Budget: Conference Committee Agrees on Pension Payments at First Meeting
SB987: $19K ‘Impact Fee’ for Water Meter
Gabbard: Now is not the Time to Cut Missile Defense
Lawmaker drops bombshell: North Korea may have nuclear missiles
An Oral History: The Life of Calvin Say
Abercrombie Big Spending Plans Top Conference Committee Agenda
SA: With money for the state's health care liability settled, the administration can concentrate on its other budget priorities, such as early-childhood education, information technology upgrades, and incentives to encourage entrepreneurs.
Just before the conference committee on the budget opened, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Maya Soetoro-Ng, an educator and President Barack Obama's sister, appeared at a rally at the state Capitol urging lawmakers to fund the preschool initiative. Hundreds of young children waving handcrafted banners attended with teachers and parents.
"For us not to do this at this time means we'll miss the wave," Abercrombie told the rally, noting that Obama has also called for investments in early-childhood education.
House and Senate negotiators opened the conference on the budget earlier than usual and have already reached agreement on about two-thirds of the final draft. Other bills with financial components cannot move without budget clearance.
Ige and Luke were mindful of the brinkmanship last year that pushed budget talks past internal deadlines and shook the traditional order that helps keep the Legislature functioning.
"We are committed to avoiding the chaos at the end," Ige said.
read … Catch a Wave
How Kaiser / HMSA Maintain Duopoly
Q: What makes the Hawaii insurance market different from those elsewhere?
A: ... For many years, Kaiser and HMSA sat on the Prepaid Health Care Council and rendered judgments on new companies and plans that would come in to compete against them. They did step down from there in 2003, at the beginning of the Lingle administration. ... They recognized that people did perceive that as a conflict of interest.
Q: Almost antitrust?
A: Yes, yes. In fact, there were claims that in fact it was a violation of the antitrust law. So they stepped down.
But there is also the fact that nonprofits are not taxed on their premium income in Hawaii, but for-profit insurers are. Summerlin was a for-profit health insurer. They attempted to get the law changed so that it would be tax-free for for-profits as well. And I argued in favor of that at the Legislature as well.
I had talked with Aetna and United Health Care, some of the big mainland companies. Aetna had previously provided health insurance in Hawaii. And I had talked with them to try and get them back into the market, more competition. And they said, "Well, with the little over 4 percent premium tax, that is too much to overcome in a competitive industry like health insurance." ...
And then, just generally, when I came on board as insurance commissioner, we had 150 companies on backlog who wanted to do business, trying to get their certificate of authority to do business here in Hawaii.
Q: Wow, 150 companies?
A: Yeah, 150 companies who wanted to do business in Hawaii! (Laughs.) And it would take six months to a year to review and give them a certificate of authority. So we worked on that and reduced it to 60-90 days. Because when a company decides they want to do business in Hawaii, they want to get going.
Related: How HMSA Used Health Care Advisory Council to Establish Medical Monopoly
read … JP Schmidt
ACLU Demands Private Prison Death Records, Ignores Halawa, OCCC
CB: A law firm has paid the Hawaii Department of Public Safety $5,300 for public records, but state officials have yet to produce a single document, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the ACLU of Hawaii.
The records pertain to wrongful death cases of two Hawaii inmates who died while in the custody of Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison company that has a lucrative contract to house thousands of the state’s prisoners on the mainland.
LINK: Lawsuit
read … Prison Death Records
Changes to Hawaii’s shield law ‘ignorant of what’s going on in the media world’
Poynter: A proposed Hawaii law would limit the use of anonymous sources and would removes protections on other reporting done by journalists. According to some Hawaii journalists, the law, now passed by the state’s House and Senate and awaiting conference committee, would limit their ability to report on some important or high-stakes stories.
“The law would go from one of the best in the country (in terms of breadth of coverage) to probably the worst – under the Senate version,” said Stirling Morita, president of the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, in an email interview. “There virtually would be no Shield Law.”
Hawaii’s 2008 shield law allows journalists to claim reporter’s privilege in keeping their sources secret in most civil cases (except defamation cases) and also provides qualified reporter’s privilege in criminal cases. The protections afforded by the law apply to reporters at all publications. It’s set to expire on June 30….
