that would have made the new positions exempt from chapter 76, and added technical and style changes. The committee report recommended funding of $10.55 million and staffing of 90 full‑time equivalent positions to implement the pilot. Committee leadership also inserted a defective date in the bill text.

The committee advanced the bill to the next stage with the adopted amendments. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the oral record; members voiced approval and the recommendation was adopted in the decision‑making session.

Next steps: The bill, as amended, will move forward through the legislative process with the committee’s recommended funding and staffing noted in the committee report.