Environment

The 2011 version of the 10-cent bag tax failed at the end of the legislative session when enviros stabbed business in the back by amending the bill to eliminate retailers’ portion of the fee-split....

... why is Hee suddenly trying to put Hawaiian opihi pickers out of business?

Using the same closed door tactic employed on the eve of Super Bowl weekend, House Committees on Finance and Legislative Management announced late Friday evening that they will hold a hearing at 10:00 AM Monday morning on HB2874....

Projects 537MW of wind energy which history shows will be abandoned before 2030 ....

...there is a way to collect more revenues without raising a single tax rate or adopting an increase in user fees. It merely involves collecting the taxes that are already due under current law....

“We don’t ever quote the exact amount,” Skinner says....

Grabauskas, a Romney appointee, was forced to resign in August 2009 after the Patrick administration publicly questioned his leadership ....

... Candidates seeking recommendation completed a vigorous review process that included research of voting records, written responses on education issues, and an interview with teachers on the HSTA Government Relations Committee ....

He’s expected to campaign for Paul, the libertarian-leaning congressman and GOP presidential contender, for five days in the run-up to the Aloha State’s March 13 caucuses....

After catching flack from both fiscal conservatives and the transit lobby, House Speaker John Boehner has postponed consideration of a transportation bill.

Do not be fooled by words like "Oahu" and "Waikiki." This is all (almost) business. March 3rd is one county convention and March 13th is the Hawaii Caucus....

The author, Hemmings, also had some exposure to land battles. She’s a descendant of George Norton Wilcox, who owned Grove Farm—Hawaii’s first sugar plantation—and left it to his nieces and nephews when he died in 1933....

The bank's board of directors is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the Governor....

"Five weeks from now, the Supreme Court is taking up the most important case it's had since Brown vs. Board of Education."

...

HB1707 and SB2089 will require "nonresident" property owners who rent their property for thirty days or less (transient vacation rentals) to use a licensed real estate broker to rent the property, and to employ a property manager to operate it....

Hawaii can learn a great deal from European countries' experiences....

House Bill No. 2417 (HB 2417) will limit the availability of the Hawaii Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit from one credit per system to one credit per property for both residential and commercial projects.... (GOOD!)

House Bill 679 passed in the state House Public Safety and Military Affairs (PBM) Committee with no amendments, and is now pending in the state House Judiciary Committee. For this bill to survive, it must get a hearing by next week!

Obviously the purpose of BOTH Hawaii responses is to present the weakest possible defense while still preventing outside pro-marriage lawyers from taking control of the defense ....

Strike at Tesoro's refineries still negotiating contracts could shut down 500,000 barrels a day of refining capacity ....

• Senate: Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act
• House: Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act
• House: Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act

An examination of "administrative earmarks" around the time of congressional votes on key pieces of President Barack Obama's agenda suggests the White House used its power to fund local projects as a means to "buy" votes for major legislative efforts....

...Charles is on his way home from Afghanistan after many months of deployment in one of the most dangerous provinces in Afghanistan....

The Hawaii Legislature is currently considering the “Hawaii Safe Schools Act,” which claims to target bullying and harassment at schools. In reality, it is a mechanism for imposing a pro-homosexual, state-mandated orthodoxy on students and teachers....

...a mini-series of Hawaii answers to surveys on major issues which have been debated at The Economist.....

Lowering the compulsory attendance age will prevent parents from determining when their child is ready for school....

There are 10 new and increased taxes to watch....

...one of the biggest fears of government observers in Hawaii is the looming elephant in the room which is the unfunded liabilities of the state and county retirement system and the related health benefits for current and future public employee retirees.... 

Yesterday, House Bill 679 passed in the state House Public Safety and Military Affairs (PBM) Committee, with no amendments, by a 7 to 1 vote.

• Reapportionment Public Comment Meeting
• Wednesday, February 22, 2012 6:00 p.m.
• Conference Room 329, State Capitol, 415 South Beretania Street

The bill prohibits minors under 16 from riding ATVs, bans ATVs from public streets, bans passengers and requires helmet use....

The 11 are Brian A. Costa, Paula Devens, Nelson W.S. Goo, Shirley M. Kawamura, James S. Kawashima, Stephen H. Levins, Linda S. Martell, Alvin K. Nishimura, Maura McDermott Okamoto, Kevin A. Souza and Paul B.K. Wong.

These appointments are subject to Senate confirmation....

in a year, DoE will be $75M richer, some teachers will be 20% richer, and right back to the status quo ante.

Abercrombie today announced the appointment of Heather Haunani Giugni to the state House of Representatives for District 33, which includes 'Aiea, 'Aiea Heights, Halawa Heights, Halawa Valley and Red Hill....

This is what happens to Hawaii legislators when they are so close to a tax increase that they can taste it....

The 9th Circuit heard arguments about whether to allow fishermen to intervene in the formation of a new federal regulation aimed at protecting endangered turtles.

Even with billions in US Tariff support, sugar just couldn't carry the ILWU in Hawaii....

• HB1848 EUTF
• HB2375 Mortgage Rescue Fraud
• HB2153 Toll Roads
• HB1683 Jr Kindergarten
• HB2567 Marriage Licenses

“HB 2358 would remove the building official, state fire marshal representative and the structural engineer from the Hawaii Building Code Council."

Yesterday, the Hawaii Senate Health Committee decided to shelve a beverage tax proposal – effectively killing this discriminatory tax for this year.

On Monday, the State House Tourism Committee “deferred” HB 2788. If passed, this bill would grant a twenty-year license for one stand-alone casino in Waikiki not in a hotel....

Highlighted actions by the House Republican caucus for the week of February 6-10, 2012...

SB2696 would have abolished the Hawaii Building Code Council and effectively removed the state from active involvement in building design and construction standards....

What happened today was the result of a horrible lawsuit that sought to tell our brave men and women in the military that they don't matter to us.

House Bill 679, introduced by state Representative Ken Ito (D-48) and six other Representatives, is an NRA-supported bill....

Our Annual Report covers service improvements made within our office, the Hawai‘i Fair Share Initiative, the significance of hosting APEC, disaster relief, China trade and travel activities and initial efforts to make Hawai‘i the home for the Obama Presidential Center....

Would you borrow $3.2B and entrust it to Abercrombie, Louie, and Takamine?