Maui's legislators assess session

The Maui News
Sunday, April 17, 2005

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

HONOLULU – Maui County should get its fair share of capital improvement projects in the state's fiscal year 2006 budget, according to Rep. Bob Nakasone, who coordinates CIP budgeting for the state House.

But Nakasone was concerned about some key projects on which the House and Senate budgets were still "far apart."

The House had proposed spending $8 million to develop Maui Lani Elementary School, $9 million for new classrooms at Maui Waena, $750,000 for a new roof at Maui Memorial Medical Center and $3.5 million for construction of a new student center at Maui Community College. But the Senate left those projects out.

"We're going to have to take a strong position," said Nakasone, whose district comprises Kahului and part of Wailuku. and who called the school projects his top priority.

As House and Senate members finalized their bills and budgets in conference, Maui's delegates were hopeful that some of their key goals would be realized by the time the session adjourns May 5.

But even with state revenues that are comfortably high this year, there are bound to be disappointments.

"It's not like money's available for every project you want," Nakasone cautioned.

Of the laundry list of projects, Nakasone was pleased that more than $10 million seemed likely to be budgeted for Baldwin High School's library and other improvements.

Funds for Haleakala Highway widening and improvements at harbors and Kahului Airport looked well-positioned to move forward, along with long-awaited funding for upgrades at the Kahului boat launching ramp.

"It's only been 12 years," he said, laughing.

Sen. Roz Baker, D-South and West Maui, warned that the Legislature was in a critical time where even likely looking bills could wind up cut.

"It's too soon to say whether I'm happy, sad or indifferent," she said.

But she was glad that funding for several projects was still "alive" in the budget, including $750,000 for a helipad at Maui Memorial Medical Center, as well as money for renovations at Kihei Elementary School and a new portable building at Kamehameha III Elementary School. And she was hoping to see funds for a new cafeteria at Lahainaluna High School.

But she was disappointed that some projects had already been dropped, including renovations at Lokelani Intermediate School and a new administration building and library at Lahaina Intermediate School.

Sen J. Kalani English, D-East Maui-Upcountry-Molokai-Lanai, was pleased that there seemed to be support for his call to make the state's Emergency Environmental Workforce a permanent program.

He was also glad that $1 million for an affordable housing project in Hana, as well as funds for Phase II of Molokai General Hospital's renovation project, had so far been included in the budget.

Freshman Rep. Kyle Yamashita, representing Upcountry, said he was glad funds for a dual-use Kula waterline to provide agricultural water to Upcountry farmers was included in the House budget, although he was concerned because it was left out of the Senate's version.

And fellow freshman Rep. Kameo Tanaka, D-West Maui, was glad that funding for lifeguards at Makena State Park were still included in the budget.

But he was concerned that money for an urgent-care facility in West Maui and a new Lahainaluna cafeteria could be diverted to other state projects.

"I cannot say I'm optimistic," he said. "We'll just play the waiting game."

Tanaka said his first term in the Legislature had been an education in partisan politics – he didn't like the arrangement, but he learned to work with it.

He said Maui's representatives worked together and coordinated with the delegation's sole Republican, South Maui Rep. Chris Halford, to make sure that bills all agreed with were proposed by Democrats, to have a better chance of success.

"That's the first thing I learned: the Republicans don't have any power whatsoever on any bills," Tanaka said.

With a decade of being a member of the minority party under his belt, Halford was realistic about his role. The session was a bit of deja vu to his first term, Halford said, because both times members of his party made up less than 20 percent of the House, and he was the only Neighbor Island Republican in the chamber.

"I know I won't get credit. Getting credit as a minority is difficult anyway," he said. "But as a hyperminority, it's not constructive to work to get credit."

Instead he worked with Maui's Democratic delegates on projects on which they agreed, and found success with capital improvement projects.

"Right now I'm pretty optimistic that we'll fare well, because the Maui legislators are pulling together," he said.

