Not only is it Opening Day...

It's Rep. Blake Oshiro's birthday! Best wishes for a double good day.

Coming up - Opening Day

Tomorrow, January 16th, is the Opening Day of the 2008 Legislative Session. Here's what's happening at the State Capitol:

8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. There will be entertainment in the Rotunda by the University of Hawaii at Manoa Lab School Band.

9:45 a.m. Members will gather in the House of Representatives Chamber. The proceedings will be aired live on Oceanic, Olelo Channel 49. Lilikala Kame'elehiwa, Kuali'i Council representative will give the Oli. (Senate proceedings start at 9:55 a.m. on Oceanic, Olelo Channel 53).

10:00 a.m. Legislature convenes. The Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps will present the Nation's and State's colors. The University of Hawaii at Manoa Chamber Singers will lead in the singing of the National Anthem and Hawaii Pono'i. Christina Stidman, President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, and Marc Le Pape, President of the Graduate Student Organization, will lead in the Pledge of Allegiance. Kapa Oliveira, Head of the UH Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language Program will deliver the Invocation.

The House is expected to vote on two resolutions. HCR1 relates to recess days for the 2008 session. HCR2 relates to a joint session of the Legislature for the Governor's 2008 State-of-the-State address.

Entertainment interlude: The House will be entertained by Aaron Sala and the University of Hawaii Tahitian Ensemble and the Hawaiian Chorus.

Floor Remarks: Speaker of the House Calvin Say will present his remarks, followed by Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan and Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell.

Benediction: Bob Nash, UH at Manoa Men's Basketball Head Coach, will close with the benediction.

12:00 noon: The House is expected to adjourn until 12 noon Thursday.

12:00 - 12:30 p.m. The House and Senate will honor the 3 Western Athletic Conference champions in the Rotunda. Athletes and Coaches from the UH Football Warriors, the UH Wahine Volleyball and Wahine Soccer Teams will be recognized.

Legislators have invited their family, friends and supporters to join them in their offices for Opening Day celebrations.

If you see her today, say...

Happy Birthday to Rep. Marilyn Lee!

Coming Up - Tuesday, January 15th

The Women's Legislative Caucus will unveil their 2008 Legislative Package in honor of former Congresswoman Patricia Saiki. When and Where: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 12:30 -1:00 p.m., State Capitol, Room 437.

Joint House and Senate Committees on Education will hold an informational briefing to provide an update on the Department of Education. Members are scheduled to hear from the Public Library Services, the Board of Education, the Department of Education and the Charter School per Pupil Funding Report. When and Where: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 1:00 p.m., State Capitol, Room 309. Watch it live on Oceanic, Olelo, Channel 53.

Joint House and Senate Committees on Public Safety will hold an informational briefing on the Department of Public Safety's plan to implement a new and more accurate inmate classification system. Invited to participate: Clayton Frank, Director of the Department of Public Safety, Judge Steven Alm, co-chair of the Interagency Council on Intermediate Sanctions. Where and When: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 1:30 p.m., State Capitol, Room 225.

New email address for Hearing-Impaired Interpreter requests

Bravo to the House Chief Clerk's Office for implementing all the new transparency services for the general public for the 2008 session. In addition, translation services and sign language interpreters may be requested for the public hearings. Chief Clerk Pat Mau-Shimizu received a request from the hearing impaired community to establish an email account for requests since many of their members are unable to make requests by telephone. Here is the new email address for this purpose: houseinterpreter@capitol.hawaii.gov.

Capitol Notebook Returns

The Advertiser's political blog, Capitol Notebook, returns for the 2008 session. Best title so far: GIA-had.

Big Island Lawmakers Discuss Priorities and Attendance

West Hawaii Today carried this story today on the Big Island legislators and their priorities for the session. Here's what some of the House members had to say:

Rep. Josh Green, D-North Kona, Keauhou, Kailua-Kona, the Legislature's only physician and chairman of the House Health Committee, is proposing a Rural Health Act -- a package that includes health enterprise zones, increased reimbursement rates, lawsuit reform and a Hawaii Health Corps to lure doctors.

