As the crossover deadline approaches and after fourteen hours of deliberations, the House today passed on to the Senate another 183 bills including measures addressing the needs of women, consumers, veterans, and the homeless. The House now stands in recess and will reconvene to take action on final measures for third reading on Thursday, March 6 at 12 p.m. To date, the House has approved more than 400 bills this session to the Senate for its consideration. The deadline for bills to be approved by both houses of the Legislature before they move from one chamber to the other for consideration is Thursday, March 6.
Among the measures passed by
the House today are bills relating to:
HOMELESSNESS
HB1841 HD1, provides
additional housing opportunities for homeless families and individuals by establishing
the Hale Kokua Program under the Housing First Program within the Department of
Human Services. The program encourages homeowners statewide to set aside
dwelling units for rental by families or individuals classified as employed but
homeless.
HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
HB1866 HD2,
provides for administrative appeal, judicial review, and intervention in HCDA
development permit application proceedings. Amends requirements for notice,
hearing, and approval, and clarifies vesting of rights for development permits.
Amends HCDA membership and appointment. Requires provision of affordable
housing within same district and permits sale of units. Requires legislative
oversight of fiscal actions. Prohibits acquisition of public land by set aside.
Creates height limit for Kakaako.
LABOR AND MINIMUM WAGE
HB2580 HD1,
annually increases minimum wage from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2018.
Annually increases the tip credit from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2017, if
the gross amount the employee receives from wages and tips for a taxable year
is at least 250 per cent of the poverty level as determined by the Director of
Labor and Industrial Relations
THE HAWAII HEALTH CONNECTOR
HB2529 HD3,
establishes greater transparency and oversight for the Hawaii Health Connector
and provides for financial sustainability.
HB2581 HD3,
appropriates funds for a state innovation waiver task force to develop a plan
for applying for an innovation waiver under the federal Affordable Care Act.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
HB1070 HD2,
requires the UH Board of Regents to complete annual training on regent
fiduciary duties, Hawaii’s Sunshine Law, and Hawaii’s open records law.
EDUCATION
HB14 HD2, amends
the compulsory education law to make kindergarten mandatory. Develops a
statewide individualized kindergarten readiness system and, beginning with the
2015-2016 school year, requires all public and charter schools to adopt the
system.
HB2473 HD1, establishes
an Education Innovation Grant Program to provide teachers with resources to
implement innovation initiatives aimed at increasing student academic
achievement.
HB1796 HD2,
promotes the safety and well-being of students and school personnel by
requiring the Board of Education and the Department of Education to establish
conditions and procedures for the use of restraint or seclusion of students in
public schools.
HB2276 HD1,
establishes the Early Childhood Education Program within the Early Learning
System upon the ratification of a
constitutional amendment permitting the appropriation of public funds for
private early childhood education.
HB1596 HD1,
appropriates funds to establish within the Department of Human Services a
statewide literacy program to help increase Hawaii’s literacy rates and benefit
Hawaii’s children and families.
HEALTH
HB2577 HD2,
prohibits smoking anywhere in a public housing project except in a designated
smoking area as a condition of any agreement for the occupancy or use of
premises within a public housing project. Authorizes the Hawaii Public Housing
Authority to adopt rules to implement the smoking ban and the designated
smoking areas.
HB2109 HD2,
funds an evidence-based physical activity and nutritional education program within
the A+ Program in Hawaii's public elementary schools.
HB1503 HD1,
voids any rental agreement provision that allows for eviction of a tenant for using
medical marijuana unless the agreement allows for eviction for smoking tobacco
and the medical marijuana is smoked.
AGRICULTURE
HB2011 HD1, gives the Agribusiness Development Corporation additional means to move
Hawaii closer to food sustainability and self-sufficiency through various
measures, including authorizing the Corporation to issue up to an unspecified
amount of revenue bonds to acquire specified agricultural lands.
HB1120 HD2, requires
the Office of Planning to study current and potential alternative systems of
classifying and regulating agricultural land and to submit interim and final
reports to the Legislature to better assist in developing land use and
agricultural policies.
HB1184 HD2, requires the Department of Agriculture
to develop a food sustainability standard to promote local food production to help
diversify the local economy.
HB1929 HD2,
defines the term "farmers' market" and exempts produce that is sold
at farmers' markets for human consumption within the State from the general
excise tax.
