Schatz, Hirono Vote to Continue Trump's COVID Emergency
How counties can provide tax relief
753,750 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in February 2023
Next Boondoggle: $44M Blaisdell Renovation
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority Appoints Isaac Choy as Vice President of Finance
Bishop Museum Appoints Dee Jay Mailer President
Tempers flare as Blangiardi Administration tries to Block Tax Relief
HNN: … Tempers flared at Honolulu Hale on Thursday after the Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s cabinet accused the council of proposing drastic and damaging cuts to the city budget.
Council Chair Tommy Waters vigorously defended the proposals as a way to provide tax relief for homeowners.
Waters supported setting the budget based on last year’s level, plus 5% to account for growth and pay raises, pointing out that prior budgets included money for positions that were never filled.
He added the effort would prevent property tax increases.
But City Budget and Finance Director Andrew Kawano told the Council Budget Committee that federal funds will stop flowing, requiring ;ocal taxpayer revenues to make up the difference.….
Waters was not satisfied by that answer and said voters are demanding long-term cost cutting to make tax relief possible.
“Maybe that’s drastic,” Waters said. “But I think that’s what people are asking us to do.”
Rumors about job cuts also brought some workers to the council chamber, who Council member Matt Weyer tried to reassure.
“Folks who are in their city positions right now don’t need to be worried that they are going to be losing their job,” Weyer said.
Waters accused the administration of scare tactics.
“These comments and parading people in who are saying they are not going to have a job, that’s not fair to use,” Waters said. “That’s not fair to them and its certainly not fair to people watching on the news.”
But city Chief Information Officer Mark Wong said the cuts were potentially damaging to city services.
“I have never in my years seen a magnitude of proposed cuts at this stage,” Wong said.
“It’s pretty drastic.”
Waters again took offense.
“We are just going back to last year’s budget — yes or no — plus 5%?” he asked Wong.
Wong responded: “It looks like that.”
“Right,” Waters said as he waved his arm.
“So your saying you’ve never seen such drastic cuts before is not the truth because we are going back to last years budget! I mean let’s not play games here. If you wanna work with us, we’ll work with you.”…
SA: Oahu tax relief bill gains in Council amid skepticism
read … Tempers flare at Honolulu Hale over cuts to city budget
Tax Breaks For Working Families will be decided in Secret Meetings
CB: … The Senate will support a sizable slice of Gov. Josh Green’s proposed state tax changes, including adjustments to Hawaii’s income tax structure and enhanced tax credits to help working families, the Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said Thursday.
Dela Cruz briefed his fellow committee members Thursday on the Senate’s proposed budget and financial plan for the next two years, including initiatives to double the state food excise tax credit and make the state’s earned income tax credit for lower-income residents more generous.
The Senate is also backing plans to increase the child and dependent care tax credit to support families with children in daycare and to double standard deductions and personal exemptions for state income tax purposes, Dela Cruz said.
The Senate is proposing a total of $354 million in state tax relief in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and $338 million to following year “as part of the Green Affordability Plan to help control the high cost of living,” according to a statement by the Ways and Means Committee….
Those proposals still need to win the approval of the state House to become law, but the House has signaled it is at least somewhat sympathetic to much of that agenda.
House lawmakers also advanced bills addressing changes to the food tax credit, the earned income tax credit and the child care tax credit earlier this month, but left key technical portions of those bills blank.
Leaders from the House and Senate will now hash out the details of each proposal in closed-door conference committee meetings next month. Those secret sessions will decide which bills ultimately pass, and which will fail….
read … Hawaii Senate Budget Committee Embraces Tax Breaks For Working Families
SB941--Next PLDC? $185M to Build Housing for Public Employees
KHON: … Senate Bill 941 is moving along in the State Legislature proposing to fund housing developments near three schools with $185 million.
The breakdown of the funding would go as follow:
$65 million for Mililani High School.
$60 million for Waipahu High School .
$60 million for Nanakuli High and Intermediate School.
The School Facilities Authority Executive Director Chad Keone Farias said these are projects have been a long time coming for the state. …
The SFA is in its early planning stages for these projects. Farias said they are also looking at state-owned land to develop near Waipahu and Nanakuli High Schools.
