Mahalo Tommy!

Rep. Tommy Waters announced earlier this year that he won't be running for re-election. Yesterday, during the special override session, his fellow colleagues took a moment to wish him well. On behalf of the House, Rep. Ken Ito (left), presented Rep. Waters with a beautiful koa gavel.

Reps in the News

Ignition Interlock: In The Honolulu Advertiser, Rep. Sharon Har describes her 2007 traffic accident in which she was hit by a drunken driver, and how the incident was the inspiration for this year's ignition interlock legislation, HB3377. The bill awaits Governor's signature.

Commenting on the cost, $65-$75 per month, to have the device installed and maintained in your car...

"Taxpayers shouldn't pay for the interlocks," Har said. "The indigent fund would help pay for itself. It's worked well in other states that do the same thing. If it's $3 a day to have an ignition interlock in your vehicle, that's about the price of a beer. And if you're drinking and driving, you can afford that."

School Closures: Also in The Honolulu Advertiser, Rep. Roy Takumi defends HB2972, a bill which creates a commission to recommend public school closures or consolidation.

It makes sense to consolidate schools in light of shifting populations and the high costs of facility repair and maintenance, said state Rep. Roy Takumi, who introduced the bill. "Here you have the Department of Education, whose enrollment has gone from 182,000 eight years ago to 171,000 this year — a drop in enrollment of 10,000 or so students — and yet the number of schools has expanded," said Takumi.

DOE officials oppose the measure and want the Governor to veto it, citing that there is an existing process to deal with school closures and that the new legislation infringes upon their authority. But...

Lawmakers say that while education officials have had the authority to close or consolidate schools, they've failed do so, even when some schools' enrollments have dipped dramatically over the years.

VOG Committee. The Hawaii Tribune Herald lead editorial Sunday commends the Legislature for forming a committee to study the impacts of VOG on the community. The House Speaker formed the committee and has asked Rep. Bob Herkes to be chairman.

Herkes raised that sobering issue last week when he spoke with this newspaper."I'm not trying to be alarmist," he told the Tribune-Herald, "but at what point do you tell people ... they need to move? We've moved people out of the tsunami inundation zone. If this goes on for decades, we may have to look at this as a long-term policy."

Dave Shapiro's blog today is mostly about ConCon, but ends with a short commentary on Rep. Tommy Waters:

Bowing out. Sorry to see that Waimanalo Rep. Tommy Waters won’t seek re-election after three terms to devote himself to raising his family and earning a living.
Waters was Judiciary chairman in the last Legislature, a post that tends to handle a lot of high-profile controversial issues and has eaten up more than one chairman. He got the job at a relatively inexperienced stage of his legislative career and sometimes seemed in a bit over his head.
But he appeared honest and real in his dealings, always saying what was on his mind. It would have been interesting to see how he grew into the job.

More on GIA's - The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today carried a story about the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank, and while the story doesn't mention it, the organization is one of the non-profits waiting release of their 2007 grant-in-aid funds. The Cord Blood Bank request is $100,000.

News from Rep. Tommy Waters

Both The Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin ran stories this morning on Rep. Waters' decision to not seek re-election this year. Speaker of the House Calvin Say issued this statement of appreciation:

"I want to thank Rep. Waters for the years he served in the Hawaii House of Representatives - years that were productive and distinguished. He was willing to take on tough assignments, which he performed with integrity, character, honesty, and very often with a good sense of humor.

Personally, I will miss him, but he has a young family and a law practice, and I understand his priorities at this time. He cares deeply about Hawaii and about his community, and I know that he will continue to contribute to the public good outside of politics."

Not all breast-feeding mothers exempt from crime

Senate conferees agreed to House amendments on HB2346, HD2, SD2 that would exempt breast-feeding mothers who recklessly introduce a controlled substance to their infants from criminal charges. The bill expands the crime of endangering the welfare of a minor to include situations in which an adult causes or permits a minor to inject, ingest, or inhale certain controlled substances that were not prescribed for the minor by a physician.

Rep. Tommy Waters said all breast-feeding mothers should not be excluded from the law because a mother who intentionally gives her child breast milk contaminated with a controlled substance should be charged with a crime.

Senators Chun Oakland and Brian Taniguchi voted yes and Senator Fred Hemmings voted no.

Cost a problem for GPS tracking of TRO violators

Money was the biggest issue in a hearing yesterday discussing the future of HB2766, a measure that would allow courts to require electronic monitoring of offenders convicted of violating a domestic abuse temporary restraining order. The measure would also appropriate funds for offenders who cannot afford to pay for costs associated with the monitoring device.

A representative from the Public Defenders Office argued that many TRO violators wouldn't be able to afford the $5 cost of the electronic monitoring device. He said that most domestic disputes stem from money issues and that adding additional costs would exacerbate the situation, possibly putting the victim in more danger. The offender will blame the victim, he said. They are already upset about mandatory jail time and will become angrier about paying higher fees.

The Hawaii State Coalition Against Drunk Driving Domestic Violence begged to differ, disagreeing with the testimony that violators can't afford $5 a day and refuting the claim that money is a cause of domestic violence. A representative from the non-profit organization said that money is not the source of domestic violence problems; the need to guard all the power and control in a relationship is. Anyone can be an abuser, not only the indigent. They can be the wealthy businessperson walking down Bishop St., the physician you saw last week or the fastfood worker who took your order this afternoon.

Although the bill was passed out of Judiciary, Rep. Tommy Waters mentioned that funding will most likely be a problem. The state may not be able to afford the appropriation of funds to pay for electronic devices for indigent persons. Rep. Waters recommended passing the bill on to Finance for further discussion. Rep. Cindy Evans (D), Rep. Joseph Souki (D), Rep. Kymberly Pine (R) voted yes with reservations.

