Rep Ward Salutes Korean Peace Initiative on House Floor
Let’s restore accountability at the Capitol
American Samoa Cabotage Legislation to Promote Reliable Air Service
Hawaii Trigger Modification Ban Headed to Governor’s Desk
Elections: 290 Candidates Pull Papers
SB3095: Legislative Pandering to Anti-Pesticide Nuts Will Affect Every Homeowner and Restaurant in Hawaii
Hawaii Family Forum Legislative Week in review
Hawaii Electric Utilities Get Prize for Giving Money to Elon Musk
Last Day: Lots of Expensive and/or Crazy Bills Pass Conference Committee
CB: …Senate Bill 3095 calls for mandatory disclosure of pesticide use, a reporting and regulation program and the creation of buffer zones around schools when restricted-use pesticides are sprayed….
(Hanabusa’s legislators normally would let this die after a dog n pony show in committee for the anti-pesticide hystericals who are legion on Kauai and Maui. This year they are making Ige veto it thus forcing those voters out of his camp—or sign it, thus driving more private sector labor into the Hanabusa camp. The good news for Ige is that the hystericals are more likely to waste their vote on Clayton Hee than mafia Hanabusa.)
It also would ban the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos starting in 2019, though there’s some debate about the chemical’s impact on human health (‘Some debate’=no real scientist believes the antis). The bill allows the state Department of Agriculture to grant permits allowing its use through 2022.
The department would receive $300,000 to monitor pesticide drift at three schools.
A draft put forward by the Senate passed out of conference committee Friday…
A conference committee passed a wide-ranging bill related to the state’s medical marijuana program. House Bill 2729 would allow patients to purchase vaporizers and tourists to purchase the drug while visiting the islands if they are medical marijuana patients where they live.
Patients with chronic conditions would no longer have to renew their cards annually, as the bill would extend certification to three years.
But the bill was stripped of two major provisions: allowing edibles and establishing workplace protections….
State inspectors would have more power to investigate and penalize unlicensed care homes under House Bill 1911, which cleared conference committee Friday. There have been a growing number of reports about such homes caring for up to 20 people without oversight….
All-mail elections would be piloted on Kauai in 2020 thanks to House Bill 1401, which passed out of conference committee. Mail-only voting has been touted as a way to save money and increase voter turnout. An earlier draft of the bill would have implemented the program statewide….
Coral-damaging sunscreen would no longer be sold in Hawaii stores under Senate Bill 2571. The bill passed out of conference committee Friday and would prohibit the sale or distribution of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate after July 2021.
An earlier draft of the bill would have put the ban in effect two years earlier.
Exceptions are made for people with prescriptions and cosmetic products such as facial sunscreens.
Hawaii would be the first state to ban sunscreen with ingredients that harm sea life….
The Women’s Legislative Caucus drafted nine bills that passed out of conference committee this year.
Among them is a bill to pave the way for a state-run paid family leave program….
Many bills also died on the last day of conference committee.
Among them was Senate Bill 2996 calling for the establishment of an independent authority to manage Hawaii’s airports.
Instead, the facilities will remain under the Department of Transportation’s control .
Also dead is Senate Bill 2424 to create tiny “micro housing” on the Hawaiian Home Lands. It died Thursday after the House removed the names of negotiators assigned to discuss it.
Three bills related to the state’s Agribusiness Development Corporation also perished.
One measure would have issued bonds so the agency could buy farm lands in west Kauai. A second measure called for a management and financial audit of ADC. And a third would have established an Agriculture Accelerator Program to invest in existing or new agriculture businesses.
Also getting the ax was Senate Bill 2585 to allow University of Hawaii graduate students to unionize…
KITV: Legislature wrap up: what bills survived
read … Pesticide Compromise Reached As Conference Committee Time Expires
Hanabusa’s Wrecking Crew Slashes HTA Budget
HNO: …on April 27, 2018, the (Hanabusa-allied) Hawaii State Legislature passed a bill during a conference committee which removes much of the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) unfettered autonomy over how to spend its estimated $120 million annual budget. Several important questions remain including:
1) Will Hawaii Governor David Ige sign it?
2) What’s going to happen at the Senate confirmation hearing on Monday, April 30th for several new HTA board members put forth by Governor Ige? A reliable source told eTurboNews that the reconfirmation of at least one sitting board member remains “up in the air.”
Many of the changes redirect money or reallocate funds to other entities and areas. For example, one area, formerly $82,000,000, was reduced to $60,300,000 and has been reallocated for several different areas and projects. For example, $1,000,000 is being allocated “for the operation of a Hawaiian center and the museum of Hawaiian music and dance at the Hawaii convention center.” This popular idea has been discussed for years but has never been acted on by HTA.
the legislation specifies:
– “No more than of $2,800,000 shall be used for administrative expenses. ‘administrative expenses’ means office equipment, salaries, and supplies.”
– “No more than $2,500,000 shall be used for research expenses.”