They plan on keeping prices around 80% of the median income. …
The SFA has the power to negotiate contracts, enter public-private partnerships and purchase land or real estate. Farias said they want to get to work underway, only waiting on funding.
(IQ Test: Sound familiar?)
Next week is the deadline for the bill to be heard in the House committee on finance….
SB941: Text, Status
read … Lawmakers close to approving millions for teacher housing
Hawaii On Course To Join States Where Gun Companies Can Be Sued
CB: … A bill that would allow people to sue gun makers cleared a key Senate committee Thursday.
Despite a federal law that protects firearms manufacturers and dealers, the proposed statute would allow people harmed by firearms to hold the companies accountable in state court.
Hawaii would join a handful of blue states, including New York and California, that have passed laws allowing legal action against gun makers for creating a public nuisance and unreasonable risk.
“We’re trying to avoid the tragedies that are happening nationwide,” Rep. Sonny Ganaden, one of a dozen lawmakers who introduced House Bill 426, said. “Should a civil complaint happen after a tragedy — knock on wood that one doesn’t happen — state law will not preclude that case from moving forward.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed it without amendments, with only Sen. Brenton Awa and Sen. Mike Gabbard voting against it. Sen. Karl Rhoads, the committee chair, said he would add language to the bill but did not specify further….
read … Hawaii On Course To Join States Where Gun Companies Can Be Sued
Why $50 Hawaii Green Fee Simply Won’t Happen
BH: … Of all the bills being considered, just one appears likely to continue (SB304). It will, in the end, result in no changes for the foreseeable future, if ever. That bill is putting the amount of the annual fee on hold, while virtually all proposals have called for a five-year moratorium on implementing any such ones.
If it ever comes to being enacted, the bill would allow for permits or licenses, as they are now being called, to be acquired online or through physical locations. Remember that any penalties for non-compliance are years off, if ever….
Even as the state envisions its Department of Land and Natural Resources hiring five staff, this is ludicrous. DLNR wasn’t able to answer questions posed to it about enforcement. Since some are physically adjacent, how will visitors even know when they cross between a county park and a state park? And what about beaches? Those of us who live here don’t know whether we are at a county or state beach necessarily. So how could visitors be expected to know? Should we ping them on their phones whenever they approach a state facility so that they pay up or get fined?
That all presumes that the way in which Hawaii might implement such a fee would fly in court.
These statewide plans cannot be compared with park-specific rules such as those for Diamond Head State Monument, Hanauma Bay State Park, or Haena State Park, which are easy to enforce due to clear physical isolation, among other things….
The state is notorious for earmarking funds for special needs, like protecting and preserving its natural resources. In the end, many believe the money would end up in the state’s general fund. If the money was invested directly for its intended purposes, perhaps there would be more widespread support. Otherwise, it can easily be seen as another aspect of Hawaii’s bottomless pit of tourism greed….
Visitors naturally wonder where the highest accommodation tax in the country goes. It certainly isn’t apparent in the woefully lacking Hawaii infrastructure.
Furthermore, there is widespread disgust, by residents and visitors, at how the state (and counties) are maintaining these areas. Roads and restrooms in disrepair, as one example, are abhorrent to many and are antithetical to asking for more money….
read … Why $50 Hawaii Green Fee Simply Won’t Happen
SB304: Hawaii ‘visitor impact fee’ bill moves forward
SA: … A “visitor impact fee” bill that would require any nonresident aged 15 or older to pay for an annual license to visit a state park, beach, forest, hiking trail or other natural area is still alive.
Senate Bill 304 moved out of the House Committee on Finance on Wednesday with amendments. Committee chair Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D, Spreckelsville-Upcountry Maui) called the bill “a work in progress,” and said the plan is to “blank out” the potential cost of the license and discuss it further.
Initially there were eight House and Senate proposals to implement so-called green fees, and most supported requiring tourists over the age of 15 to buy an annual $50 license to use the state’s natural resources. SB 304 was the only one of these measures to cross over this legislative session, and Wednesday’s committee hearing was its last referral since it was received from the Senate….
there has been some resistance, especially by those in Hawaii’s tourism industry, who are concerned that the bill will confuse visitors at best and dampen tourism demand at worst.
