After Indictments, Al Hee Took $9M More
After Bribery Arrests: House Adopts New Rules
DHHL Redux: This time Green nominates Kali Watson
Hawaii Household Bills Among Highest in USA
New report urges licensure reform to boost ranks of medical workers
GET exemption bills move forward
HTH: … Two bills proposing an elimination of the general excise tax on providers who accept Medicaid, Medicare and TRICARE patients have progressed in the state House and Senate, offering a chance to slow the physician shortage in Hawaii….
The House Committees on Health and Homelessness and Economic Development have unanimously passed House Bill 662, which would exempt medical services by doctors, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants from the general excise tax, with an amendment to include dentists.
The House bill will move to the Committee on Finance, while its companion, Senate Bill 1035, has passed a second reading and will move to the Ways &Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection committees….
the GET cannot be legally passed on to patients with Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE.
“Hawaii is only one of two states that taxes health care in America,” said Dr. Cindy Pau, an endocrinologist in Honolulu, in written testimony supporting the House bill. “Hawaii already has one of the lowest Medicare reimbursements in the nation and the GET amplifies this further. The GET directly contributes to why Hawaii has the lowest Medicare acceptance rate in the entire nation despite having one of the highest rates of seniors per capita.”
According to Grassroot Institute, if all for-profit medical providers were exempted from the GET, it would save roughly $200.3 million annually for providers, or about $5,275 per medical service worker in the state. This is equivalent to roughly 6.7% of the average medical service worker’s wage and roughly 5.8% of current GET collections….
“I am confident that the influx of health care providers and staff to the state will generate sufficient economic activity to offset any loss in GET collections,” said Big Island Sen. Dru Kanuha, a Democrat, who co-introduced a similar bill that would have provided GET exemptions for physicians and advanced practice registered nurses acting as primary care providers.
For Hawaii, the GET on Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE patients is estimated to account for roughly 8% of the nearly $2.6 billion surplus this year, but for medical practices, the GET on practice gross receipts is closer to 11-25% of their overall bottom line….
“If this had been done ten years ago, we would have retained more physicians, we would have generated more money in property taxes and sales taxes and payroll taxes,” said Dr. Esther Smith, a family medicine specialist in Kealakekua who serves on the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Academy of Family Physicians. “By keeping this tax in place, Hawaii probably lost money.”
According to the 2022 Hawaii Physician Workforce Assessment, Hawaii County still has a 40% physician shortage and needs 187 providers….
HB662: Text, Status
read … GET exemption bills move forward
Big Island Prison Guard In Federal Prison--Got Fired, But HLRB Orders him Reinstated with Back Pay
CB: … The state has been ordered to reinstate a former Hilo corrections sergeant and pay him more than six years of back wages even after the officer was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for the brutal beating of a Hilo jail inmate.
The Hawaii Labor Relations Board issued the order after concluding in a ruling on Tuesday that state officials botched the firing of corrections Sgt. Jonathan Taum in 2016 for his role in the beating of the prisoner.
According to the labor board decision, officials in the Department of Public Safety relied on a use-of-force report when they terminated Taum that had been prepared by another corrections employee who had falsified her credentials.
That employee, former DPS Training Officer J. Marte Martinez, was later charged with two counts of felony perjury for allegedly lying under oath about her records and credentials during Taum’s labor board hearing.
The state Attorney General’s Office also charged Martinez with six misdemeanor counts of tampering with a government record, and six counts of making unsworn false statements to authorities for misrepresenting her academic history..,..
Taum, 50, is also to be reinstated as a corrections sergeant, but “if reinstatement is not feasible, (the department) is required to provide compensation in lieu of reinstatement,” according to the ruling….
(Translation: He’s gonna get 7 years back pay.)
Schwartz said Martinez is still employed as the department’s Public Safety training officer but declined to say if she is on leave. Her criminal case is scheduled for trial in Circuit Court in July.
(Translation: She’s still getting paid.)
Taum, 50, was convicted after a federal trial last year on charges he violated the constitutional rights of inmate Chawn Kaili during the June 15, 2015, beating and lied to cover up the misconduct afterward.
He was sentenced last year to 144 months in prison, and is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu….
(Translation: At DPS all the criminals get paid. They pay each other.)
2021: Secret Arbitration Revealed: How DPS Official Kept Crooked Cop On The Job After FBI Raid
read … Big Island Prison Guard Fired For His Role In An Inmate Beating Is Ordered Reinstated
After Driving Anderson Out, DeLaCruz Pushes Geothermal Scam for Hawaiian Homelands
HNN: … The Hawaiian Homes Commission is mulling a proposal to invest $2 million to develop a geothermal project on their lands using money that was appropriated to build homes.