More incremental steps are being forwarded by Rep. Bob Herkes, D-Ka'u, South Kona, who wants a mobile medical van based at Kona Community Hospital to provide clinical services to rural communities, and Rep. Faye Hanohano, D-Puna, Pahoa, Hawaiian Acres, who's seeking a comprehensive health center for the Makuu Hawaiian Home Lands project in Puna.

Rep. Clift Tsuji, D-South Hilo, Puna, Keaau, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, believes invasive species control has to be part of the mix. He's proposing funds to support the Department of Agriculture's invasive species strategic plan and a joint state-federal bio security facility near Honolulu International Airport.

Slow piecemeal legislation is not effective and usually reactionary," Tsuji said. "All these invasive species are the single greatest threat to our economy and the lifestyle we enjoy as Hawaii's people."

Education issues remain on the front burner as well. They include capital requests, such as a new gym for Hilo High School and new regional library for Keaau and earmarking general revenues for University of Hawaii facilities repair and maintenance. Increasing the number of charter schools in rural areas is another of Herke's priorities. Ocean View, for example, has two elementary schools 40 miles apart."Kindergartners should not be forced to take a 20-mile bus ride," Herkes said.

Rep. Jerry Chang, D-South Hilo, will be focusing on university issues in his role of chairman of the House Higher Education Committee. He thinks Aloha Stadium could be better managed to make money, and he's offering legislation to do just that. "There's a lot of potential revenue that's not being tapped right now for Aloha Stadium," Chang said.

The Hawaii-Tribune Herald does an annual review of attendance records for Big Island lawmakers. Nancy Cook Lauer from Stephens Media compiled the data for her story on the 2007 session. Click here to see who has the best and worst records.

Maui lawmakers discuss their priorities

Maui lawmakers unveiled their priorities for the 2008 legislative session in this Sunday Maui News story. Here's a summary on what's on the wish list:

Joe Souki - $345 million for Kahului Harbor, continued support for Lahaina bypass and construction on Mokulele and Haleakala Highways, ignition interlocking devices for those convicted of DUI, improvements to invasive species detection.

Angus McKelvey - West Maui transportation access plan in case of emergencies, declare West Maui a traffic emergency zone, expedite repairs to Maalaea harbor, keeping physicians in rural areas.

Kyle Yamashita - Accountability for invasive species violations, examine public benefit of state tax credits, small business bill of rights, state run ag processing facility to assist farmers, statewide ag coop for marketing and distribution, $3.75 million for design of 300 million gallon Upcountry water reservoir.

Joe Bertram - $2 million to DLNR for invasive species, hospital for West Maui, regional boards with the authority to veto decisions made by the State Health Planning and Development Agency.

Mele Carroll - Environmental court, emergency plan for Hana Highway.

Rep. Magaoay Hosts Immacule'e Llibagiza

Rep. Michael Magaoay has invited Immacule'e Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, to speak at the State Capitol. In 1994, Immacule'e survived by hiding 91 days in a small space to avoid capture and death. She lost most of her family. At the end of the ordeal, her weight had dropped to 65 lbs. Immacule'e has written a book, Left to Tell, and is now an inspirational speaker. Click here to read The Advertiser's story. The public is invited.

January 17, 2007 (Thursday)
State Capitol Auditorium
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

For more information, download the flyer here.

2008 House Committee Assignments

The new 2008 House Committee Assignments have been completed. For your reference, click here.

House names new Vice speaker

Speaker of the House Calvin K.Y. Say today announced the selection of Rep. Pono Chong as the new Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives. Rep. Chong replaces Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu who stepped down last month.

