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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.OM
The state Capitol hallways were crowded with people after the closing of the Hawai‘i State Legislature Opening Day.
The Hawaii Legislature is heading into its first full week of the 2016 legislative session, and lawmakers are busy submitting new bills.
The week will begin with an overview of the state as Gov. David Ige delivers his annual address on Monday.
Later on Monday, mayors from each county will talk with committees about the funding and program support they’d like to receive from the state.
Wednesday is the deadline for new bills to be introduced, so lawmakers are prepping proposals on everything from micro-apartments to genetically modified foods.
The women’s legislative caucus plans to introduce a package of bills on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, a Senate committee will discuss lowering the amount of blood alcohol content that’s legally allowed while driving.
Here’s a sampling of the bills that are being introduced or revived this year:
— DRIVING DRUNK — A senator wants to lower the threshold for driving under the influence of intoxicants to a blood-alcohol content of 0.06 percent of the driver’s blood, down from 0.08 percent.
— TINY HOMES — A bill seeks money to build tiny homes that would be no more than 220 square feet for one person, or 300 square feet for two people.
— SALARY CEILING — Employees of the University of Hawaii won’t be allowed to have a salary that’s more than double what the governor makes without approval of the Legislature under a bill introduced in the House.
— GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS — A number of proposals that seek labeling for genetically modified foods are being revived in the Senate.
Everything on the table except fixing the potholes.
The truth is that there is not much money available due to the lavish retirement and health benefits promised unproductive public unions many years ago. Hawaii, like Illinois and some others states, is stuck for many years to come.
Like the family who buys a smartphone with the money that was appropriated for groceries. Get your priority in order, allie. Even a GED can figure out this one out.
Don’t be joining the propaganda crowd with the anti union theme. You are smart enough to think for your self, allie.
Truth hurts doesn’t mike. It is the unions and the clowns who negotiated these contracts and again THE REAL TAX PAYERS are saddled with this humongous unfunded liabilities.
Correct allie, Hawaii has the largest unfunded government employees retirement liability of any State in the Union. Every man woman and child owes approx. $8500 right now just to bring it up to what it should be in the fund. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2015/12/23/unfunded-liabilities-for-hawaiis-state-pension.html
“What do you think of a 0.5% general excise tax surcharge to cover in-house elderly care later in one’s life?” (BIG-Q) DUMP THE RAIL!!!
You sound frustrated. Trying to say two subjects at once.
“MULTI-TASKING”..; AS IT WERE…
With one hand or both hands? Do you give classes?
How about a micro paycheck for Hawaii “s elected ones?
..equal to Minimum Wage increases–retroactive, from inception… (..so, using a “blended-average”, say, for the last 15 years–Legislators owe the Taxpayers how much(!)?
http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/CCoOxV?ocid=se
More like the tipped salary of two bucks an hour. Tip jar will make up for the rest.
Gonna be a LOT of lonely, empty jars…
Highly racist comment. I’m surprised it’s still on here.
Micro-apartments. I think mine is one of them.
Even the roaches will be complaining about the lack of space.
My roaches have four thousand square feet under roof to exercise in every night.
Don’t ask for money to build the tiny homes… we need to get rid of the government red tape so you can build them. The demand is high and people will buy them, just make it legal to build them and the money will come rolling into the builders.
True. We need to keep the government out of property building. Everything will cost twice as much!
Reduce the level for DUI? Really? Why? Do we really need to turn the state into a the prison industrial complex? I really would like to see the stats on people with alcohol under the legal limit contributing to accidents and how many was really due to the alcohol? Chances are the accident would have happened in any event as the person was probably using a hands free cell phone.
Good way to make us stay off of the sidewalk.
A M E N
Welcome to the United Socialist Island State of Hawaii, where the government tells everything you can and can’t do. Where the governement take every hard earned dollar you make and spread it to those lazy welfare w#ores and puppetteer government unions.
What difference does it make when only 10% of the bills introduced ever get passed and of those very few, if any, are what the constituents want.
Yeah. Everything for the losers get passed and everything for us tax paying, law abiding residents gets pushed to the back burner.
No one says politics is easy. Would you rather have 90% of the bills passed and then have them repealed in future years because they were basically unconstitutional?
I still have my two cans tied to a string phone.
Grandpa always told me that money is the last word in any project.
Such a hateful,
useless comment! Shame on you !!
I’m just as bad as the politicians are . Have no shame. Stricky business.
I wish this paper had a “report comment” button.
Just stay on the sports section. I wouldn’t go there.
What about the TRAFFIC ? How come NO talk from elected officials in IMPROVING the roadways, sync lights, shift work hours and nothing about the OVERPRICED rail ?
For what? The homeless do not drive a car.
Great endorsement for your mayoral non-candidate.
You know some day you may come down with cancer. We will see if you deal with it with the same class that Takai has. You really should be ashamed of yourself.
Gonna take a wild swing at this…TMT protester??
All waste of time bills.