HB2008 HD1,
appropriates funds to the Department of Education to operate and implement the
Future Farmers of America Program.
HB1988 HD2,
establishes the Hawaii Farm to School Program and Farm to School Coordinator
position.
HB2178 HD2,
establishes within the Livestock Revitalization Program of the Department of
Agriculture a program to provide grants to qualified feed developers.
INVASIVE SPECIES
HB1514 HD1,
appropriates funds for mitigation of, and education relating to, the coffee
berry borer beetle.
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
HB2203 HD2,
allows for the dual use of solar energy facilities on agricultural lands
provided that a special use permit is obtained, the solar energy site can also
accommodate compatible agricultural activities at a lease rate that is at least
50 percent below fair market value, and the facilities are removed within 12
months after operations end.
HB2101 HD1,
deposits a percentage of conveyance tax revenue annually into the Kahoolawe
rehabilitation trust fund for the long-term rehabilitation of Kahoolawe and
maintenance of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve, with a maximum amount of $3.5
million.
HB2434 HD2,
allows for a portion of the Transient Accommodations Tax funds to be allocated
to the Special Land and Development Fund for protection, preservation,
management and enhancement of natural resource and facilities important to the
State’s visitor industry such as beaches, parks, trails, and historic and
cultural sites.
HB1902 HD2,
requires DLNR to make reasonable efforts to prevent and mitigate the loss,
destruction, or degradation of public hunting areas, and establishes a hunting
advisory commission. Requires DLNR to report to the legislature regarding
public hunting lands.
HB1894 HD2,
enables the operation of car-sharing companies which represents a green
transportation innovation that can significantly reduce miles traveled, oil
imports, greenhouse gases, and household transportation costs, in the state by
creating a car-sharing vehicle surcharge tax.
HB2312 HD2,
increases the amount of the current barrel tax that shall be deposited into the
Environmental Response Revolving Fund for chemical leakage response,
hazardous environmental disaster response and environmental clean ups.
HB2621 HD2, seeks
to provide greater accountability in government by requiring the Procurement
Policy Board to adopt rules to include time limits on the reporting of missing
or unsuitable property, and requires cooperation between government agencies
and their contractors in such investigations. This measure was introduced to
address communication problems between government entities and contractors that
were identified in the aftermath of recent environmental disasters such as the
molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor.
TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HB2169 HD1,
encourages owners and operators of a hotel or resort to initiate construction
or renovation to improve their physical facilities by providing a tax credit
based on a percentage of wages paid to certain new employees hired following
construction or renovation.
HB1594 HD2,
seeks to boost the State’s tourism and construction industries by providing a
taxpayer constructing or renovating a qualified hotel facility with a
nonrefundable income tax credit for certain incurred construction or renovation
costs.
HB2170 HD2, supports
Hawaii’s hotel construction industry by creating an income tax credit, with
pre-certification of the credit, for costs incurred in new hotel construction.
HB2626 HD2,
promotes manufacturing in the State by establishing a temporary nonrefundable
income tax credit for qualified manufacturing costs, as a means of diversifying
the economy, decreasing dependence on imported goods, keeping more dollars
within the state and strengthening made in Hawaii products.
PUBLIC SAFETY
HB1975 HD1,
allows State and counties to perform criminal history record checks on
employees, prospective employees, volunteers, and contractors who work with
children, have contact with vulnerable adults, have unescorted access to
secured areas related to a traffic management center, handle or use firearms
for other than law enforcement purposes, or work with an agency's information
technology operation and have access to sensitive information.
HB2243 HD1,
allows qualified entities to conduct state and national fingerprint-based
criminal history record checks on their applicants, employees and volunteers
who provide care for children, vulnerable adults or the disabled, and to
receive the results directly.
HB1509 HD1, makes
operating a motor vehicle in the State while using a mobile device a traffic
infraction. Specifies that the penalty for such an infraction shall be a fine
of not less than $250, rather than court appearance.
HD1750 HD1, makes
it a criminal offense to unlawfully distribute sexual representation and
prohibits the unconsented reproduction, distribution, exhibition, publication,
transmission, or other dissemination of a representation of a nude person or of
a person engaging in sexual conduct.