Attorney Jeff Portnoy represents the Shield Bill Coalition, which supports only reauthorizing the original law. The House amendments are “still potentially livable,” Portnoy said.
But Hee’s amendments, Portnoy said, are “designed to gut the shield law.” Portnoy said it would be better to simply allow the 2008 law to expire than pass the new bill with the Senate amendments. “We’re better off letting courts determine the scope of the privilege,” he said.
read … Conference Committee
Politicians Agree: Don’t Read ‘Broken Trust’
Borreca: When I first started covering politics for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Tom Coffman was the newspaper's Capitol bureau chief. His first recommendation was to buy a copy of "Hawaii Pono."
That was back in the 1970s. Covering the Legislature and City Hall when many of the characters in "Hawaii Pono" appeared in your news copy made you feel you were writing history.
Given what has happened since, are there new books we should be urging upon young reporters and those interested in Hawaii's fascinating premise?
I asked Gov. Neil Abercrombie — who, like Fuchs, holds a doctorate in American studies — and our congressional delegation for recommendations. All responded except for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa all included Coffman's first book, the 1972 discussion of the 1970 race for governor of Hawaii, "Catch a Wave."
"I don't think there is any one book that captures the broad diversity of Hawaii or our political culture," Hirono wrote in an email, "but one of the first books I read when I got into Hawaii government was ‘Catch a Wave' by Tom Coffman. It chronicles the political career of a great Hawaii governor, John Burns, and his legacy."
Hanabusa and Hirono, both attorneys, also recommended Coffman's latest book "I Respectfully Dissent," the biography of Edward Nakamura, a labor lawyer and state Supreme Court justice.
"From my vantage point, it is the Eddie Nakamura book. That's because of the labor component and the organizational structure of the Legislature," said Hanabusa in an email.
Schatz suggested "John A. Burns: The Man and His Times" by Dan Boylan and T. Michael Homes, and also "Land and Power: The Democratic Years," by George Cooper and Gavan Daws. Schatz cautioned that "there have been fewer seminal works in recent years."
Abercrombie agreed on the Burns book, but also had two other interesting suggestions.
The governor, a book lover and reader, could easily teach a course entitled "What you should read to know our state."
He suggested "Johnny Wilson: First Hawaiian Democrat" by Bob Krauss, which is a very approachable book about a fascinating, but now mostly forgotten, political leader.
The governor also urged readers to try "The Dream Begins: How Hawaii Shaped Barack Obama" by Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris.
read … Don’t Read ‘Broken Trust’
Obamacare: TB Test Shortage Shuts Down DoH Clearance Program
KHON: There’s a nationwide shortage of the tuberculosis testing solution. The State Department of Health is temporarily lifting restrictions for students, food handlers, health care workers, and others who used to be required to get the TB clearance.
Many people have had to get TB tested at some point or another.
Starting Thursday, the state will no longer require TB testing for schools or the work place.
The move is raising a lot of eyebrows, especially for parents.
“It’s definitely a concern because this is a contagious disease,” parent Kinsey Kim said. “Hawaii is a place where there are a lot of people from Asian countries or all over the world.”
It’s the first time the Department of Health has suspended TB clearance requirements.
read … DOH temporarily waives TB clearance requirements for state workers, schools
Grabauskas Scores $35K Bonus, Backup power system, rail safety gates likely to cost millions more
SA: Millions of additional dollars will be required to address two safety oversights to Honolulu's future rail system, according to the project's top executive.
The budget to design and build the 20-mile line's control and operations system does not include funds for platform screen gates — transparent barriers to prevent passengers from falling onto the tracks — Honolulu Authority for Transportation CEO Dan Grabauskas said Thursday. The budget further lacks a power-failure backup system so that the elevated, driverless trains could make it to the nearest station in the event of an outage, he added.
During HART's board meeting Thursday, Grabauskas said he had been "surprised" to learn those elements were not included in the rail budget before he came on board.
"It was discussed but not budgeted for," said Grabauskas, who joined the project as HART CEO just more than a year ago. "For whatever reason" the features weren't included.
A backup power system would be especially important for rail in Honolulu, where the first trains are expected to start running in 2017, because the track is elevated and passengers wouldn't be able to leave the cars as they would if they were on the ground, Grabauskas said. There's "no argument in my book against safety," he added.