"Rep. Chong has been a strong addition to the legislature since being elected in 2004," said Speaker Say. "He also represents a new generation of lawmakers who brings a fresh perspective to legislative issues, and I believe he will make a positive contribution to the House leadership."

Rep. Karamatsu will take over Rep. Chong's former assignments as Vice Chair of the Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs, and membership on the committees on Finance, and Energy & Environmental Protection.

Pono Chong is a full time legislator who has represented District 49 – Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted Lake and Kaneohe since November 2004. Prior to elective office, he worked as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and as a project coordinator for the H-3 Freeway Mitigation project with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). He is a graduate of St. Louis High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

In other organizational changes, Rep. Karen Awana will become the new Vice Chair of the Committee on International Affairs.

Coming up on Monday, January 14th

Interim Task Force on Standards of Conduct will meet for discussion and decision making on House Rule 60 amendments and procedures, House Rule 12 (16) fiscal management, and House Rule 11.5 (1) the 48-hour hearing notice. When and Where: Monday, January 14th at 1:30 p.m., State Capitol, Room 437.

Joint House and Senate Committees on Higher Education will hold an informational briefing on the University of Hawaii system, including UH at Manoa, UH at Hilo, UH - West Oahu, and the Community Colleges. When and Where: Monday, January 14th at 2:00 p.m., State Capitol, Room 309. Watch it live on Oceanic, Olelo Channel 49.

House Finance will be briefed by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, followed by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs from 9:00 - 12 noon, in Room 308.

In the afternoon, Finance will review the budget request from the Department of Health, from 1:30 p.m. to completion. This is also in Room 308, and you can catch it live on Oceanic, Olelo Channel 53.

Rep. Evans seeks emergency appropriation for NELHA

Rep. Cindy Evans wants the administration to send down to the legislature a $3 million emergency appropriation for NELHA, the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. Speaker Calvin Say sent a request letter to the Governor on behalf of Rep. Evans. The money would be used to repair a deep sea pipeline that sends sea water to the various fish farms and research projects located at the laboratory. West Hawaii Today reports here.

The pipeline is 1/2 miles of polyethylene pipe and extends to a depth of 2,000 ft. Repair work is needed around the 400-500 ft. depth. If not addressed soon, and if the pipe breaks or floats away, repair costs could escalate to $20 million, according to the WHT article.

Council on Revenues briefs Money Committees

Top left to right: Sen. Roz Baker, and Reps Marcus Oshiro, Marilyn Lee and Mike Magaoay

Bottom left to right: Reps Karen Awana, Tom Brower, James Kunane Tokioka, Roland Sagum
After introductions of the members of the committees (House Finance and Senate Ways and Means), the chairs turned it over to Paul Brewbaker, the chair of the Council on Revenues. Brewbaker is the senior vp and chief economist at the Bank of Hawaii.

In addition to reviewing the recent projection from Wednesday, Brewbaker summarized that the economy is softening, based on facts such as visitor arrivals are down, building permits are down, and the consumer inflation rate is subsiding. That leaves Hawaii with "increased vulnerability to global shocks that come out of the blue."

Pearl Imada Iboshi, State economist with the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, stated that Hawaii growth rates are slowing, but they continue to be higher than the U.S. growth rates. Personal income and job growth rates are expected to maintain stability over the next few years. However, there is concern with the visitor industry growth, especially in the cruise industry.

Carl Bonham, Exec. director of UHERO, UH Economic Research Org., gave an economic forecast. He stated that developers are being squeezed from the bottom. In the commercial sector, "plans don't pencil out. You can't get the rent that will cover the cost of construction." As a result there is a slowing in permitting for both commercial and residential construction. Regarding home prices, speculators are gone. Visitor expenditures are largely from US visitors, but that is also where there is the most risk with the possible recession in the US economy.

Photo: Carl Bonham at the podium, Pearl Imada Iboshi at front, Paul Brewbaker seated in back (wringing hands?)

