In The News
Many Bills Working Through Legislature
March 6, 2007
KGMB9
State lawmakers today voted on hundreds of bills in preparation of Thursday’s crossover day. That is the time when House and Senate lawmakers exchange bills for further consideration. Each bill will then go through the hearings process.
“All of these bills are still in their infancy. They are for consideration and we will be working to hone them down and of course, some of them will simply fall by the wayside,” said Sen. Roz Baker, ways and means committee chairwoman.
This period of the session provides a small glimpse as to which bills are likely to move forward and which are more or less dead in the water.
Among those still in the running:
Tax relief is certain to be passed. By law, when the budget surplus gets to a certain level, the state must provide taxpayers with a rebate. However, the amount of that rebate is up to lawmakers. ”It’s early to tell. I know the House is sending some (tax relief) items too. So we’ll have to work all this out as the measures continue to be considered by both bodies as we head towards conference (committee),” said Baker. Conference committees generally hash out the actual numbers involving budget bills towards the stretch run of the legislative session. Residents could also receive other tax breaks such as a food credit and raising the personal tax exemption.
Separate bills to buy Kahuku Hospital and Kukui Gardens. Kahuku Hospital is reeling financially and is in danger of closing. One bill would call for the Hawaii health systems to buy the hospital, which is considered vital for residents in the area. Purchasing or helping to purchase Kukui Gardens would help ensure much of the 850-plus unit facility remains affordable. Hundreds of residents, mainly elderly, live at the site. The complex is poised to be sold and some residents are concerned the new owners may not keep the units affordable.
A proposal to require drug testing for Department of Education employees, including teachers. The measure originally called for random drug testing, but the teachers’ union balked at that idea. “The bill has changed to ‘reasonable suspicion,’ which is more in keeping with other unions that have collective bargaining agreements,” said Sen. Clayton Hee, judiciary committee chairman. “I would expect it to move out Thursday. I would be surprised if it doesn’t, because the community consensus is that schools should be drug-free and teachers should be looked at as role models and not as drug abusers.”
A measure to require an environmental impact study on the Superferry project. Neighbor island lawmakers have been pushing for this despite the fact that federal officials say an EIS is not necessary. However, transportation chairman Joe Souki has already killed a similar measure in the House and refused to say whether he will even hear the Senate bill.
Other bills that passed either the Senate or House include: restricting mobile phone use while driving, establishing a red light imaging detector system program, allowing residents to register to vote on election day, requiring the City and County of Honolulu to transfer a parcel of Kawai Nui Marsh to the state and establishing taro as the state plant.
Among the bills not moving on:
A proposal to replace Aloha Stadium with a new facility in west Oahu.
An exemption for bars from the current smoking ban law. “In the end, we had the hearing. As health chair, I even signed off and let it go onto a hearing at judiciary (committee), but there weren’t the votes to pass it,” said Rep. Josh Green, House health committee chairman.
Another bill that would extend the ban to public areas such as parks and beaches also fell by the wayside. “We ended up taking middle ground. We did not expand the ban of tobacco, no smoking in public places, nor did we take a step back on the ban for public places for bars. So it just stayed neutral,” said Green.
The process now begins all over again as House lawmakers mull over Senate bills and vice-versa. The bills could emerge from each house unchanged and take a clean route to the governor’s desk for signature. Others may be held up in committee and killed. And others may be changed. Those bills will end up in a conference committee during which members from both houses will work to reach on a compromise. If successful, they likely will head to the governor’s desk. If not, they likely will be revisited next year.
