Regressivity
Auditor: Incompetence Prevents Management of State IT Resources
Auditor: Handi-Van Not ADA-Compliant
Who’s Running: Candidates Pulling Papers as of March 11, 2016
SB 2840–Kill Zombie Pensions
Morita Comes up Short in KIUC Bid
AP: Only Senator Sam Slom Responded Fully to Our Open Records Request
Senators go along with Dubious $75M Gas and Vehicle Tax Hike
Shapiro: It’s disturbing that state senators are going along with Gov. David Ige’s dubious plan to increase taxes and fees on Hawaii drivers to pay for roadwork that was already taxed for and should have been done long ago.
The Senate approved and passed to the House Ige’s bill to raise $75.3 million a year for highway maintenance and improvements by increasing the gasoline tax to 19 cents from 16 cents a gallon, the vehicle registration fee to $76.50 from $45 and the passenger vehicle weight tax to 2.75 cents from 1.75 cents per pound.
The measure passed the Senate 16 to 8, with six of the yes votes cast “with reservations” — the political equivalent of sex with a condom. Prospects are uncertain in the House, where a companion bill stalled in committee.
Hawaii residents are among the most highly taxed in the nation, including highway assessments, yet we have the worst roads in the country, according to a 2014 report by the Reason Foundation.
The report said a big reason for our poor highway performance and lack of cost-effectiveness is our high administrative costs of $90,000 per mile, compared to $4,000 in Texas and $1,000 in Kentucky.
In other words, far too much of our highway tax revenues go to bureaucrats sitting in offices instead of crews working to fix the rutted roads….
Equally problematic is the persistent raids on the highway fund by governors and the Legislature, in which money raised for road maintenance and repairs is diverted to plug holes elsewhere in the budget.
According to a 2007 estimate by University of Hawaii engineering professor Panos Prevedouros, more than $153 million was raided from the state highway fund between 1996 and 2006, which was multiplied by the loss of federal matching funds of up to 80 percent that would have been available if those local dollars had been spent as intended on highway improvements.
The state Transportation Department is woefully lax at spending the federal highway money the state does receive, some $160 million a year.
After the state backlog of unspent federal highway funds approached $1 billion in 2010, federal officials threatened to withhold further money if the state didn’t spend it more timely.
Today, the unspent backlog of federal funds is still over $600 million….
read … Ige tax hike plan would fill budget holes, not potholes
Hawaii Trump Voters: It’s time to move to a level of confrontation not seen in local politics
LTE: …The majority of GOP voters here chose Trump. Republican leaders need to support the will of the voter.
They’ve let the lifetime politicians jam us with more taxes, an unaffordable rail transit system and gutless leadership.
It’s time to move to a level of confrontation not seen in local politics. Remember, a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still….
When will our elected officials learn the reason Trump is soaring in our presidential primary election? It was only a matter of time a revolt would occur that voices our disgust with Congress. The cronyism has to stop. This is such a time….
read … Talk is cheap. What are you going to DO about it?
SB2454: Make Income Taxes More Progressive
SA: Senate Bill 2454 would reduce or eliminate state income taxes for people with the lowest taxable incomes, providing tax cuts to families that make up about 10 percent of Hawaii residents, according to Senate Ways and Mean Chairwoman Jill Tokuda.
Nearly 65,000 tax filers would see some degree of tax relief from the bill, according to tax data provided by Tokuda. On the other side of the ledger, nearly 6,500 tax filers would see their state income tax rates go up.
The measure would effectively eliminate state income taxes for low-income Hawaii residents who file joint returns with earnings of less than $6,600 a year, and for head-of-household filers who earn less than $4,800 per year.
The tax relief for low-income families would cost the state $49.7 million in lost revenue. To offset that loss in tax collections, the measure would raise income taxes on higher-income families to bring in an extra $48 million a year, meaning the bill would cause a net loss for the state of a bit less than $2 million a year.
The measure would increase income tax rates on single tax filers who make more than $150,000; on joint filers who make more than $300,000; and on head-of-household filers who make more than $225,000.
read … Progressive Plan
State is squarely in path of unfunded liability landslide
Borreca: … legislators are working on the current edition of the state’s $13.7 billion state budget, which continues to nibble away at the state’s unfunded retirement benefits debt, which is going to get much worse before it gets better.
There are two boulders in this financial landslide: health care costs for retirees and retirement payments.
Together they are estimated as $8.5 billion. Last year the state had retirement and retiree health care costs of $789 million. But, state contributions were $393.4 million. That means just last year, the state tacked an additional $395.6 million on to it debts, according to the state’s 2015 comprehensive Annual Financial Audit….
The catch to this financial worrying is that back in 2013, the Legislature — led by then-Senate Ways and Means Chairman David Ige and House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke — passed a bill that started the clock running on paying down the missing billions.
Starting in fiscal 2019, 100 percent of the required annual payment must be actually paid. This is estimated to be more than $500 million. To make you understand that they were serious about that, the lawmakers included in the state law that if the Legislature in 2019 doesn’t pay, the money is automatically taken out of the state’s general fund.
“Just like debt service and payroll, unfunded liability is an obligation that the state has to meet,” said Luke, in an interview….
“In the next five years it looks promising that our state will continue with 5 percent growth; that could change, but I consider this is obligation,” she said….
Background: Act 268 Hawaii Unfunded Liabilities Plan: Pot of Gold for Corrupt Union Leaders
read … Landslide
Affordable housing trade-off: Credit program aids Hawaiian Homelands
SA: Hawaii developers are collecting credits that can be used to avoid building affordable housing under a controversial program that state lawmakers established in 2009 and last year extended to 2019.
The credit program was created to help the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands produce homes for its Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, many of whom have waited decades for homesteads. Roughly 20,000 Native Hawaiians are on DHHL’s homestead waiting list.
Under the 2009 law, DHHL can claim affordable-housing credits from counties for “existing and future” homes, or in some instances for residential lots, it produces. DHHL, a state agency, can give its credits to developers that help it produce housing for Hawaiians, or it can sell credits to developers for cash that can help finance Hawaiian homestead projects….
read … Affordable Housing
Another $30M in Revenue Bonds for Political Insiders
State lawmakers considered a bill Thursday to allow the state to issue $30 million in bonds to a company to produce renewable energy on Maui. The money would help Hawaii Renewable Resources grow energy crops and build a facility to make renewable natural gas.
Animal waste and energy crops such as grasses can be turned into renewable natural gas, which can be a sustainable alternative to traditional gasoline for cars and trucks.
Hawaii Renewable Resources says the compost and water leftover from making the renewable fuel will be given to local farmers to help increase local food production.
The company says it plans to grow the crops on old sugar cane plantation land. Paul Tower, the company’s president, wouldn’t comment further on the project.
BREG: Hawaii Renewable Resources owned by KCOM Corp
read … Another $30M
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