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State Senator Richard Matsuura, chairman of the Senate special investigative committee, and Bill Wood, a freelance journalist and former editor of Hawaii Investor magazine, discussed the findings of a legislative inquiry into Hawaii's government procurement practices. Matsuura described a systematic pattern of sole-source, non-bid contracts awarded on the basis of political connections rather than competitive merit, with contracts then amended repeatedly to multiply their value many times over—one airport contract escalated from $150,000 to $53 million through six amendments, and forty percent of sole-source contracts were subsequently amended. He reported that abuses continued even while the investigation was under way, and that a recently passed procurement reform law, while closing known loopholes, would succeed only if administered honestly. Matsuura also identified the "high three" retirement formula as a structural incentive for legislators to cooperate with the governor rather than challenge him. Wood argued that the underlying problem was cultural: a pervasive climate in which using legal discretion for political or personal gain had become accepted practice, and that changing laws without changing the tone set by leadership would accomplish little. The question that remains is whether legislative reform can alter a political culture that both guests saw as deeply ingrained.
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