SB286 Ends Reapportionment Discrimination, to be Heard Tuesday
Knock Off the Theatrics and Get Down To Business
Hawaii Legislative Watch: People vs. Government
LINK: How major bills fared at the Capitol
Legislators Fail to Act--Can Still Legally Profit from their Actions
Shapiro: Legislators claimed it was a mistake last year when they exempted themselves from ethics rules against profiting from their actions, but bills this year to fix the mistake died without hearings. The urgency passed after we made the mistake of re-electing them.
read … Legislators prep for round 2
SB66 Would Require Disclosure from State Commission Members
ILind: SB66, which requires members of several key boards and commissions to file public financial disclosure statements, has been scheduled for a public hearing Monday afternoon before the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
It would apply to “state boards or commissions that have official authority that includes approving, issuing, or renewing permits or licenses relating to land use, water use, or the regulation of public utilities.”
read … Disclosure
25% Tax Credits for Hollywood Movie Moguls?
SA: Afraid that Hawaii may be losing financial allure as a Hollywood locale, state lawmakers are interested in sweetening the state's tax incentives.
The state House and Senate have traded bills that could extend the life of a film production tax credit, bump the incentive up by 5 percent, offer a new infrastructure credit to lure film studios to West Oahu and Maui, and establish a workforce development training program that could offset the wages of new hires on film productions that claim tax credits.
With many states and countries now offering increasingly attractive tax breaks, lawmakers have been tempted to expand the film tax credit for the past two years. But a lack of state money, and the perception that Hollywood moguls were jumping ahead of the needy who had suffered through the recession, kept lawmakers from acting.
This year, there may be enough state money, but the Abercrombie administration has only been willing to support an extension of the film tax credit, which is set to expire in 2016, not an increase….
The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which oversees the state's film office, has recommended extending the film tax credit until 2025. The department has also supported raising an $8 million cap on the tax credit per production to $12 million. The department has favored removing from the tax credit the exclusion of commercial advertising that is distributed only on the Internet.
But the department opposes a 5 percent increase in the film tax credit — which is now 15 percent for productions on Oahu, 20 percent for the neighbor islands…
The Tax Foundation of Hawaii and other critics have lampooned the film tax credit as a subsidy for Hollywood that drains the state treasury….
Rep. Angus McKelvey (D, Lahaina-Kaanapali-Honokohau), the chairman of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee, said the outlook for expanding the film tax credit could depend on the state Council on Revenues forecast on Wednesday.
read … Tax the Poor to feed the Rich
Hawaii Scores Five on Fed-Up Index
Borreca: First up is the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Not content to raise water rates by 70 percent, it just announced that it will need $9.5 million to study climate change and how it will affect our water supply….
Then the folks from Kakaako, the Hawaii Community Development Authority, decided they still can't figure out what to do with the apparently historic but noxious Royal Hawaiian Brewery building.
You recall this building was purchased 14 years ago, but because the rehab in 1996 included termite-treated beams and flooring smelling so bad, no one could work in the place.
For the second time in two months, the HCDA board postponed a vote on whether to do $6.1 million in repairs to the renovations.
Since that fix-up failure, the state has learned. For instance, in 2003, the state shut down the nine-story downtown Kamamalu Building. After estimating that fixing it up would cost more than $27 million, state officials just hired people to remove the asbestos and shut off the power. Since Ben Cayetano was governor, the building has sat dark and unused. It does stand as a perfectly preserved example of an abandoned public building.
If all that doesn't edge up the Fed-Up Index, there is the University of Hawaii.
The institution of higher learning that has spent more than $1 million investigating how it lost $200,000 to alleged con men promoting a phony Stevie Wonder concert, has been raising national rankings.
Students at UH are No. 2 in the nation for paying the highest percentage increase in tuition, according to The Wall Street Journal…..
And the No. 1 contributor to our Fed-Up Index is the announcement by new Mayor Kirk Caldwell that his ambitious plans to fix Honolulu roads translates into a 5-cents-a-gallon increase in gasoline taxes.
The city now takes in 16.5 cents out of the 68 cents per gallon in federal, state and county gasoline taxes. The tax on Hawaii drivers is now the third-highest in the nation.
read … Fed Up Index
Star-Adv: $1000 Marijuana Ticket Could Boost General Fund
SA: The Legislature is at the halfway point in its 2013 session and there seems to be an even greater number of unknowns at this point. How will the sequester affect Hawaii, with federal budget cuts leaving some programs in dire straits and agencies depending even more on state funds? Will the state's own revenue projections hold up? How will the latest round of labor negotiations figure in all this?
Even though some of the fog might clear away when the Council on Revenues delivers its forecast in the coming days, an abundance of caution will still be needed to make sure the state isn't caught short — now or in the future. One of the main concerns is deciding how many items Gov. Neil Abercrombie may be able to check off the "New Day" agenda….
