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Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted March 18, 2023
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After Jacking up Property Taxes, Mayor, Honolulu City Council asking big raises from handpicked panel
Shapiro: … To understand the tone-deafness of our elected officials for the realities facing their constituents, look at the effort by Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the City Council to massively increase their salaries.
The Honolulu Salary Commission, appointed by the mayor and Council, is considering pay raises of up to 17.07% for Blangiardi and city directors, while more than doubling the pay of Council members — all with the enthusiastic encouragement of Blangiardi and Council Chairman Tommy Waters, who cite fairness.
The commission is barreling along on recommending one of three options to the Council.
Under the most generous, Blangiardi’s salary would rise $31,824, from $186,432 to $218,256, and city directors would get similar 17.07% raises. Even the least generous option would give 12.56% increases.
It’s for Council members that the wheel of fortune really starts ringing, with the commission arbitrarily deciding that their jobs — now designated part time — should be declared full time with executive-level pay raises.
Under Option A the chairman’s pay would rise to $194,992 from $76,968 while other members would increase to $185,017 from $68,904. Even Option C would take the chairman and members to $123,300 and $113,300, respectively, far too much for part-time jobs….
the constituents who would have to pay for these raises are mostly not making out. They have jobs that in most cases pay less than our municipal leaders, certainly not enough to afford Honolulu’s highest-in-the-nation cost of living. Housing eats up a disproportionate share of paychecks, and inflation is making existence here punishing, driving many locals to the mainland.
One contributor to the inflation battering Oahu taxpayers is double-digit increases in city property tax assessments that exceeded 20% in some neighborhoods this year, making it even more difficult for long-term residents to afford living here.
Blangiardi and the Council admitted the valuation increases were out of line and promised relief, but the best the mayor has offered so far is a piddling $300 credit for homeowner-occupants.
No permanent relief by lowering the tax rate or reforming the flawed valuation system that causes unfair assessments, just a one-time $300 credit that bakes in this year’s overly high valuations for future tax bills….
read … Mayor, Honolulu City Council asking big raises from handpicked panel
SB397: Hawaii may boost Medicaid payments to help patients access care
SA: … In Hawaii, Medicaid reimburses providers at just 62% of Medicare rates for most services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, while private insurance pays significantly more than Medicare.
As a result of the low payments, doctors and other health care providers often don’t accept patients on Medicaid, the federal and state-funded health insurance program that primarily serves low income and disabled residents, leaving members struggling to find care.
Legislators are considering measures that would align Medicaid reimbursement rates with Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors, which would give providers an estimated $73 million more a year in Medicaid reimbursements — $30 million from the state and $43 million in matching federal funds.
Hawaii already reimburses some primary-care services for Medicaid patients at Medicare rates. But if the legislation passes, Hawaii will become the only state to broadly match rates for professional services, according to the state Department of Human Services….
SB397: Text, Status
read … Hawaii may boost Medicaid payments to help patients access care
Two Years After remodel--Feds find Kona Community Hospital Pharmacy Unsanitary
HTH: … The pharmacy at Kona Community Hospital needs an additional $2.3 million from the state Legislature to comply with federal regulations or risk closure, potentially affecting over 500 chemotherapy patients.
What put the facility in jeopardy is a 2019 inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
From Dec. 2, 2019, to Dec. 13, 2019, FDA investigators inspected the facility, which was remodeled in 2017.
(And two years later, its a failure.)
During the inspection, the investigators noted serious deficiencies in practices for producing sterile drug products, which put patients at risk.
The FDA issued an official notice to the hospital on Dec. 13, 2019. The FDA said it appeared the hospital produced drug products that violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
The investigators noted that drugs intended or expected to be sterile were prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions and may have become contaminated — and potentially dangerous.
According to the FDA, the pharmacy also failed to evaluate whether the contamination had any impact on pharmaceuticals that were prepared in its clean rooms….
It will cost an additional $2.3 million to make the necessary improvements to create the required clean room suite and a hazardous drug storage area for the pharmacy….
read … In limbo: Kona Community Hospital Pharmacy needs funds to stay operational
Hawai‘i Convention Center needs more than $15M quick fix for leaks
SA: … Gov. Josh Green has released $15 million in general obligation bonds so the Hawai‘i Convention Center can shore up a leaky rooftop terrace deck — but it’s just a temporary fix and costs for permanent repairs are projected to escalate over the next three years by at least 35% to $88 million.
Hawai‘i Convention Center General Manager Teri Orton said the $15 million was awarded last year by state lawmakers, who declined to outlay $64 million to permanently fix the deck….
read … Hawai‘i Convention Center needs more than $15M quick fix for leaks
House Committee Approves 13 Ethics Reform Bills
CB: … By the end of the hearing, which ran more than two hours, the committee heard 15 bills involving elections and campaign finance plus a few on other topics. The committee passed out 13 of the reform measures, all of which had originated in the Senate and included a few ideas that had not been on the agenda of various state commissions that have been behind most of the accountability legislation this session.
Two bills that sought to limit how much money super PACs could spend opposing candidates were killed after the Attorney General’s Office warned they would run afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court’s previous rulings (like in the Citizens United case) that spending money is a right of free speech ….
read … Reform Momentum Continues
Legislative Agenda:
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