Senator Hirono Didn’t Always Tell Men to ‘Shut Up’ and Believe Accusers
Maunakea Administrative Rules Public Meetings
No way new tax won’t cost us
Hawaii: Worst State for Teachers
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted September 23, 2018
Cayetano: There Are Many Reasons To Oppose The Proposed ‘Education Tax’
CB: …if legislators think they have been shortchanging public education, they can easily remedy that by increasing general-fund appropriations to the Department of Education. And if there aren’t enough general funds to go around, legislators can increase income or general-excise taxes as necessary to generate the needed tax revenue. Raising taxes is never fun from a politician’s standpoint, but why adversely impact the counties, as the proposed constitutional amendment would do, if there is a simpler, more direct way to generate additional tax revenue?….
…the term investment real property is vague and open-ended. If the proposed constitutional amendment is approved, legislators could define investment real property to include every category of real property, including primary residences….Why would legislators ask voters to authorize them to tax any property, at any rate, and without any threshold, if all they really want to tax are second homes worth more than $1 million?
…unless the Legislature thinks it has been underfunding education all these many years, new tax revenues earmarked for education could easily be offset by reduced general-fund appropriations. The freed-up general funds could then be used in ways that reflected the Legislature’s priorities….
read … There Are Many Reasons To Oppose The Proposed ‘Education Tax’
HSTA ‘Give us money because we are unqualified’
CB: …fallout, the union argues, is classrooms filled with unqualified teachers and lagging academic performance by the state’s nearly 180,000 students in K-12….
read … This Ballot Measure Is Sparking Intense Debate Over Hawaii’s Schools
Kauai Residents mull term limits for councilmembers
KGI: …When Kauai voters head to the polls in November, they’ll be deciding on a charter amendment that could end term limits for members of the County Council.
In March, the council opted to give voters the opportunity to decide on term limits in a 5-2 vote. Councilmembers JoAnn Yukimura and Mason Chock voted against the resolution that was introduced in January by Council Vice Chair Ross Kagawa.
This isn’t the first time the question has been on the ballot. In the 2006 election, voters voted overwhelmingly, 13,266 to 6,139, to establish term limits.
The question that appears on the ballot: “Shall the term limit for councilmembers be removed?”…
St. John said she didn’t know the question will be on the ballot, but will be voting to keep term limits in the charter.
“It has to be a chance for others to have their chance to see if they can do better and to keep people from staying their whole life and giving everyone else a chance to have their spot,” she said.
If there’s a term limit for the U.S. president, the top level of government in the nation, then councilmembers should also have term limits, she pointed out….
read … Kauai Residents mull term limits for councilmembers
Legal Weed Dealers Push Paltry 135lbs for June
HNN: …There are currently eight dispensaries that sell medical cannabis. Recent figures from the state show the eight dispensaries sold 135 pounds of cannabis and 21,751 individual product items in June alone…. (90 sales per store per day avg. / 1.5 sales per 1000 residents)
read … Cure Oahu explains seed-to-sale process for medical cannabis
Homeless Drug Addicts Take over Ala Wai Community park
SA: …the homeless are moving into Ala Wai Community Park (from all the parks the city has closed for “maintenance”) and suddenly the outrigger canoes are getting tagged, equipment destroyed and cars vandalized. The backpacks, wallets and keys of a girls’ canoe team were stolen while the crew was paddling in the Ala Wai just steps away.
Ask the park staff and they will tell you about the homeless taking over the bathrooms and locking everyone else out, the unleashed aggressive dogs and the attempts at intimidation….
SA: Police investigating after body found at Diamond Head
read … Homeless taking over Ala Wai Park
Hawaii Obamacare Subsidy Worth a Pathetic $300K
HA: … On September 5, CMS notified Hawaii officials that the state would be receiving pass-through funding of $306,406 for the 2019 calendar year. The pass-through funding is pursuant to Hawaii’s approved application under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to waive the requirement that there be a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) in the state.
Hawaii asked to waive the SHOP requirement and a number of related ACA provisions because employers, including small employers, have been required to offer coverage to their employees since the 1970s under Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act. Hawaii is the only state with an approved Section 1332 waiver that is not for a state-based reinsurance program. The amount of pass-through funding is based on what would have been provided to small employers through the ACA’s small business tax credit. The pass-through funds are primarily used to support a fund that helps small businesses cover their health care costs.
Hawaii is receiving far less pass-through funding for 2019 compared to 2018 when the state received $999,069. The amount of pass-through funding for calendar years 2020 and 2021 will be calculated and communicated by CMS to the state in the future….
read … Hawaii To Receive About $300,000 In Pass-Through Funding For 2019
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