On at least one other front, the state has a chance to trim government costs without doing a disservice to the community. Marijuana policy has been evolving in this state, and decriminalizing the possession of small amounts seems a rational step to take. In lieu of criminal prosecution, which consumes too much time and (doesn’t bring enough) money in the criminal justice system (because hardly anybody is prosecuted and the fine is too low), possession of an ounce or less would be treated as a civil violation with a fine of $1,000. (Which could be a real money spinner!)
read … Dopey Ideas
Brewbaker: Tourism Maxed Out, Need More Hotels
SA: The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority said last week that it expects visitor spending will hit $15.8 billion this year when 500,000 more visitors arrive than did last year, bringing total arrivals to 8.5 million. The new forecast is a benchmark that some, including economist Paul Brewbaker, warn puts the state at risk of filling its hotel rooms to capacity and constraining future tourism growth.
"The party's already over, you just don't know it," said Brewbaker, who as principal of TZ Economics has been sparking controversy at recent economic forums.
Brewbaker theorizes Hawaii's tourism industry is running out of headroom and that state tourism expansion will slow unless accommodations are added to the pipeline. Brewbaker's arguments contradict the state's sustainable tourism policies of the past two decades, which emphasized growing tourism by growing spending instead of by adding more visitors.
"The assumption people will come here and we'll take more of their money hasn't happened for 20 years," Brewbaker said.
When adjusted for inflation, tourist spending is declining. Last year's $14.3 billion in visitor spending brought less money to the state than tourism did in 1989, when $17 billion marked the peak of adjusted spending, Brewbaker said.
All the congratulatory back-slapping done in celebration of last year's record numbers may prove to be hollow, Brewbaker said.
"The emperor has no clothes. That's what the 2012 celebration means," Brewbaker said. "Any reasonable view of economic growth would not be supported by the state's sustainable tourism strategy."
Without more building, Brewbaker said, it's hard for tourism to grow. Public sentiment and development policies limited the number of hotel, condotel and time-share rooms in Hawaii to about 73,000 from 1992 to 2007, he said. Only 6,225 visitor units were added from 2000 to 2011, according to Hospitality Advisors LLC.
SA: Isles are near a 'tipping point' to boost capacity
read … Capacity
Affordable housing remains a dire need across state
SA: Projections for Oahu alone show that over 40,000 homes are needed to meet long-term demand. Not only do we need more homes, but we need more homes that working families can actually afford. On Oahu the median single-family home costs upwards of $650,000, while the median annual household income is about $75,000. Does this 9-to-1 ratio make sense? Absolutely not….At the recent lottery for an affordable rental project in East Kapolei, 886 individuals applied for 120 units….
KITV: Kakaako high-rise condo plan draws hundreds of buyers
read … Affordable?
Ing Fails, Panel includes Only $65M for high school in Kihei
MN: The House Finance Committee has included $65 million for the Kihei high school in the 2015 fiscal year of the state's biennium, an amount that's half of what Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the state Department of Education and South Maui's lawmakers have sought to complete the project all at once.
South Maui Rep. Kaniela Ing and South and West Maui Sen. Roz Baker pledged Saturday to seek the full $130 million in funding as the budget bill, known as House Bill 200, makes its way to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The House action, though, makes it appear less likely that the school will be a "design-build project" and will instead be constructed in traditional phases.
read … Failure
Under Attack by Luddites, Seed Industry Growth Stalls
SA: Spending by seed crop companies in Hawaii has continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, in recent years, but the number of jobs in the single biggest sector of local agriculture has declined.
That's one of the conclusions in a new economic impact study on the industry commissioned by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
The report also said seed companies in Hawaii forecast spending $250 million over the next 10 years, down from $423 million over the past 10 years.
Even with overall industry spending staying positive, the number of jobs has decreased. The report said 1,397 people were employed in the industry, down from 1,863 counted in the 2009 report.
The industry includes 10 farms on Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Maui cultivating primarily seed corn but also soybean, wheat, sunflower, rice, rapeseed and sorghum on about 5,600 acres last season, which was down from 6,200 acres the year before.
Five seed companies — BASF, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer and Syngenta — have seed farm operations in the state and are members of the industry association.
Seed growers in Hawaii generally study plant genes and properties, breed plants with desired genes both traditionally and using genetic engineering, test the resulting plants and then grow large quantities of favorable plants to produce parent seed. The parent seed is sent to the mainland for mass reproduction and sale to farmers worldwide.
Because the seeds produced in Hawaii aren't sold, the Statistics Service calculates industry value based on operating expenses excluding land purchases. That compares with crop sales for other crops.
read … Seed crop industry growth a mixed bag, report finds
Following Crook Ritte, Kauai Idiots March against GMOs
KGI: This was the second of five weekly island marches that began March 2 at Hale‘iwa in O‘ahu. The marches (made up of people so stupid, they think Walter Ritte is a credible leader) continue on Big Island Saturday, followed by Maui on March 23 and Moloka’i on March 30.
The goal is to convince state senators to hold open hearings on the labeling issue. Organizers said one influential politician is Sen. Ronald Kouchi, who represents Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, as well as Vice President of the Senate.