– “No more than $5,800,000 shall be used for sports marketing expenses,” a seemingly pet HTA program….
SA: HTA budget cuts head to floor vote in Senate
read … Hawaii Legislature Seizes Control of Tourism Authority Budget
Hawaii Lawmakers Want to Spend $30M on Legal Homeless Camps—Leave Tents or No Tents to incoming Mayors, Governor
CB: …Three “ohana zones” would be built on Oahu, and one each on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island….Senate Bill 2401 still faces floor votes next week, but its passage is virtually assured….
Besides the $30 million for ohana zones, expenditures in SB 2401 include $1 million for a medical respite pilot program and $800,000 for a new family assessment center….
Another significant measure approved to help the homeless is Senate Bill 2027, which allocates $1.5 million for what is described as a coordinated statewide homeless initiative….
Legislators acknowledged that Gov. David Ige has been skeptical of safe zones being the best route to permanent housing. But Belatti said the plan would provide flexibility to the administration and county leaders.
Combined with money for a variety of other programs designed to help Hawaii’s estimated 7,000-plus sheltered and unsheltered homeless people across the state, the total figure for homeless expenditures exceeds $50 million….
(Flexibility? OK. Tent Cities should be an issue in every Mayoral race this year and in the Gubernatorial race. Voters should demand crystal-clear answers for or against the use of tents. Hanabusa has already announced her support for massive festering homeless tent cities everywhere. Ige is clearly opposed to tent cities and has supported solid-wall structures instead. Smart County mayors will prohibit the use of any structure without solid walls a real floor and a real roof and a locking door to house the homeless in encampments. Igloos and containers yes – tents no. Tent cities are the problem not the solution. With solid structures the homeless can sleep 8 hrs locked in securely, they can keep their possessions secure, they can keep clean because they are not sleeping in the dirt in a tent. Sleep, personal security, security in your possessions and cleanliness are essential foundations to mental health recovery and they cannot be attained in tent cities. They can only be attained in solid structures.)
read … Hawaii Lawmakers Want To Spend $30M On Legal Homeless Encampments
Bill allows tourists to buy marijuana
SA: Out-of-state marijuana patients visiting Hawaii soon may be allowed to buy their medicinal pot at local dispensaries, a potential boon to the fledgling cannabis industry.
A bill allowing so-called reciprocity has gained enough support to become law, passing out of a key legislative committee Friday and positioned for a full legislative vote. If the bill passes the Legislature, it would go to the governor for final approval.
The bill establishes a process that requires the state Health Department to register out-of-state patients and caregivers so tourists would be able to purchase and use the drug legally while in the islands. Currently, only local marijuana cardholders can legally use pakalolo….
read … Buy Weed
Legislature Votes: Once Child Molesters Turn Your Son Gay, They Get to Keep Him
HNN: …"This has been a priority of the caucus for years," said (convicted thief) Michael ‘Bitchbear’ Golojuch, chair of the LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. "(The measure) ensures that LGQTB youth will not be tortured by mental health professionals."
(IQ Test: Are you impressed by this argument?)
The bill was opposed by religious groups who consider (haven’t been fooled into thinking) sexual orientation (is not) a choice….
Reality: Not Born That Way: How Underage Gay Prostitution and Child Abuse turned Hawaii’s Top Tranny
read … Hawaii becomes 12th state to ban gay conversion therapy for minors
Additional lane on Moanalua freeway in Halawa eliminates merge, easing p.m. commute
HNN: …The Department of Transportation re-striped the road, adding an additional late as it merges with the H-1.
DOT believes this adds 20%capacity saving time for commuters at a cost of $4.6M and 20 months.
"This is a project that we delivered in a different way" says Ed Sniffen, "If we had widened the freeway to add this lane, it's $285M and it would be a minimum of six years while we get our environmental clearances, while we design it and while we construct it."….
SA: Kauai needs better roads
read … Adding Lanes Reduces jams
Tax Relief for Oahu Flood Victims?
SA: …Bill 36, introduced by East Honolulu Councilman Trevor Ozawa, would specifically allow Oahu homeowners to pay only the city’s minimum property tax of $300 for the 2017-18 tax year if their homes were deemed by the American Red Cross to be completely destroyed or have sustained “major damage” by the flood.
Homeowners whose homes were deemed to have sustained “minor damage” would need to pay only 50 percent of their 2017-18 property tax bill.
The Department of Budget and Fiscal Services already has a policy that allows for homeowners to apply for “a remission of taxes in cases of natural disasters” with the relief to be determined by the BFS director. An Ozawa aide said the intent of the bill is to ensure victims do not run into any problems when seeking a tax break.
Bill 34, introduced by Windward Councilman Ikaika Anderson, allows farmers with properties determined to have been destroyed or damaged by the flood to get a one-time extension to pay property taxes for the 2018-19 tax year.
Unlike residential properties, agricultural lots are not eligible to apply for a remission of property taxes, but Anderson said his bill will at at least give owners a deferral without worrying about incurring late penalties or interest….
read … Tax Relief
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