In a letter to the DHHL, state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said investing in geothermal will generate more income for the trust to build more homes for Native Hawaiians.
“What we want to try to do is provide options ... so that people can see how they might be able to use a $600 million as a base and grow it with projects that can bring in additional revenue,” said Dela Cruz….
The Hawaiian Homes Commission on Tuesday, Feb 21, 2023, voted not to support the proposal.
But on Wednesday, it said it would take another look at the plan next month.
Supporters said a New Zealand company IDG — which has developed geothermal projects with the Indigenous Maori people — is interested in partnering with the DHHL.
(BINGO! See links below.)
They said that if the project gets the green light, the DHHL and IDG can apply for up to $150 million in federal energy grants.
“This is a real step toward economic self-sufficiency for DHHL to own a renewable green energy, firm power, that benefits the Home Land’s economic security,” said former state Sen. Malama Solomon….
To build a traditional geothermal plant, the DHHL, and its partners will also have to build an undersea cable from the Big Island to Oahu, where most of the demand is.
The last time the state tried to do that a decade ago, the price tag was about $1 billion.
“Any large energy project is risky. And this one coming with all the sensitivities about land and geothermal and Hawaiian rights boggles my mind,” said investigative reporter and blogger Ian Lind.
Lind also criticized Dela Cruz for attempting to raid the DHHL’s funds for his own pet project.
“To a knowledgeable observer from the outside who’s seen this kind of muscling in by legislators before, this looks like an abuse of the position,” said Lind.
But Dela Cruz said the DHHL’s strategic plan allows it to invest up to 10% of the $600 million on special projects. He also cited an opinion from the Attorney General’s office which said it could invest in “geothermal-related matters” so long as it generates income to reduce the DHHL’s waitlist.
He added that DHHL could build a more state-of-the-art geothermal plant that produced green hydrogen as fuel that can be shipped from the Big Island to Oahu, making an undersea cable unnecessary….
IDG BACKGROUND:
read … Plan to invest Hawaiian Home Lands funds in geothermal power plant draws scrutiny
Better Background Checks Proposed For Certain State Employees
CB: … HB 777 would require the state Department of Human Services to conduct much broader background checks including obtaining fingerprints, searching through criminal histories and looking into past employers for their applicants.
As an example of how the system works now, the DHS has oversight of the state’s early education services, community-based services, and some nonprofit services including those providing guidance to kids. But it also has been legally limited in its background checks of applicants to state-only databases, relying on job applicants to self-disclose any other convictions.
The current pre-employment background clearance process for the DHS includes a name-based criminal history record check through the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center. …
The director of the department, Cathy Betts, testified in support of HB 777 and said that the public — namely those receiving child welfare, child protective, extended foster care and higher education services from her office — will benefit from the department’s ability to conduct such checks. …
HB777: Text, Status
read … Better Background Checks Proposed For Certain State Employees
Conveyance Tax Hike: SB362 Vehicle to Steal Your Money
HPR: … SB 678 would have risen the conveyance tax from 2% to 6% for properties selling for more than $2 million in the state. The tax is only applied when a property is sold or transferred, and is not an annual property tax.
In addition to homeless services, revenues would have also gone to state land preservation and affordable housing efforts….
While there's currently a slim chance SB 678 can advance in the Legislature, advocates are focusing on other conveyance tax measures. They hope other bills can be amended to include provisions for homeless services.
Other bills, such as Senate Bill 362 would raise the conveyance tax, but wouldn't allocate any funds for homeless services. The measure goes before the Senate Ways and Means Committee this week for a decision ….
read … While a tax hike to fund homeless services may not pass, housing advocates have a plan to steal your money
HB820: Hawaii Vacation Rental Tax Total Of 33% On the Move
BH: … Hawaii vacation rentals are back in the news again as House Bill 820 is making its way through the state legislature. The bill, introduced on January 25 and going through committees, calls for a combined tax rate of 33% on Hawaii vacation rentals. Hawaii already has the dubious honor of the highest accommodation tax in the country.
The bill’s authors are working with the Hawaii Department of Taxation to “Ensure that the language in this measure would tax transient vacation units at a rate of twenty-five percent and not 35.25 percent (as originally proposed).” But wait, those aren’t the only taxes on vacation rentals.