Features will make it difficult for drunk drivers to get around ignition interlock

Leah Marx is the only person in Hawaii who must submit to an alcohol breath test before starting up her car. If she blows higher blood alcohol content than the preset limit, her car won't start.

No. Marx has not had any DUIs. In fact, she is the Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), and she is testing the capabilities of an alcohol ignition interlock system that controls a car's ignition and won't start if the driver is intoxicated.

Hawaii lawmakers are now examining the feasibility of requiring DUI offenders to install these devices into their cars, as called for by a resolution introduced by Rep. Joseph M. Souki (D8-Wailuku, Waihee, Waiehu, Puuohala, Waikapu). Hawaii is one of five states that does not already use interlocks as DUI mandatory sentencing, and in 2006 was the worst in the nation in percent of alcohol-related traffic deaths.

While listening to FM 93.9 on my way to work today, I caught a discussion between the morning show hosts regarding ignition interlocks, and two of them were in favor of a new regulation -- one even suggested adding electric shock components to the seat to punish offenders who fail tests. However, Gregg Hammer wasn't convinced that the interlock could keep offenders from cheating the system. People can get around them, he said. Sober friends of offenders could blow into the device for them.

He's right. That could happen. But there are several anti-circumventing features that make it less likely for an offender to cheat the test.

• Frequent retests are administered throughout the duration of the the drive. The first retest occurs 2 minutes after the starts. Offenders have around 6 minutes to pull over and take the test. Another test may occur around 45 minutes later.
  
• A camera above the dashboard automatically snaps a photo when a test is taken.
  The device is not easily administered. It requires specific training and may be difficult for an intoxicated person to explain.
  
• Results of tests are monitored by vendors and reported to the state. Experts recommend appointing state monitors to offenders, much like a probation officer, in order to address failed tests, cheating attempts and alcohol-abuse.

Offenders will pay $70-$150 for installation and $75 a month. In most states, lawmakers set up funds with specific criteria to aid those unable to pay.

Photo: Provided by Smart Start, Inc.

Coming up - Informational Briefings for Friday, January 11th

Committee on Finance will hold a joint briefing with Senate Ways and Means on the economic outlook for the state. They'll hear from the Council on Revenues on their latest projections; yesterday the COR projected a downturn from 5.7% growth to 4.9% for fiscal year 2008, and revised their projection for fiscal year 2009 from 3.8% to 4.1%. The money committees will also hear from the state's top economists. Where and when: State Capitol Auditorim, 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Watch it live on Oceanic, Oleleo Channel 49.

Committe on Health will hold two info briefings back to back, State Capitol, Room 329. From 9:00 - 10:30 am, they'll hear from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii on their report on acute care hospital patients waitlisted for long-term care. From 10:45 to noon they'll review the issue of Health Insurance Reimbursements for physicians. Watch it live on Oceanic, Olelo Channel 53.

HECO, admin. and state lawmakers signed agreement regarding Waianae utility poles

HECO, the state administration and state lawmakers today announced an agreement that calls for replacing rundown power lines in Waianae and eventually putting them underground. Below is the agreement they signed:

The Undergrounding of the Farrington Highway Utility Lines

We all agree that the time has come to reach a decision on the undergrounding of at least segments of Farrington Highway. Before any application gets filed, it is our desire to go out into the community and scope out an Undergrounding project. To this end, we commit the following process:

1. We will seek community input on the areas of highest priority for undergrounding on Farrington Highway to guide Hawaiian Electric Company in that application.

2. Hawaiian Electric will explore a number of related issues including whether a movement off of Farrington Highway (either Mauka or Makai) is possible; whether the lines need to be 46 kV or whether they can be 12 kV; what the expected costs of service hookups will be along the coast; what costs are added by transitioning back and forth from undergrounding to overhead versus full Undergrounding; and what traffic disruptions are contemplated.