Indeed, Chang was not immediately able to answer questions from several members of the House Committee on Finance about how the bill would be implemented and enforced given that it might not be immediately clear to visitors which sites, especially beaches, fall under state jurisdiction….
The Tax Foundation of Hawaii and the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii have questioned the legality of the measure.
Ted Kefalas, director of strategic campaigns for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said in written comments, “The U.S. Supreme Court frowns upon any law that would restrict the right to travel freely between states and has ruled against disparate resident/nonresident tax schemes under both the Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.”
Kefalas said unless residents, who are also are injurious to Hawaii’s ecosystem, are also charged for a similar license, “the entire scheme risks being overturned on a legal challenge.”…
HTH: Visitors to Hawaii would be charged $50 to visit state parks, other areas
CB: We Need More Resource Cops To Protect Hawaii's Unique Environment
read … Hawaii ‘visitor impact fee’ bill moves forward
Path forward for Thirty Meter Telescope and Mauna Kea begins to emerge
A: … A new oversight board with a state mandate to manage the sacred mountaintop includes representatives from astronomical observatories and Native Hawaiian communities …..
read … Path forward for Thirty Meter Telescope and Mauna Kea begins to emerge
Aloha Stadium Consultant’s First-Class Flights Will Be Audited, State Says
CB: … The state agency overseeing a $26 million contract laying the groundwork for a new Aloha Stadium is now auditing expenses made by consultants for first-class plane tickets.
That announcement came in response to a Civil Beat story Wednesday that detailed nearly $20 million in spending on the stadium contract so far. The story identified travel-related expenses by the consultant team, including those for first- and business-class tickets that appear to violate state spending rules, which only allow reimbursements up to coach-class tickets.
“We’re now going through and auditing all of the invoices,” Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the Department of Accounting and General Services, told the Stadium Authority at its meeting Thursday. “We will enforce this. So if there is any overage, we will make that correction through the contract.” ….
read … Aloha Stadium Consultant’s First-Class Flights Will Be Audited, State Says
HECO Releases Detailed Electric Vehicle Report
IM: … The Hawaiian Electric Companies filed their 92-page “Electrification of Transportation Strategic Roadmap Consolidated Annual EOT Report” report with the Public Utilities Commission on March 29, 2023.
The number of electric vehicles in Hawai`i is growing at a fast rate. There were 2,055 electric cars in 2013 and 21,576 in 2022. Over the past 8 years the annual growth rate has varied between 24 and 32%. If the current rate continues, then all cars will be electric by 2045.
(CLUE: E-cars do not last forever.)
This will not be entirely true as there are cars on the road that are 15-20 years old. But as the gasoline cars rapidly decrease in numbers, so to there will be a sharp reduction in gasoline car repair shops.
There are 17,168 electric vehicles on O`ahu, 1,783 electric vehicles on Hawai`i Island, and 2,675 electric vehicles in Maui County….
The HECO Companies have 25 150 single-port direct-current fast charging stations: O`ahu leads with 17, followed by Hawai`i Island with 6 and Maui and Moloka’i with one each.
“The need for repair and maintenance of the Company's public EV charging assets, especially on Hawai'i Island, resulted in lower-than-expected charging utilization in 2021 compared to the prior year. In 2022, the Company hired dedicated staff to respond to these issues and streamline processes to improve communication and efficiency across the Company's service territory.”
The number of charging sessions is rising. Approximately 144 cars were charged per day in December 2022.
The HECO Companies propose expanding their public charging network by constructing 150 single-port direct-current fast charging and 150 dual-port level 2 charging stations at 75 sites between 2023 and 2030.
The HECO Companies have two (2) e-bus customers, one has 17 electric buses and the other has three electric buses. Both are on O`ahu. The electric buses drove 403,425 miles in 2022….
read … HECO Releases Detailed Electric Vehicle Report
Maui’s only private obstetrics practice will soon halt OB services
HNN: … They say several factors have gone into the difficult decision.
