6th district lawmakers face tough '10 session

The Maui News
January 20, 2010

By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

Fact Box Key dates for the 2010 legislative session: Today: Opening Day Monday: Governor's State of the State Address Tuesday: One-day recess Jan. 27: State of the Judiciary and bill introduction cutoff date Feb. 19: Mandatory five-day recess begins Feb. 26: First decking of bills ("Decking" refers to bills being in their final form and ready for action by lawmakers.) March 1: One-day recess March 4: First crossover of bills ("Crossover" refers to the deadline for bills or resolutions to move, or cross over, to the other house for consideration.) March 8: Budget decking March 10: Budget crossover March 25: One-day recess April 1: Second decking April 5: One-day recess April 8: Second crossover of bills and disagree (Lawmakers in either house can disagree with amendments made to a bill by members of the other house.) April 9: First crossover of concurrent resolutions April 19: Second crossover of concurrent resolutions April 22: Final decking of nonfiscal bills April 23: Final decking of fiscal bills April 29: Adjournment

WAILUKU - With a $1.2 billion statewide budget shortfall and the poorest schools and highest unemployment rates in Hawaii in their region, state Senate District 6's three elected officials will be a busy lot as the Legislature's lawmaking session begins today.

State Sen. J. Kalani English represents the district including Upcountry, East Maui, Molokai and Lanai. He chairs the Senate Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and is vice chairman of the Energy and Environment Affairs Committee. He also sits on the Ways and Means and Transportation, Public Safety and Military Affairs committees, all of which put him in a position to bring home much-needed construction jobs, overhaul government and maintain social services.

When asked what his No. 1 priority for his constituency will be during the 60-day session, English quickly replied: "It's infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure."

Maui's most recent jobless rate has gone up to 10 percent, while Lanai's rate has been about 11 percent, and Molokai's is tops at nearly 14 percent.

"We already put a lot in the capital improvement projects budget last session," English said last week. "Now it's about keeping those projects moving and adding more."

Legislative earmarks are good for two years, but actual spending is contingent on Gov. Linda Lingle releasing the funds. Lingle has discussed a "net-zero" capital improvement project budget to help ease the state's budget shortfall.

That means she plans to go through the project list and "aggressively lapse" one capital improvement and then keep another of equal value in order to balance the books, said Central Maui state Sen. Shan Tsutsui, who serves as vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

English said he will push hard for the following construction projects to either continue or get started:

* Repaving all of Hana Highway as well as installing new guardrails and several bridges.

* Build a new Hana Bay pier and make long-awaited repairs to boating facilities.

* Complete the Kamehameha V Highway reconstruction on Molokai.

* Begin ferry improvements at the Kaunakakai Harbor for service between Molokai and Lahaina.

* Repair Lanai High and Elementary School as well as Lanai's roads.

* Get under way the planned harbor repairs for Kalaupapa.

* Ensure that the 300-million-gallon, $150 million Upcountry reservoirs get built.

The reservoirs are in the design and permitting phase, with money for construction expected to come from county, state and federal funding sources, respectively. (County and state governments would provide 25 percent each in funding, while the federal government would pay for 50 percent.)

"We have to make sure that the state does its share so the project keeps moving along," English said. "The feds and county are definitely committed."

Upcountry state Rep. Kyle Yamashita serves as vice chairman of the Labor and Public Employment Committee and sits on the Finance, Public Safety and Transportation committees. The Upcountry reservoirs are needed to help battle the agriculturally rich region's recurring problems with droughts, he said.

"It's hard to say what else we can do that is new, specifically, for the district," Yamashita said. "It's more about protecting things that we have, and we must keep in mind how the statewide bottom-line initiatives will affect our district.

"I think right now we're playing a lot of defense, but we do have our fair share of capital improvement projects," he said.

Yamashita said that may mean putting on the back burner projects still in the discussion or planning phase and instead opting for those that have been sitting around at the ready, just waiting to get the green light. He said the state can assist the county's shaky construction industry by focusing on the schools' large backlog of maintenance projects.

Upcountry highway projects and renovations should continue to benefit from federal stimulus money, he said. The state Department of Transportation distributes those dollars and is expected to update the list of recipients soon.

"I'm hoping overall we try to deal with some of the systemic changes government must have to streamline processes and save money," English said. "I'd like to increase the state's paperless initiative. For example, wouldn't it be great if someday we can accept (job and permit) applications electronically?"

Another systemic change English said he will propose is to exempt all "remote" schools, particularly those on Molokai, Lanai and Hana, from the state Department of Education and Board of Education's complex weighted student funding formula. The complex measures in place essentially award dollars on a per-student basis.

However, with shrinking student populations, the remote schools have had a tough time funding teachers for even basic requirements for graduation, such as science and math, English said. Instead, he would put those schools in a need-based funding category, he said.

"I'm trying to make these students' education whole again," he said. "Many of them are having difficulty graduating because their schools don't have the classes they need. I think it's a major piece of legislation that would bring equality to these students in these schools."

Another English efficiency effort would help out the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, he said. His plan is to give the commission a special designation so it doesn't have to go through the state's procurement process just to get food and fuel for the employees and volunteers who camp out on the island for weeks at a time to restore the former Navy bombing range. Currently, the commission winds up paying higher-than-average prices and unnecessarily drains its limited budget, he said.

State Rep. Mele Carroll, who represents East Maui, Molokai and Lanai residents, chairs the Hawaiian Affairs Committee and also sits on the Consumer Protection and Commerce, Health, Human Services and Judiciary committees. Like her mentor, English, Carroll said she is dedicated to ensuring that the capital improvement funding she secured last year for her district is spent.

Those projects include:

* $3.5 million to repair the Molokai irrigation system.

* $1 million to renovate a facility for the Molokai Family Health Center.

* $450,000 to expand the Hana Community Health Center.

* $400,000 to construct facilities for the Maui's Sunrise Farm Community.

* $400,000 to build infrastructure for the Kahoolawe Ohana and volunteers.

* $250,000 to plan and design Nahiku Community Center.

Carroll called the money "necessary to keeping essential services and critical infrastructure facilities" for her constituents.

She also said she had no illusions about this session. Everyone will need to make sacrifices, she said, but she encouraged people to contribute ideas to help lawmakers balance the budget.

She said she would leave out no cost-cutting possibilities, except the governor's plan to raid the counties' share of the transient accommodations tax, also known as the hotel room tax.

Maui County desperately needs that money to continue to sustain to its top industry, tourism, and keep many of its residents employed, Carroll said.

Tourism makes up at least 30 percent of the county's economy, she noted.

"Really, this session, it's going to be about justifying all the cuts necessary to balance the budget and fight for any increases," Yamashita said. "At the end of the day, whatever choice you make is not going to be popular to somebody."

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/527734.html

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