ELECTIONS AND PUBLIC OFFICE
HB2533 HD2,
creates a public funding program for elections to the State House of
Representatives. Modeled after a pilot program for Hawaii County elections, the
bill is intended to encourage increased public interest and encourage fair elections for candidates without access to
financial capital.
HB2408 HD1, requires the arrangement of candidate
names on ballots in alphabetical order by last name, beginning with a letter
randomly selected by the Chief Election Officer to provide a consist and fair
ballot design for all state and local elections.
HURRICANE RESERVE TRUST FUND AND FINANCIAL STABILITY
HB2280 HD1, appropriates
general funds for fiscal year 2014‑2015 to recapitalize the Hurricane
Reserve Trust Fund.
LOW-INCOME ASSISTANCE
HB1719 HD1, reduces
the tax liability for low-income taxpayers by creating a tax credit that will
eliminate a taxpayer's income tax liability if their federal adjusted gross
income falls below federal poverty guidelines. Reduces a taxpayer's income tax
liability by 50% if the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income falls between
100-125% of federal poverty guidelines.
INTERNET SALES
HB1651 HD1,
requires the collection of use taxes by out-of-state sellers of tangible
personal property who are deemed to be “engaged in businesses in the state”
including by entering into an agreement with a person in the State who refers
potential purchasers to the seller, including by an internet link or web site,
or performs related services in the State on behalf of the seller, from
purchasers in the State (unless preempted by federal law).
HB2507 HD1,
authorizes the Department of Taxation to establish administrative rules, as an
alternative to the federal Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, for the
development and simplification of procedures necessary to collect and remit
sales and use taxes derived from remote sales with outside businesses having no
tangible presence within the State, including sales from the Internet.
HB2135 HD1, amends
Hawaii’s tax structure and administration, including the creation an oversight
committee to facilitate implementation to bring the State into compliance with
the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. These changes will help facilitate
the collection and remittance of taxes derived from remote sales with out-of-state
businesses, having no tangible presence in the State. These tax charges, while
technically owed to the State, are virtually impossible to calculate, collect
and enforce under current law.
VETERANS
HB1564 HD1,
recognizes the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and honors their
memory by ensuring that the statewide network of veterans’ cemeteries is
properly maintained. Specifically, requires the counties to obtain approval
from the office of veterans' services prior to any action that may impact the
State's obligation to establish and maintain veterans’ cemeteries.
HB1772 HD1,
increases access to quality health care for veterans by exempting, from the
General Excise Tax, amounts received by a contractor of the Patient-Centered
Community Care Program established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
for costs associated with health care provided to veterans outside of the
Veterans Affairs system.
HB1667 HD3,
exempts qualifying totally and permanently disabled veterans from paying the
state motor vehicle registration fee.
HB1907 HD1,
establishes a lifetime hunting license for qualified disabled veterans and
veterans who have received a purple heart.
WOMEN
HB2034 HD2,
provides victims of sexual assault with additional time to engage with the
legal system by eliminating the statute of limitations for criminal and civil
actions arising from sexual assault in the first and second degrees and
continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14.
OTHERS
HB2459 HD2,
requires any dentist who prescribes or administers general anesthesia,
intravenous-conscious sedation, or conscious sedation to obtain the necessary
authorizations issued by the Board of Dental Examiners. Requires site
certification for locations where specified anesthesia is prescribed or
administered.
HB1812 HD1,
requires additional detail and updating for annual reports to the Legislature of
police misconduct; requires retention of disciplinary records for at least 18
months after reporting; permits disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act
of misconduct by a police officer that results in a suspension.
HB2573 HD1, designates
the ukulele as the official musical string instrument of the State.
HIGHLIGHTS OF BILLS PREVIOUSLY PASSED BY THE HOUSE
In addition, House members
previously passed more than 200 bills, including HB1671 HD1, which removes the $93
million cap on the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) allocation to the
counties and, instead, establishes the distribution of these revenues as a percentage
of the TAT collected.
As part of the joint
Senate-House majority package, the House also previously passed HB1713, which provides financial
support to healthy aging programs and services, and requires the Executive
Office on Aging to conduct a public education and awareness campaign on
long-term care;
HB1715 HD1 which appropriates funds
for educational outreach targeted to protect seniors from financial fraud; and HB1714 HD1, which addresses climate
changes by tasking the Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee under the
Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) with creating sea level rise
vulnerability and adaptation reports.
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