2020 LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE 5
From Honolulu Republican Party, March 8, 2020
HALF TIME: Post Crossover- How to find the bills that are still alive!
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU - Last Friday was First Crossover. It was the last day for bills in their originating chamber to move to the opposite chamber for further consideration. In order to make this deadline, bills had to move past every committee they were referred to and survive 3-floor votes. Bills that are still left in their originating chamber at this point are dead. See our video below to quickly identify the bills that are still alive this session. See our VIDEO HERE to quickly identify the bills that are still alive this session. Be mindful that the next deadline (Triple Referral Filing) comes quickly.
CHECK IT OUT - Hawaii Senate launches Youtube channel
NOTABLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR (SA)
Leaders propose to pile on the taxes.
Dear Editor,
Only a few weeks ago, our city and state leaders were making a bigger than usual show of pretending they care about the cost of living and affordability. Since then they have proposed or supported:
A new, large stormwater fee to support an expanded stormwater bureaucracy;
An increase in the excessive motor vehicle registration tax;
A new property tax;
A new mileage tax that would hit hardest those who cannot afford to live near work;
A new tax on every shipping container entering the state;
A new tax on driving on congested roads;
A new tax on Uber and Lyft;
A new tax on entering or leaving the state by air.
And we still don’t know how much they will increase taxes to finish construction and start operations of the train.
With leaders and ideas like these, Oahu will soon be suitable only for the homeless, wealthy absentee property owners, and 20 million tourists a year who will have to be served by robots.
Mark Hildebrant
Kailua
* * * * *
EVENT ALERT: From the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jacob Vigdor presentations, "Should we increase our minimum wage?" will be via teleconference.
HONOLULU, March 8, 2020 >> Out of an abundance of caution due to the coronavirus, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has decided to use teleconference technology for its two luncheon presentations in Hawaii this month by minimum-wage expert Jacob Vigdor.
The University of Washington professor of public policy and governance will talk about what resulted in Seattle after it started in 2014 to raise its minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour, and those in attendance will still be able to interact with him in real time, thanks to the wonders of modern technology.
A similar event in February, featuring economist Dan Mitchell from Washington, D.C., was converted to a teleconference for the same reason, and it turned out to be quite successful.
The two events featuring Vigdor will still take place on the same dates and at the same venues as originally planned:
- Monday, March 23 at Cafe Julia in the Honolulu YWCA, 1040 Richards St.
- Tuesday, March 24, at the Maui Country Club in Paia.
Keli'i Akina, president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, will be moderator of the two events, and Vigdor's presentations are still expected to be exciting and informative.
For more information about the events, please call 591-9193 or email info@grassrootinstitute.org.
* * * * *
SENATE PASSES BILL TO ESTABLISH CARBON TAX ON FOSSIL FUELS (KHON2) - A bill to establish a tax on emissions of carbon dioxide as means to mitigate climate change passed third reading in the State Senate. Senate Bill 3150 SD2 will now cross over to the House for consideration.
The bill has two key components.
First, it reconfigures the existing barrel tax to set taxes on each fossil fuel, based on the relative amount of carbon dioxide emissions that result from its combustion. Senator Karl Rhoads, who introduced the bill, observes that, “as drafted, the bill would set tax rates equivalent to a uniform tax of $40 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions from all fossil fuels. That tax rate would incrementally increase over the next decade to $80 per ton of CO2 emissions — a level that many experts believe is needed to provide an adequate disincentive to further use of fossil fuels.”
Second, the senator notes that “the proposed carbon tax is intended to raise the prices of fossil fuels to reflect the estimated costs to the people of this State and elsewhere to be incurred from the adverse impacts of climate change. The specific tax rates will be determined in conference with the House of Representatives.
Remember this - Tax Foundation Hawaii - Do You Buy Fuel? Then Be Very Afraid!