Photo from BBC News.

ERROR: Thank you to MADD for noticing a mistake in the post. The Hawaii State Coalition Against Drunk Driving (did i really write that!?) didn't give testimony because no such coalition exists; the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence gave testimony on the issue.

Beautiful Son: A documentary about healing autism

WHAT:

Film screening of Beautiful Son, a Don King documentary about healing autism with
question and answer period to follow

WHEN:

Friday, January 25th, 2008

9-11 a.m.

Hawaii State Capitol Auditorium

Hosted by Rep. Tommy Waters

R.S.V.P. contact: Don King at 262-2552

Donation drive to benefit Waimanalo's homeless shelter

Photo: Rep. Tommy Waters urges community members to "help us help the homeless." Barbara Guss, a Lanikai resident, stopped by the Capitol during her lunch break to drop off a box of donation items.

Rep. Tommy Waters (District 51 - Lanikai, Waimanalo) tried something different this year; something that just might become the new trend during future Opening Day festivities.

Instead of only providing a lunch buffet for his constituents after the Opening Day ceremonies, Rep. Waters used yesterday as the debut of a two-week donation drive to benefit Weinberg Village, a homeless shelter in Waimanalo.

"Opening Day for me at the Capitol has traditionally involved staff, lobbyists, and community members gathering in my office for refreshments and conversation. This year, I decided to something a little different, and look at what I could do to benefit the needy in my community," Rep. Waters said.

In letters to constituents, Rep. Waters asked community members who wanted to donate items to stop by his office between Jan. 16 – 30 at the state Capitol, Room 302.

Yesterday, Rep. Waters' office set up a large table full of colorful floral boxes and signs announcing the kick-off of their donation drive. The friends, family, lobbyists and constituents who visited Rep. Waters' office on Opening Day brought in a total of three boxes full of items, including shampoo, paper towels and canned goods.

"We were optimistic that people would feel the same way we did, and would participate in the drive. So far, the generosity of the people in my community has exceeded my expectations," said Rep. Waters.

Weinberg Village is always accepting canned goods, but currently is in need of paper goods and toiletry items such as napkins, diapers, body soap, laundry soap, shampoo, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper.

Weinberg Village provides shelter for homeless families with children under 18 years old and families at risk of becoming homeless. Some of the services provided include direct referrals, transitional housing, educational classes, counseling, on-site preschool, and food & nutrition classes.

Extended sentencing bill - what it's all about...

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that the state's extended sentencing bill is unconstitutional because it violates the sixth amendment right to a jury trial. The law, as currently written, allows judges, rather than juries, to determine what facts warrant longer sentences. What the ruling means is that judges cannot apply the extended sentencing law in current cases, and that even felons who were previously sentenced but are appealing those sentences now have the right to a jury trial (and could have their sentences reduced.)

Attorney General Mark Bennett declared that there was no immediate public danger because of the court's ruling. The long term effect, however, is that certain felons will serve shorter sentences and will be back out in the community, perhaps sooner than they should be.

HB2 Related to Sentencing amends Hawaii's extended term sentencing law to address the issues raised in the court ruling on the right to a jury trial. The bill is expected to be supported by the law enforcement community.

The description of the bill is: Requires jury to deterine facts necessary to impose an extended term of imprisonment under section 706-662, HRS, unless right to jury determination is waived, in which case determination is to be made by judge. Requires facts to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

It is unlikely that the legislature would have reconvened just for the extended sentencing bill, but the Superferry issue provided a timely opportunity for lawmakers to make the fix. We'll be posting on the outcome of the 4 p.m. Judiciary hearing, chaired by Rep. Tommy Waters, later today.

Added Protections for Pregnant Women?

Story in the Honolulu Advertiser this morning ["Oahu legislator proposes protections for pregnant women"] about potential legislation that would have anyone who attacks a pregnant woman facing a stricter sentence in court.

Rep. Tommy Waters, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, was prompted to craft the legislation after an incident that shocked Hawaii in June, where a knife attack on a pregnant woman and her teenage son on the Big Island left both the son and the unborn child dead:

Waters, an attorney, said he drafted his proposal after reading about the Vesperas case in the newspaper. "I thought, 'Why aren't we protecting the status of pregnant women?' " he said.

Under his proposal, people would face mandatory minimum prison sentences without possibility of parole for felony crimes against pregnant women if they knew or reasonably should have known the woman was pregnant. Those who attack pregnant women would also be subject to extended sentences under a section of the law that now covers crimes against the elderly, children and the disabled, hate crimes, and crimes by repeat or dangerous offenders.

Rep. John Mizuno, Vice Chair of the House Health Committee who plans to introduce two bills next session to protect pregnant women, is also quoted.

Root Cause of Crime in Hawaii

Photo: Judge Steven Alm, Judge James Gray and Eric Sterling

Are our current policies and prevention efforts on drug trafficking, drug abuse and prohibition working? The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Tommy Waters, will hold an informational briefing on the root cause of crime in Hawaii. ACLU Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, and the Drug Policy forum of Hawaii are co-hosts.

When: Tuesday, July 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 325

Speakers:

Judge Steven Alm - 1st Circuit Judge, Honolulu. Judge Alm is the chair of the Intermediate Sanctions Policy Council and Founder of H.O.P.E.

Judge James P. Gray - California Superior Court Judge. Judge Gray is the author of "Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it".

Eric E. Sterling - President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Mr. Sterling is the liaison to the American Bar Association's Committee on Substance Abuse.

Did you know? Hawaii's incarceration rates are on the rise. We export more than half of our prisoners to private U.S. prisons. Hawaii's female prison population is at almost 2X the national average. Hawaii is the largest customer of Corrections Corporation of America at $50 million a year.