He did not give an estimate, but said the cost for those elements would be in the millions of dollars. The rail's contingency fund stands at $644 million, officials say, but they add that it's not yet determined where the money will come from for the gates and backup system.
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SA: Board endorses $35,000 bonus after HART chief fulfills goals
CB: Honolulu Rail CEO Explains Why He Deserves a $35,000 Bonus
read … Millions More
Feds Cut Rail by $14M: TheBus and rail transit Consolidation Dropped
HNN: Hart it will be getting less money this year from the federal government than expected. The city found out today the sequestration cuts are costing $14 million. The city will get $236 million instead of the full 250 million….
Both boards for the rail and TheBus had the first ever combined meeting and unanimously approved a joint working group to figure out the best way to integrate the systems and reduce redundancies.
"You know it doesn't make sense to have two people counting fares, it doesn't make sense to have two websites, or two fare media type things so I know there are a lot of savings if we do this right," said Roger Morton, Oahu Transit Services President and General Manager, which is contracted by the city to operate TheBus.
"We do not need to reinvent the wheel if the wheel is already at OTS. That's what we need to do and we all need to accept change," said Tony Guerrero, Oahu Transit Services Board Chair, during the meeting.
However people stopped short of calling it a consolidation just yet. Even Councilmember and rail supporter Breene Harimoto backed off his previous comments about merging the services.
(Combination would take TheBus employees out of the Teamsters and put them in UPW and/or HGEA.)
read … TheBus
Tent City: Homeless Take Over ‘Slippah Island’
KITV: Just off the coast of Ke'ehi Boat Harbor sits Slipper Island, and a big mess that's become an in-your-face problem.
"Lately, it's been really bad," said Hawaii Water Ski Association President Skip Sheather….
One month after his first encounter with a homeless man he found remnants of another squatter.
"We got another visitor. This is ridiculous," he said, parking his boat at his dock and sorting through pots, clothes, fishing gear, and rubbish piled inside the boat house.
"How frustrated am I? On a scale of 1-10, about a nine," he said….
In the eight years Hawaii Architects and volunteers have been coming to Slipper Island they've picked up some 14 tons of trash…."We see the planes coming and going all day long, and they're making a turn, and looking down at all of our trash."
Read … About a Typical Tent City
Homelessness Industry Now Revolves Around ‘Occupy’
SA: While he's had no problem with (de)Occupy's encampment for the most part, he said he's noticed that people staying there now are messier and more indifferent to the sightliness of the park.
"It's not the same people," he said.
Makiki resident Stephanie Nowak walks her dog, Sydney, in the park four times a day. Nowak said she also has not been bothered by the (de)Occupy presence at Thomas Square, but she doesn't view it as the most productive use of the protesters' time, either.
Rather than camping out and holding signs, "be the change you want to be in the world," Nowak said. "Get involved in the community somehow. Make a difference."
(De)Occupy Honolulu's Smith, however, said the protesting and the group's presence have made a difference.
Caldwell's administration is preparing a Housing First plan to help deal with homeless issues that is scheduled to be released May 1, Smith said. Meanwhile, Councilman Stanley Chang has co-introduced a resolution calling for a comprehensive action plan to address homelessness that leaves open the possibility of a tent city.
Smith said (de)Occupy Honolulu's lobbying efforts have also had an impact on ongoing debates over genetically modified crops and the controversial Public Land Development Corp.
The City Council, however, is moving a bill that would make it more difficult for the (de)Occupy Honolulu group, the homeless and others to camp on city sidewalks. Bill 7 (2013) would allow the city to immediately remove items deemed public nuisances, thus bypassing the existing stored-property ordinance that requires 24-hour notice. Bill 7 is up for a final vote Wednesday.
read … Homelessness Industry Lobby
Obama’s DOA Budget $410M Military Construction for Hawaii
SA: The president's 2014 defense budget request includes at least $410 million for military construction projects in Hawaii — $44 million more than in fiscal 2013, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono's office said.
The list includes $75 million for ongoing construction of a Fort Shafter command and control facility, and nearly $237 million at the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay for improvements including a 3rd Radio Battalion maintenance and operations complex, hangar upgrades and an MV-22 Osprey aircraft hangar, parking apron and infrastructure.