SENATE PASSES BAN ON SIDE GIGS FOR MAYORS AND GOVERNOR (CIVIL BEAT) - Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell isn’t the only candidate who would have to give up his side gig if a bill that cleared the state Senate Thursday becomes law. House Bill 361 would ban outside employment by county mayors and the governor, and that would affect candidates running for office this year and going forward. House Speaker Scott Saiki introduced the measure, but it stalled last year.
JUST A TECHNICAL CHANGE (CIVIL BEAT) - Some of the bills making their way through our Legislature are sponsored by executive departments. One such department, the Department of Taxation, is behind a few of them. One of them worth mentioning, introduced as SB 2922 and HB 2366, proposes to change some criminal penalties in our Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) law to civil fines … and “to make various technical amendments,” as the bill summary states.
One of the amendments imposes personal liability on responsible officials of any company that is delinquent in its TAT payments.
WHOA! That’s a technical change???
Other News
Hawaii Votes by Mail
Election Officials Announce Voting by Mail - Find out more HERE.
ALERT - If you haven't received the postcard, you should check your voter registration by visiting www.olvr.hawaii.gov or by calling the County Elections Division.
MEASURE TRACKING
HEARING NOTICES
Your voice and opinions are powerful. Your legislators were elected to represent your concerns. It is up to you to voice concerns and to make your voice heard. If you take the time to convey your thoughts to your elected officials and follow up with them, your message will have great impact, but everyone must get involved.
- GREEN = Support
- RED = Oppose
- BLUE = Undecided
Committee Report - https://legiscan.com/reports/xpy54f4x
Make sure you don’t miss a chance to offer testimony on bills that interest you. List of present and future hearings can be found at https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/upcominghearingsfiltered.aspx.
TESTIMONY
Testimony for legislative measures scheduled for hearing by the House or Senate should be delivered at least 24 hours prior to the hearing and may be submitted in person, by fax, or electronically as indicated on the hearing notice.
Testimony for legislative measures scheduled for hearing by the House or Senate may be submitted electronically through the Hawaii State Legislature's website at
Testimony for legislative measures scheduled for hearing by the Senate may also be faxed to 586-6659 (Oahu) or 1-800-586-6659 (Neighbor Islands).
SENATE HEARING LATE TESTIMONY - Testimony received after the 24-hour deadline will be posted to the Capitol website within 24 hours after the hearing has adjourned and may be marked as "late".
HOUSE HEARING LATE TESTIMONY - Staff will try to incorporate additional testimony received within 24 hours of the hearing if possible. The hearing committee will post testimony received "on-time" to the Capitol website at the beginning of the hearing. Testimony received after the 24-hour deadline may be marked as "late" but will be posted to the Capitol website as soon as possible following the hearing. Testimony submitted after the hearing will not be considered or posted.
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR
MAR 9 – BUDGET DECKING – Deadline for submitting the budget bill for third reading.
MAR 11 – BUDGET CROSSOVER – Last day for third reading of the budget bill in order to move to the other chamber.
MAR 12 – TRIPLE REFERRAL FILING (BILLS) – All bills referred to three or more committees must be filed so that they can be in their second-to-last committee in the non-originating chamber the following day. (Note: A referral to a joint committee counts as one committee referral.) This deadline allows ample time for successful bills to make their way to their last committee by the Second Lateral deadline.
MAR 16 – TRIPLE REFERRAL FILING (HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS) – All House Concurrent Resolutions (HCRs) referred to three or more committees must be filed so that they can be in their second-to-last committee by the following day. (Note: A referral to a joint committee counts as one committee referral.)
MAR 20 – SECOND LATERAL (BILLS) – All bills with multiple referrals must move to their final referral committee in the non-originating chamber by this date.
MAR 24 AND MAR 25 FIRST LATERAL FOR CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS – Concurrent resolutions require adoption in each chamber and are used to state the official position of the Legislature on an issue, or to request action formally without having to mandate it by law. All concurrent resolutions with multiple referrals must move to their final committee in the originating chamber by these dates: SCRs on March 24; HCRs on March 25.
Full Calendar is available HERE.