Currently the counties each have their own charge of 3%, which brings the total accommodation tax to 13.25%. In addition, there is a 4.17% GST on Maui and 4.712% GST elsewhere in Hawaii. The combined tax on hotels and vacation rentals is now approximately 18%. Based on what Quinlan said about the bill’s intention, it would seemingly increase the total tax on vacation rentals to 33%.
This comes while Honolulu is still in the midst of legal wrangling after a judge blocked for now the city’s desire to convert minimum 30-day rentals to a minimum of 90-days….
HB820: Text, Status Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-24-23 1:30PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
read … Hawaii Vacation Rental Tax Total Of 33% Proposed
Last Round Of Honolulu Covid Relief Money Released--CNHA Gets Another $25M Slush Fund
CB: … at a budget committee meeting on January 10, city council members expressed serious concerns about whether the city is creating a pool of people who have come to expect continuing government largesse and may not realize that federal Covid money is coming to an end.
The money will be distributed by Catholic Charities Hawaii and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, two nonprofit groups that have helped the city channel Covid-related financial assistance to local residents over the past several years.
J. Kuhio Lewis, president and chief executive officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, told the council that the money was desperately needed.
“Simply put, our community’s need (cronies’ greed) far exceeds the current relief funding available,” Lewis told the council….
People who receive the money will not have to prove any Covid-related hardship, unlike earlier relief programs. (LOL!)
“When do we start the process of weaning these people off the funding?,” Say asked.
(ANSWER: When the cash runs out and not a moment sooner.)
The $25 million will be divided among 4,242 households, including $3.1 million for District 1; $1.9 million for District 2; $1.2 million for District 3; $2.9 million for District 4; $5.4 million for District 5; $3.4 million for District 6; $3.1 million for District 7, $1.7 million for District 8 and $2.3 million for District 9.
REALITY: Dirty OHA Contract is Model for CNHA Takeover of Tourism Marketing
read … Last Round Of Honolulu Covid Relief Money Released
Judge: Miske Can Keep A Key Defense Attorney
CB: … Accused racketeering boss Michael J. Miske will retain at least one of his original criminal defense attorneys after a federal judge decisively rejected an attempt by federal prosecutors to disqualify Miske’s two lead counsels, Thomas Otake and Lynn Panagakos, due to alleged legal conflicts of interest.
In a court order filed in Honolulu’s Federal District Court Tuesday morning, Judge Derrick K. Watson ruled the government had failed to back up its generalized and “speculative” allegations about supposed conflicts, and failed to provide evidence of any actual conflict.
In a second order filed the same morning, Watson denied a motion by Miske, and supported by other defendants, that sought to split off two charges of obstruction of justice to be tried separately.
However, a footnote in Watson’s order makes clear it applies to both attorneys despite Otake having already taken himself off the case. This appears to leave the door open to a further appeal, potentially allowing Otake to be reinstated.….
ILind: Civil Beat: Judge rejects call to disqualify Miske attorney
read … Judge: Miske Can Keep A Key Defense Attorney
Media Blackout? Attorney for Miske co-defendant wrongly predicted a “flurry of publicity”
ILind: … As recently as February 1, Moon’s current attorney, Kauai-based Matthew Mannisto, noted the Supreme Court appeal in a filing in Moon’s federal case, optimistically stating the court “may be poised to overturn his conviction shortly before (or during) the trial in the present matter, and a reversal will likely generate its own flurry of publicity.”
Mannisto was trying to support an argument that there has been so much news coverage of Moon’s current and past crimes that he can’t possibly get a fair trial in Hawaii. It’s a hard case to make when there’s little evidence, so it appears he exaggerated a bit.
That became clear when the Hawaii Supreme Court decision in Moon’s case drew no news media attention.
Yesterday, Mannisto filed an “addendum and errata” to his earlier filing, noting a number of errors, including his predicitions (a) that the court was poised to overturn the earlier conviction of his client, and (b) that the decision would be followed by a “flurry of publicity” about the case.
“At present, it appears that only one media source of note has reported on the decision,” Mannisto wrote, referencing a copy of my February 14 post which he attached as an exhibit….
read … Attorney for Miske co-defendant wrongly predicted a “flurry of publicity”
20% of fatal crashes involve unlicensed drivers
HNN: … There’s growing pressure to crack down on unlicensed drivers in Hawaii as experts estimate they’re involved in roughly 1 in 5 fatal fatal in the islands.
At the same time, public defenders are calling for reduced penalties for the offense ― because defendants are clogging the courts….
But like hit-and-run suspect Mitchel Miyashiro, many people lose their license because of bad driving behavior in the past and that makes them much more likely to be involved in a deadly accident.
