Legislature Adjourns: 180+ Bills Pass Final Reading on Final Days

From Senate Republican Caucus May 7, 2013

During the budget bill discussion Senator Slom stated that he saved the state $118,037 by not using his legislative allowance since being elected to the Senate in 1996. This symbolic check was presented to “the keiki” and future taxpayers of Hawaii.

Floor Action: April 30, 2013 – Session Day #59 & May 2, 2013 – Session Day #60: Adjournment Siné Di

By State Senator Sam Slom – as published in the Kuliouou Neighborhood Board Report #2 – May 2, 2013.

The Hawaii State Legislature ended the 2013 Session today with more than 180 bills passing out of the House and the Senate on Tuesday, April 30. Several bills that the House and Senate agreed on before and during the conference committee process were voted on last week and have been enrolled to the Governor’s office for final action. The Governor has enacted 71 bills into law so far. He has 45 additional working days between now and mid July in which to decide on the remaining bills.

In final reading votes taken on April 30, I voted “no” on the following bills:

SB 2 HD1: Simulated firearms – Amends the offenses of terroristic threatening in the first degree and robbery in the first degree to include the use of simulated firearms.

SB 1084 CD1: Constitution amendment to permit the appropriation of public funds for private early childhood education programs.

SB 1070 CD1: Mortgage servers – fees.

SB 1071 CD1: Financial institutions, fees.

SB 1171 HD2: Authorizes “phased review” of certain projects by the DLNR’s State Preservation Division – re: iwi along rail route.

HB 848 CD1: Redefining small employers with employees of 50 or less for consistency with new federal health insurance laws.

SB 1214 CD1: Ban on wheel boots – will put wheel boot firm out of business; the wheel booting firm was not given adequate opportunity to testify on the bill during the process.

HB 785 CD1: Allows Hawaii Roll Call Commission to certify native Hawaiians.

HB 622 CD1: Significantly weakens Hawaii’s journalism “shield law” – definition excludes “new media” and traditional print media with no paid subscription. While the conference draft passed in the Senate, the House passed an amended version of the bill which essentially killed the law with 2 different versions passed but neither concurring.

SB 978 CD1: Establishing that cruelty to animals in the second degree is a class C felony if the offense involves ten or more, rather than twenty-five, pet animals in any one instance.

SB 535 CD1: “Domestic workers bill of rights” – subjects domestic workers to same legal rights as other employees in non-domestic worker situations.

SB 655 CD1: Expedited partner therapy – sexually transmitted diseases; health professionals; prescription drugs.

SB 345 CD1: Raises fees related to portable electronics insurance licenses to $5,000 for the issuance of the initial portable electronics limited lines licenses and $2,500 per year for the initial or renewal term.

SB 997 CD1: State archives; electronic records.

SB 1087 CD1: Appropriation for the Green Infrastructure Loan Program.

SB 1194 CD1: Makes permanent the transient accommodation tax rate of 9.25 per cent.

HB 820 CD1: Salary increases for collective bargaining cost items. I voted against all collective bargaining cost item bills including HB 816, SB 907, SB 911, SB 895, HB 833, SB 909 and SB 902.

SB 593 CD1: Expands livestock feed subsidies to include milking goats, goats raised for meat, sheep, lambs, fish, and crustaceans.

SB 1133 CD1: Adds energy and dietary supplement beverage containers in the deposit beverage container tax program.

SB 69 CD1: What started out as a gun buy-back bill is now a gun registration bill that I continue to oppose.

SB 532 CD1: Requires employers to set up accommodations in the workplace for breastfeeding.

SB 237 CD1: Appropriation for pilot program to generate revenue through the lease of public school lands for public purposes.

SB 403 CD1: Bonds; loan program from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

SB 668 CD1: Transfers medical marijuana program from Dept. of Public Safety to Dept. of Health; establishes a new special fund.

Prior to the April 30 floor session, a bill that I also vote against was:

SB 1193 HD1: The bill repeals the General Excise Tax exemption for goods sold to common or foreign carriers.

Despite my “no” votes, all of the bills listed above passed and have since been enrolled to the Governor for further action. The Governor will have to option to sign the bill into law, let it pass without signature or veto it. A 45 working day period commenced after the bills were sent to the Governor in order for him to take action.

Dead For This Session: Finally on the last day of the regular session, SB 946 “Relating to the Unfunded Liabilities of the State and Counties” failed to pass in a floor vote at the Senate. I voted “No” on this bill as well as 19 of my other Senate colleagues. In the end the bill failed to pass with 4 ayes and 20 no’s, 1 excused.

Also dead on the last day was HB 31 which passed out of the House but was recommitted in the Senate back to conference committee. The bill makes it a disorderly conduct offense to lie down at a bus stop shelter. I noted that this was a “home rule” issue that the county should address, and not the state.

Several other bills did not make it out of conference committee and have died. They were covered in the previous post below. Final bill updates are online at www.capitol.hawaii.gov.