3. Hawaiian Electric at the public meeting(s) will provide a brief background n the following subjects:

(a) The advantages and disadvantages of undergrounding;
(b) The approximate cost of undergrounding;
(c) The history of another major highway undergrounding project, the Kalanianaole Highway project; and
(d) Any other information from the review under No. 2 above.

4. We would envision a series of public meetings and meetings with community leaders over the next sixty to ninety days.

5. The legislature and the Administration will explore the range of funding available to pay for at least a fair share of the project.

6. Hawaiian Electric Company commits that it will file an application to underground at least portions of Farrington Highway after receiving community input.

7. Hawaiian Electric will first truss and then install steel poles in the area where poles have gone down twice. Work on both is to be completed by October 1, 2008.

8. Other pole users: Hawaiian Telcom, Oceanic, Pacific Lightnet and others will be encouraged to participate in these discussions, especially given the consequences to them of a decision to underground.

Signed by Colleen Hanabusa, State Senate; Barry Fukunaga, Office of the Governor; T. Michael May, Hawaiian Electric Co., Inc.; Calvin K.Y. Say, State House of Representatives

Informational Briefings for Thursday

Committee on Finance will hear from the Office of the Governor and the Department of the Attorney General on their budget requests from 9:00 am - 12 noon, State Capitol, Room 309. In the afternoon, the committee will hear from the Judicial Selection Commission, the Judiciary, and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation from 2:30 - completion.

Committee on Transportation will hear testimony on the rate of alcohol-related accidents and fatalities in the state, as well as a explanation of the vehicle ignition interlock system. The briefing will take place at 1:30 p.m. in Room 309. Presenters include MADD- Hawaii, and Debra Coffey, VP of Smart Start Inc. of Dallas, Texas.

A reflection on the Capitol's design

Do you realize how amazingly cool our State Capitol is? Well, I didn't. I'm kicking myself this very moment for being so unappreciative of our state's history and architecture.

While on a tour of the State Capitol today with other newbie colleagues, I realized how jaded I've become about Hawaii and what it has to offer. When you live in one place for almost your entire life and have visited everything at least three times, the far away lands of Europe and Asia seem so much more appealing with all their ancient history and foreign culture conglomerated into a huge chunk of land.

I've visited the Reichstag building in Germany where a glass dome, glass interior walls and glass panels represent the transparency of the united German government, and allows visitors to see the German parliament at work 24/7. You can look into the Plenary Chamber from all sides and from above as you climb the spiral ramp that leads you to the top of the dome. Leave your skirts at home ladies.

It was magnificent!

But do you want to know something? After taking the tour this afternoon, I prefer our State Capitol to that 'ole modernized dome thingy way over there in Berlin. The Reichstag is certainly grand and well-designed with a hint of the past and an intense proclamation of a new future -- but it's not home and it's not Hawaii.

In the glass dome, you wouldn't feel the warmth of the sun kissing your cheeks when you realize that the eight pillars along each side of the Capitol resemble palm trees. You wouldn't blush in embarrassment for not noticing that the fountains pouring water into the pond that surrounds the capitol were shaped like Hibiscus'. You wouldn't experience a panic attack when you forget that you aren't in a volcano surrounded on all sides by water. You wouldn't feel your skin slowly prickle from your fingers to your elbows like dominoes while walking by the statue of Queen Liliuokalani.

I saved the best for last.

You wouldn't have been able to play "Fishing Derby" from the fourth floor of the capitol building. Rumor has it that when there was Koa fish in the pond surrounding the Capitol, Derby contestants used string, paper clips and lunch bits to hook and reel in dinner. Rumor has it.

Visit HERE for some of the ghost stories I heard on my tour of the Capitol.

Dept. of Agriculture to brief lawmakers

The House Committee on Agriculture will receive a briefing from the Agriculture Department on pertinent issues such as agricultural loans, biosecurity, animal feed, and the upcoming report on the taro security and purity research program, pursuant to SCR206.

When: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 329