Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Day 5 - Superferry Bill passes 2nd Reading

Day 5 has been a relatively quiet day on the House side, with much of the media attention gravitating toward the failed confirmation (9 ayes, 16 noes) of Randal Lee to the Intermediate Court of Appeals by the state Senate. During the House floor session this afternoon, members voted to pass SB1, SD1, the Superferry bill, by a voice vote on second reading. The following members stood to indicate their vote. Reps Morita, Hanohano, Carroll, Shimabukuro and Tokioka voted "noe", Reps McKelvey, Green, Berg, Belatti, Manahan, Har, Sonson , M. Oshiro, Ching, Yamane, Bertram, and Waters went WR - with reservations, and Reps Caldwell, Pine, and Ward voted in favor of the bill.

Rep. Hanohano, the only member of the caucus who speaks Hawaiian, rose to give her comments in the Hawaiian language. Speaker Emeritus Souki requested a translation in English. Speaker pro tem Blake Oshiro stated that since both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state, the translation was not required. However, Rep. Hanohano agreed to send Speaker Joe a translation at a later time. The House stands adjourned until 12 noon tomorrow. It will be cablecast on Olelo (awaiting a channel #). If you plan to watch, anticipate a lengthy session with many floor speeches on the Superferry bill as it comes up for third reading.

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