Legislature 2008 - Day 9

The Reverend Thomas Okano, Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii gave the invocation prior to the floor session today.

Emergency Requests from the Governor: Governor Lingle sent down 8 messages requesting that the House authorize emergency appropriations outside of the approved budget, totaling $58,379,565. They are:

HB2694 - $47,142 for operations of the Judicial Selection Committee.
HB3037 - $271,852 in special funds to Aloha Stadium for payment of electricity, sewer, refuse and insurance premiums.
HB3038 - $1,000,000 to DAGS for electricity payments.
HB3140 - $10,000,000 to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to repay a loan to cover payroll and rish management costs for liability insurance.
HB3146 - $10,000,000 to the Department of Health for the Adult Mental Health Division.
HB3152 - $1,807,539 to the Department of Health for ambulance service contract collective bargaining costs.
HB3161 - $14,000,000 to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation for payment of accounts payable.
HB3197 - $21,253,032 in state highway funds to the Department of Transportation for operations and maintenance of the state highway system.


House Resolution 53 adopted. The House passed a resolution urging the President of the United States to agree to an economy-wide reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions and to commit the United States to a binding international treaty that would result in a significant and rapide global reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration. (The Senate today adopted the same resolution as SR24.) The measure was adopted with Rep. Meyer voting NO. View HR53 here, and the press release here.


The resolution was introduced to coincide with an international gathering on global climate change at the East West Center. Today and tomorrow, the White House is convening a Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change with 17 invited countries to discuss potential international agreements.