A big challenge has been physician recruitment. Few doctors are willing to move to Maui, where the cost of living is high and pay is lower than in other states.
“It’s challenging for people to move their family here if they have children and don’t have other family to help care for them. The cost of living is a huge factor as well and the housing really just adds to the challenge in bringing somebody over here specifically,” said Takemoto.
Maui Lani Physicians and Surgeons will take care of their current patients.
However, they will stop obstetrics in October.
After that, Maui women who don’t have Kaiser insurance will only have one prenatal care option — a federally-qualified health care center, Malama I Ke Ola.
The specialists say a solution is multi-faceted.
“Reimbursement from insurance companies tends to be low in Hawaii and specifically to obstetrics,” said Takemoto. “A change in how obstetrics is reimbursed through insurance is one big change that needs to happen.”
Ammerman added: “I think the solution is going to be bigger systems like the hospital, insurance companies, or larger hospital systems on Oahu considering coming in and starting an OB hospitalists program.”
Maui Memorial Medical Center said it is looking into hiring laborists and working to renew its partnership with the University of Hawaii to bring in OB residents….
MN: Clinic to end OB care, shrinking Maui options
read … Maui’s only private obstetrics practice will soon halt OB services
Expensive Bums Flood Queens Emergency Room looking for Band-Aids and meals
CB: … Every day, nearly two dozen homeless people make their way to an emergency room in The Queen’s Health System seeking care.
Some are in the throes of a serious medical emergency. Others need treatment for a minor ailment. Some are simply desperate for a hot meal.
The staggering number — 8,228 visits by 2,850 homeless people in the last full year before the pandemic — makes Queen’s one of the largest homeless service providers in the state…. (AVG 2.9 visits per bum)
The barriers to providing adequate care to homeless people at emergency rooms are myriad. Emergency room physicians have few mechanisms to provide follow-up care to people living on the street. ER visits are much more costly to taxpayers than treatment at a clinic. There’s not even a way for doctors to make sure the homeless people they treat in the ER will be able to get prescriptions filled after they are discharged. …
Better alignment might look something like this, Cheng said: A homeless individual comes into the emergency room with an injury that needs treatment but isn’t deemed a medical emergency.
A homeless service worker — perhaps someone employed by Queen’s or a state employee assigned to the hospital in this idealized scenario — would call one of the island’s community health clinics to arrange for the patient to be seen there immediately. At the same time, the worker would enter the person in the homeless management information system, make sure their food stamps are up to date, double check that the person is on a housing voucher list, then put them in a taxi or other form of non-emergency transportation to the clinic….
(CLUE: Nothing about FORCING them into a shelter. This is why efforts to reduce homelessness fail.)
read … Hawaii Hospitals Are Struggling To Meet The Needs Of The Chronically Homeless
Meth Made Me Homeless
KITV: … A year ago, Jefry Job tried crystal methamphetamine, and his life has never been the same since.
"One guy is like 'just try it.' I try it and since that time until now, I don't know to get free from that," stated Job.
He says he is now homeless and has lost everything, but still can't stop smoking crystal meth, which is also known as ice.
"I do my best to stop even for one week. I get past two days and I go crazy looking for it," added Job.
His story is sadly, not unique. Hawaii residents have been addicted to meth for decades.
"Crystal meth has been our drug threat for the past 35 years," stated Gary Yabuta, the Executive Director for Hawaii High Impact Drug Trafficking Area….
Crystal meth remains Hawaii's most popular street drug, even though law enforcement is seizing more of it.
"They seized almost 800 kilograms of meth in 2022. In 2021, there was less than 300 kg seized - and that was a record high. Before that, we were averaging about 100 kg seized each year," added Yabuta.
While drug seizures are way up, the price for crystal meth has dropped dramatically.
"Before, an ounce of meth would cost you $2,000. Now you can get a kilogram for less than $1,000, maybe 800 or $600," said Yabuta….
FLASHBACK: Mehau in Majuro – How the US Meth Epidemic Began
ILind: Portlanders train on how to talk to violent criminals because the police are not coming
read … New drugs, old problems with illegal substance abuse
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