“I am here because Sen. Kouchi is the one who can allow us to keep the path going for the labeling bill,” said Walter Ritte, a founding member of Label it Hawai‘i. “He is a key player in all of this, and if he doesn’t help to open the doors to a fair hearing, then the bill will get killed in the Senate.”
Translation: “Monsanto won’t give me a payoff.”
House Bill 174 imposes labeling requirements and restrictions on GMO foods.
Crook:
read … Lemmings
HB1388 Gives $1.3M to Shrimp Farm Operator
KGI: First, it was the seabirds that got the shrimp sick at Kekaha’s shrimp farm, and the county paid for it — to the tune of $250,000. Now, it’s the erosion threatening the shrimp hatchery, and the shrimp farm is asking the state government to pay more than five times for it.
The original version of a bill progressing at the state Legislature would give the shrimp farm owner, Sunrise Capital, up to $1.3 million in state special purpose revenue bonds to protect the company’s hatchery facility and its salt water well, relocating them further inland to avoid shoreline erosion.
Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-16th District, who introduced House Bill 1388, said the bill does not outright give money to the company.
“It’s not giving them money, it allows them to apply for bonds … if they need the money,” she said. “It’s a financial tool.”
Language in the bill, however, could be interpreted otherwise.
“The (state) Department of Budget and Finance, with the approval of the governor, is authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds in a total amount not to exceed $1,300,000 in one or more series, for the purpose of assisting Sunrise Capital Inc. … in the planning, design and construction of a two-phase project that will protect its shrimp hatchery facility,” the proposed legislation states….
House Bill 1388 boldly cites Sunrise Capital as the beneficiary of the bonds, something that may be unusual — past bills addressing the Superferry spoke of large vessels, and a current bill helping Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative mentions only electric cooperatives in the state.
Additionally, the Hawai‘i Constitution allows special purpose revenue bonds to be authorized or issued to seven types of organizations. The only one that Sunrise Capital may be able to fit may be “manufacturing, processing or industrial enterprise.”
The seventh type of organization allowed is “agricultural enterprise serving important agricultural lands.” But IAL designation plans are not complete, and neither the state nor the county of Kaua‘i consider aquaculture a criteria for IAL designation.
However, a separate proposal, House Bill 748, would amend the state constitution to add “agricultural enterprise” as the eighth type of organization allowed to receive such bonds.
In any case, Morikawa is saying she doesn’t believe the proposal is unconstitutional.
“Not in this instance, if that was not constitutional, that would have been declared a long time ago,” she said. “The Attorney General doesn’t allow bills to go through if it’s not constitutional.”
read … HB1388
Gabbard Joins Republicans in Criticism of White House
MSNBC: Republican lawmakers said Sunday they welcome President Barack Obama's courtship and suggested the fresh engagement between the White House and Congress might help yield solutions to the stubborn budget battle that puts Americans' jobs at risk.
Yet the lawmakers cautioned that years of hurt feelings were unlikely to heal simply because Obama dined last week with Republican lawmakers. They also said they would not to rush too quickly into Obama's embrace during three scheduled, and unusual, visits to Capitol Hill next week to win them over….
Even members of the president's own party said the outreach was needed. "I think frustration by the American people — and frustration by members of Congress as well — have stemmed from the fact that a lot of these debates have taken place on TV or on the House floor but have not had very meaningful discussion," said first-term Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii.
read … Gabbard Attacks Obama
Caldwell Claims “Fuel tax hike is investment in the future”
SA: On March 1, my administration sent to the Honolulu City Council a proposed budget that includes a 5-cent per gallon increase in the city's fuel tax. Before pronouncing it dead….
read … Not Buying It
Hawaii Co. Police officer reprimanded following misconduct complaint
HTH: “I got my phone call and called my mom to come and bail me out, and she didn’t, and then they all started laughing, and I got mad and I stood up and swore at them,” Tredre said. “Then I saw everybody getting up and coming to my room. The one cop (Tolentino) took the handcuff off of my hand and pulled my hair down to the ground and started to kick me in the side. He pulled me backwards by my hair and then kicked me, not really a kick, he jabbed me in the side with his boot. Then he stood me up in the corner and searched me and they took off all my clothes until I had just my boxers. Then they walked me out of the room and the cop slapped me in the back of my head and I fell down. Then he yanked me up by my hair in my handcuffs and he took me back to my room and then they locked me in the room with no clothes.
“I was just in my boxers. When he took my clothes, he broke the zipper on my jacket. Then a guy came in the morning and asked me why they took my clothes. They gave them back in the morning.”
Tredre said that Tolentino told him “not to f-in’ disrepect his officers” during the incident
read … Reprimanded
Inmate dies after fight at OCCC
KHON: A department of public safety spokeswoman says there was a fight between two cellmates Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile police have confirmed that 32 year old Joseph Tui is the suspect and he was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Tui In the News: Halawa guards are fired over inmate abuse, Man arrested for 'Hawai'i Five-0' assault
read … Inmate dies after fight at OCCC
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