Before being arrested for the death of McKinley High student Sara Yara last week, Miyashiro had more than 160 traffic cases ― including 12 driving without a license charges since 2018….
State Sen. Chris Lee said he was open to decriminalizing a first offense ― with mandatory stiffer penalties for repeat offenses. But the prosecutor said that would shift the burden to police officer who make the arrest.
“HPD would have to, on the spot, look at their record and see that they had a first offense and then issue that citation as a must appear (in court) ticket similar to how it is now,” Tom said….
read … 20% of fatal crashes involve unlicensed drivers
Lobbyist Pleads Not Guilty To Animal Clinic Drug Charges
CB: … Maluafiti is charged with 27 counts of using a DEA registration issued to another person and, if convicted, could serve years in prison.
A trial was tentatively scheduled for April 24 before Judge Jill Otake but is likely to be pushed to a later date due to scheduling conflicts, Judge Rom Trader said in court on Wednesday….
The government did not make a motion to detain Maluafiti. She will remain free on a $25,000 unsecured bond, Trader said….
read … Lobbyist Pleads Not Guilty To Animal Clinic Drug Charges
$4.5M -- Council OKs first settlement in police chase that prompted felony probe
HNN: … he Honolulu City Council approved a settlement Wednesday that gives $4.5 million to four passengers and their families for a crash that involved three HPD officers in September 2021.
It’s the first of three lawsuits to settle in the case.
The four passengers were critically hurt when the Honda sedan they were in crashed in Makaha.
Three HPD officers are still on restricted duty for allegedly chasing the car ― without activating police lights or sirens ― then failing to stop and render aid.
According to sources, GPS shows they returned to the scene after the ambulances arrived….
read … Council OKs first settlement in police chase that prompted felony probe
City Measure To Restrict Concealed Guns In Some Areas Moves Ahead After Council Vote
CB: … A new conservative voting bloc emerged in the debate over concealed gun legislation at Honolulu City Council Wednesday, with three council members from the west side of the island voting against restrictions on concealed firearms and six others voting for the limitations.
Council members Augie Tulba, Val Okimoto and Andria Tupola voted against the bill. Tulba represents Pearl Harbor, Okimoto represents Pearl City and Tupola represents Waianae.
Five others, from the northern and eastern side of Oahu, voted for it. Council member Calvin Say voted “reservations,” which is a way council members are allowed to vote yes while indicating they have concerns about the vote they are casting….
read … City Measure To Restrict Concealed Guns In Some Areas Moves Ahead After Council Vote
Gun-Free Zones May Work. Just Don't Ask For Proof
CB: … “The Science of Gun Policy,” Rand Corp.’s recent comprehensive study of gun laws, looked at the effectiveness of gun-free zones as well as other gun policies. “We conclude,” the study says, “that there is inconclusive evidence for the effect of gun-free zones on violent crime.“
In fact, as the Rand research, which looked at more than 200 gun law studies over about 25 years, shows, when it comes to the overwhelming percentage of gun policies, it’s impossible to say with confidence what works and what doesn’t.
With very few exceptions, gun law effectiveness research either doesn’t exist or is very weak. …
read … Gun-Free Zones May Work. Just Don't Ask For Proof
Group: Cost to convert cesspools on Big Island would be exorbitant
HTH: … The state is about $1 billion short of the funds needed to convert more than 80,000 cesspools into something more environmentally friendly.
At a Tuesday meeting of the County Council’s Communications, Reports and Council Oversight Committee, members of the state Cesspool Conversion Working Group presented their findings, but could offer no clear solutions.
Summing up the Working Group’s final report published at the end of 2022, consultant Cami Ishida said there are about 82,000 cesspools in the state, 48,000 of which are on the Big Island. Together, the Big Island cesspools alone discharge about 29 million gallons of wastewater per day, which presents a threat of contamination to the island’s groundwater and streams.
Under a mandate to close or convert all cesspools by 2050, the county will have to consider how to shift those 29 million daily gallons of waste into environmentally sustainable systems. But Ishida told the committee that no matter what option the county selects, the cost will be exorbitant.
Ishida said there are three options that are most feasible for converting cesspools: connecting households to a centralized sewer system, connecting them to decentralized neighborhood sewers, or individual wastewater systems for each household.
Depending on the option, Ishida estimated that the cost to convert a cesspool ranges from $10,000 to $38,000 or even higher…
County Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour said that, in order to meet the 2050 deadline, the county will have to convert about 1,700 cesspools per year….
read … Group: Cost to convert cesspools on Big Island would be exorbitant
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