A new Legislature officially gets down to business Wednesday, working alongside Hawaii’s new governor, as state lawmakers kick off their 2015 legislative session.
Senate President Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa), House Speaker Joe Souki (D, Waihee-Waiehu-Wailuku) and other leaders from both chambers will speak about their goals for the session. Meanwhile, demonstrators are expected to make their voices heard at the state Capitol courtyard on the local issues that matter the most to them, such as Hawaiian independence.
Once those annual rites are finished, Hawaii state lawmakers plan to spend the next 31⁄2 months or so facing challenges that have plagued the state for a while now — instead of working to create any sweeping new public services or programs.
They’ll consider what many see as overdue reforms to the state’s public hospital system, as well as relocating the aging Oahu Community Correctional Center to a new site.
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OPENING DAY
Hawaii’s 2015 state legislative session gets underway at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The event is free and open to the public.
>> To attend: Chamber galleries at the state Capitol will open at 9:30 a.m., and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
>> Where to watch: ‘Olelo will air the floor proceedings on ‘Oahu Channel 53 and broadcast live to the neighbor islands on local public access stations. The event will also be streamed online at www.olelo.org.
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In tandem with Gov. David Ige, the Senate’s former Ways and Means Committee chairman, legislators will also make modernizing Hawaii’s tax collection system a top priority.
Legislators are further expected to take up hot-button issues such as the implementation of medical marijuana dispensaries and the regulation of genetically modified crops, now that recent initiatives addressing GMOs on the county level are tied up in legal challenges.
On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona) led a pre-session informational briefing on island pesticide concerns. The Hawaii island physician is considering introducing a measure aimed at reducing health risks from pesticide exposure in communities near agricultural fields.
Among of the biggest items to watch in this session, however, will be whether the Legislature opts to extend the Oahu half-percent surcharge on the general excise tax. That multibillion-dollar revenue stream funds most of the construction of Oahu’s rail transit system. Lifting its expiration date would help rail officials address the project’s current fiscal woes, with a projected budget deficit of $550 million to $700 million.
The GET issue is expected to take center stage early in the new session, when Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Hawaii island Mayor Billy Kenoi, Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa testify Monday before a joint meeting of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Finance Committee. That meeting is scheduled for the same day as Ige’s first State of the State address.
Caldwell "really needs to step up to the plate and justify the city’s request to extend the rail tax," House Majority Leader Scott Saiki said Friday. "There are a lot of questions about the finances that have not been answered. So we’ll give the city the opportunity to explain itself, but at this point we’re pretty neutral on that request."
Caldwell, a former state House member who is in Washington, D.C., this week for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, has made a goal of meeting with all 76 state legislators on the GET matter. He’s said it’s urgent to lift the GET sunset now so that work to extend the rail line to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and west to Kapolei can pick up right after the initial line is finished.
However, Ige has asked whether it would even be necessary to lift the sunset during this session.
Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom — the chamber’s lone Republican — outlined his session priorities via email Tuesday. They include changes to the state Public Utilities Commission and an analysis of the proposed Hawaiian Electric Industries merger with NextEra Energy.
"Our job is to restore and encourage the public’s confidence in our process and to be more transparent and accountable ourselves," a copy of Slom’s opening day remarks stated. "We have to do more than just talk or make speeches. We need appropriate action. We can do this."
