Mixed results as bills move ahead

By the calendar, it looks as if the Legislature is nearly done with its work, but state Capitol-watchers know: This is where the rubber meets the road.

Each chamber has shipped off for potential conference discussion most of the bills that still have a chance at passage. There is always some reason for disappointment at this stage, as well as for optimism.

First, the bad news. There is already concern among those tracking the budget that the Legislature will adjourn May 3 without making serious inroads in funding to support a larger affordable-rental inventory. That can and should be corrected.

Further, there are bills that died that really deserved to move closer to passage, but there is opportunity to stop the ones that should join them on the cutting- room floor.

Tales from the dark side:

>> Mauna Kea has two bills sent as conference candidates from the Senate to the House: House Bill 1985 would create a new authority to govern the mountain, with its complex of telescopes.

The hope of many in the state is for the Thirty Meter Telescope to be part of that campus. Those who oppose the project have made some fair points about the shortcomings of the mountain’s management by University of Hawaii officials.

But UH has made strides in improving stewardship. Any further reforms needed should be taken up after two key court rulings come in on cases affecting the TMT, whether or not the state-of-the-art facility wins its long-sought permit.

Nor is it the right time for a moratorium as proposed in HB 1585. House leadership, which opposes both bills, has the right instincts here.

Of less concern is HB 1767, which seeks to restrict the types of vehicles allowed on the mountain and Waipio Valley. It may be worth discussion to see if this could reduce impacts to a more manageable level. Still, it doesn’t seem compelling enough to enact now.

>> Senate Bill 2930, a measure that would have codified in statute a more aggressive schedule for the handling of the Red Hill fuel storage tanks, appears to have failed. That is unfortunate, and we hope that the parties involved in the interagency accord will hold the Navy’s feet to the fire and insist on a robust and timely upgrade to the tanks, which did spring a leak a few short years ago.

>> The lawmakers also spiked, once again, a proposal introduced as HB 2702, to reform the tax implications of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). This is an investment organization that tends to divert real estate tax revenue to the states of the investors, rather than to tax coffers in Hawaii, where the property generates its value.

Moneyed interests have contended that this change could depress investment. But Hawaii real estate is being monetized by these investors without capturing a sufficient share of revenue locally. Some resolution is needed.

As for the good news, the advancement of SB 2654, which would assess an appropriate tax on e-cigarettes, is welcome. The final verdict is not in yet on these non-tobacco products, but there is reason to worry about potential harm from exposure to nicotine and the byproducts of the inhaled vapor.

Discouraging their use, especially among youths who then could transition to tobacco, makes good public-policy sense.

Also, it is gratifying to see movement on SB 2922, which would put a proposed constitutional amendment about public-school funding on the November ballot. There are certainly concerns that a new state tax on investment properties could have some unintended consequences around funding control and regular budgeting.

However, those details could be hammered out in public view, during a future session. That makes the uncertainty surrounding the change more acceptable. And voters would have a chance to weigh in on the critical issue of funding affecting the health of the public school system.

On the mixed-plate part of the menu, there are bills that could be improved in conference committee negotiations. The push to enact paid family leave in competing House and Senate measures is understandable, given the demographic realities of an aging population that needs affordable family care. But some of the proposed benefits are too rich and too broad for a general mandate.

Even if the benefit taps an employee-funded account, the staff absences very well could impair the profitability of small businesses, in particular.

And the surviving medical cannabis measures are a mixed lot, too. It makes sense to pass one part of HB 2729, which would give out-of-state credentialed patients access to Hawaii dispensaries. But its provision allowing for sale and regulation of edibles sets off some alarm bells. This measure seems driven less by the interest in medication than by marketing — ostensibly to younger users. Caution is warranted.

There’s been a lot of the characteristic policy sausage-making that’s already history. But in the weeks ahead, voters should pay attention to what makes the final cut, and hold their elected leaders accountable.