Two squadrons of the tilt-rotor Ospreys, a total of 24 aircraft, are scheduled to arrive in Hawaii in fiscal 2015 and 2016, the Marine Corps said.
Pearl Harbor, meanwhile, would get nearly $58 million for a dry-dock waterfront facility and submarine support facility.
Hirono's office said military construction in Hawaii totaled $284 million in fiscal 2012 and $366 million in 2013.
CB: DC808: On the Wire — The D.C. Money Game
read … Obama's defense budget has $410M for isle construction
Navy rolling out bill program that rewards energy savers, punishes energy users
NT: The Resident Energy Conservation Program was tested in privatized housing in Hawaii, and sailors have been receiving bills there since Oct. 1. Officials view the Hawaii test as a success, and now it’s rolling out everywhere else stateside.
The implications are significant. In February, one household in family housing in Hawaii received a $239 rebate for low electricity use. Another was stuck with a $445 bill.
Rebate checks on average were $50, while bills were around $53, said Greg Raap, the regional vice president in Hawaii for Forest City Military Communities, a military housing company.
This month, the Navy began sending bills to sailors in family housing in most of Navy Region Southeast, an area that encompasses seven states, including the fleet concentration area in Florida.
By October, 72 percent of family housing units, some 26,427 households, will be involved in the billing system. By 2015, 99 percent of the 36,172 units in the service’s privatized housing stock will be enrolled. Billing in Washington and some Midwest states will also include gas utilities. Sailors in barracks will not be billed.
After the pilot program, officials decided to set a 10 percent “buffer” both above and below the average energy usage. Families whose consumption exceeds this will receive a bill; families who use less will receive a rebate. Families who land within the 20 percent buffer zone receive nothing.
Raab and the Navy said each category includes around a third of households.
read … This is a Rate Hike
Highest Rates in the Nation: EDF Calls it ‘Paradise’
EDF: The state actually has the highest electric rates in the nation, approximately 2 to 3 times higher than the average price on the mainland. Given these high rates and the relatively mild climate, it makes sense that Hawaii’s customers are among the lowest monthly consumers of electricity at 585 kWh per month. However, despite low energy use, Hawaii’s customers still have the highest electric bills in the nation, at a whopping$203 per month on average. That’s 20 percent higher than the next highest state’s average bill!
read … What the Enviros Want to do to You
Permit fees to hurt heart of the community — opposition
MN: The County Council's Budget and Finance Committee heard stiff opposition Thursday to proposed Department of Planning fees for development project permits.
Then, after learning that Budget Director Sandy Baz had not counted on receiving revenue from the higher fees in the fiscal 2013-14 budget, committee members deferred the matter to the Policy Committee for further discussion.
Likewise, because a water shortage authorization bill remains in the Water Resources Committee, panel members deferred action on proposed higher water fees during times of drought or other circumstances.
read … Budget panel defers action on plan for development projects
Meth Ring: Another Airline Worker Busted
AP: An American Airlines employee is in federal custody in Honolulu, accused of using his airline credentials to bypass airport security checks in Los Angeles to transport methamphetamine to Hawaii.
FBI agents and Honolulu police officers arrested Tulituafulu Tuli Maata on Wednesday after he arrived in Honolulu from Los Angeles allegedly carrying three to four pounds of methamphetamine.
He is the second airline employee arrested in Hawaii in the past 13 months for allegedly using his airline credentials to bypass security checks for drug distribution.
The FBI arrested Delta Airlines employee and state prison guard Sifatutupu Fuamatu in March 2012 for her alleged involvement in a drug ring that distributed nearly 400 pounds of methamphetamine from 2008 to 2012. Fuamatu is accused of transporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds to California from Hawaii.
read … Meth
Health department: Cane burning closely monitored
MN: In response to public concern over cane burning, the state Department of Health recently revised its agricultural burn permit requirements to provide more clarity and enforceability and has brought back an air quality monitoring station in Paia, a state health official said Wednesday night.
Gary Gill, deputy director of the state Department of Health's Environmental Health Administration, said he "cannot ban cane burning"; it is the state Legislature that makes the laws. His department can keep an eye on agricultural burning and make sure that no one entity burns on "no burn days," generally declared when there is widespread haze over an island, and that those who burn meet permit requirements.
"It's very closely monitored," Gill said.
read … We Have Arrived So You Must Change
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