Promoting Our Principles In The State Legislature

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President/CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, February 13, 2015

With the Legislative Session in full swing, the Grassroot Institute has been busy tracking legislation that threatens or promotes free market principles and individual liberty. This includes everything from tax proposals to education measures.

Already, we have offered comments on several different bills, educating legislators on the possible consequences to business, the economy, and more.

We warned of the negative effects of a proposed state tax surcharge that would fund long term care benefits, emphasizing how tax increases harm local business and questioning the advisability of creating another state benefit program when Hawaii is already overwhelmed by its unfunded liabilities.

At the same time, Grassroot also spoke out in favor of tax reform, offering positive comments on proposals to repeal the state's corporate income tax and partially repeal the GET.

Government accountability remains an important issue this year. Grassroot was able to offer research that demonstrated the need to close loopholes that have allowed abuse of the state's overtime rules. We also worked with a broad coalition of groups that oppose attempts to gut the state's transparency law.

Finally, as part of our continued support for education reform and expanded school choice, we looked at the argument for allowing home-schooled students access to extracurricular activities at their local public schools.

The Grassroot Institute will continue to look for opportunities to promote our core values and educate lawmakers and the public on how adopting policies based on free market principles will lead to a better Hawaii.

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Video: Can Hawaii Grow Global Tech Businesses? (with Dr. Bee Leng Chua)

In this episode of E Hana Kakou, Grassroot President Keli’i Akina speaks with Dr. Bee Leng Chua (Executive Director, HiBEAM) about the challenges and opportunities of starting, developing and nurturing hi-tech businesses in Hawaii.

Click the image below to view the interview in its entirety or go here to see it on You Tube.