Along with the Makena lifeguards and Maui Memorial helipad, he was glad to see funding included in the budget to complete the widening of Mokulele Highway.

Halford said being a Republican gave him a special role in the Legislature and within his delegation.

"The opportunity for a minority member is to be a constructive critic when the Legislature is misguided," he said. "I see that as my job."

This session, he focused much criticism on Democrats' initiatives seeking to give more administrative oversight to the Legislature and restrict the autonomy of the governor.

"Philosophically that's a mistake, but as a practical matter, to have 76 people administering the State of Hawaii instead of one would be very awkward," he said.

He said he would continue calling for regular, mandatory performance audits of all state departments, to stop government waste.

"It's been my goal for as long as I've been in office, and it's not panning out," he said.

Yamashita also was disappointed with lack of progress on several of his initiatives, but he vowed to spend the 10 months between adjournment and next year's session polishing his proposals.

He also planned to take more time to meet with groups affected by the bills, to get their support or at least smooth out some of their opposition.

"It's frustrating, but it's the process, and I understand the process," he said.

Inspired by Upcountry's water-quality troubles, Yamashita had proposed a bill to raise water-quality standards, better notify residents of problems and secure state and federal funding to address the Upcountry water problem.

"It didn't move forward, but we have another year to work on it," he said.

He did introduce a resolution urging the Department of Health to look into the problem, and that resolution is still moving, he said.

Yamashita's proposal for curbing underage drinking was also stalled, along with a bill to give farmers tax credits when they're stuck paying high county water rates.

Baker was disappointed that some of her health-related proposals had stalled; but others seemed to be moving ahead, she said.

"You try to put as much on the table as you can," she said.

While a bill to make Honolulu International Airport "smoke free, from cabin to curb" had been dropped, other anti-smoking proposals, including a higher cigarette tax and an adiminstration-proposed bill for a special license to sell tobacco products, were still alive, she said.

Baker, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, also proposed measures to improve access to dental care, provide more health coverage to the uninsured, and better secure trauma care in areas that don't have enough on-call specialists.

The measures were taking root, but on several she didn't expect to see "closure" until next year.

"Sometimes it takes a session or two to have all of that percolate," she said.

Nakasone was pleased that some of the bills he introduced had moved forward, including a tax credit to offset long-term-care insurance premiums, which is currently in conference. "It's to give an incentive to people to buy long-term-care insurance," he said.

And while Rep. D. Mele Carroll, D-East Maui-Molokai-Lanai, was appointed to a vacancy in the Legislature after the deadline to introduce bills, she said she still was able to work for her constituents by scouring the list of bills already in the system for issues she could support.

She backed English's bill promoting the "dignity" and human rights of patients at Kalaupapa, another bill requiring female-oriented programs for women inmates of state prisons, and a proposal to allow more flexibility in restoring historic roads and bridges.

Carroll was able to introduce a number of resolutions, including one calling on the state Commission on Water Resource Management to protect stream flows, one urging the county councils to provide relief to people who can't afford higher property taxes, and one that would create an annual Bill of Rights day.

And she put her support behind a bill that would require 25 percent of real estate conveyance tax collections to be used for land conservation purchases.

"When I saw that introduced, it got my attention," she said. "I saw how the community could benefit."

Tanaka, a former prison guard, introduced a measure that would expand work-release programs for women, and he was pleased that the bill was still alive.

"Females have always been denied, discriminated against," he said.

He also responded to Mayor Alan Arakawa's request by proposing a bill that would require the state to share information about taxpayers with the county. The information would allow the county to cross-check its own list of taxpayers and improve enforcement, he said.

"I think it will pass," he said.

Overall, Tanaka was proud of his performance as a first-time lawmaker, even though not all of his initiatives had survived the session.

"Some of the old-time politicians are surprised. For a freshman to have four bills to almost go through is uncalled-for," he said. "I told them I'm lucky, I guess."

Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/print_version.aspx?id=7979

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