2014 Communications Office

Aloha from the House Communications Office! Meet our team for the 2014 Legislative Session:

Carolyn Tanaka (Director) has spent more than 20 years as a communications professional including serving as Communications Director and Press Secretary for Governor John Waihee, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at McNeil Wilson Communications and Associate Vice President of University Relations at the University of Hawaii.  Prior to that, she spent 10 years as a television news reporter and anchor at stations KGMB and KHON.

William Nhieu (Assistant Director) has a range of administrative, legislative, analytical and public relations experience gained from positions across public and government affairs. He has previously served in managerial positions on statewide campaigns and as an appointee at the City and County of Honolulu, Legislative Aide to the Senate President, and Committee Clerk for the Hawaii Senate Special Committee on Accountability and the Committee on Tourism.

Tom Yoneyama (Communications Assistant) has an extensive background in strategic communications, including serving as a speech writer for Governor John Waihee and as a staff member for Senate President Bobby Bunda.  He has extensive experience in corporate communications with Central Pacific Bank and Aloha Airlines.  He was also a managing editor for Hawaii Business Magazine and Trade Publishing.

2014 Joint Majority Package

2014 HOUSE-SENATE JOINT MAJORITY PACKAGE FOCUSES ON KUPUNA AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Waipahu Representative Aquino leads House efforts to develop the joint package

Honolulu, Hawaii - Senate and House leaders announced a joint majority package of priorities for the 2014 legislative session. The last time a joint majority package was unveiled was during the 2008 Legislative Session. The significance of a joint package is that the included bills are considered to have statewide importance and the commitment of the majorities of both chambers. 

“It has been years, since both houses have been able to come together to support a joint legislative package,” said House Speaker Joseph M. Souki. “The resulting proposed legislation is the result of the tireless efforts of representatives from both houses, including Representative Henry Aquino (Waipahu), who helped pull together all the various interests and priorities to find mutual ground and commitments to serious concerns that are statewide and cross political boundaries.”

Lawmakers will focus their combined efforts on two major areas of concern: Seniors and the Environment. The kupuna package includes proposed legislation to protect seniors from financial abuse, support healthy aging programs and increase public awareness of long-term care. 

In the last 30 years, the number of seniors over 60 in Hawaii grew by nearly 140 percent and seniors over 85 increased by more than 430 percent. Moreover, studies project that Hawaii’s seniors over 60 will make up nearly a third of the State’s total population by 2035.

“From a cost savings standpoint, which could be significant, it is in all of our best interest to help our families with their kupuna before they fall into our social safety net,” said Aquino who is the House Majority Policy Leader. “The savings notwithstanding, it is the right thing to do.”

With regard to the environment, majority members will address concerns on the effects of climate change and invasive species on our islands. The current severe erosion on Oahu’s North Shore beaches and the threat to homes in the area dramatically illustrate how future climate change could impact Hawaii shorelines.

“We often think of these islands as permanent and unchanging,” said Aquino.  “But our environment is fragile and constantly changing, and increasingly threatened by outside forces. We need to be aware of these threats and develop a concerted effort to protect our people, environment, agriculture and economy from them.”

SUPPORTING SENIORS

Relating to Aging: This is a two-part bill that funds healthy aging programs and services, and provides resources for the implementation of a public education and awareness campaign on long-term care.  Most successful senior programs recognize and build upon integrated health and social services.

Therefore, the bill allocates a total of $6.6 million to support community-based programs that incorporate collaborations between health care and social service agencies. The second part of the bill provides $500,000 for the Department of Health’s Executive Office on Aging to implement a public education and awareness campaign to help better prepare Hawaii residents in planning for future long-term care needs.

Relating to the Investor Education Program: This bill provides a proposed $50,000 in funding for outreach initiatives of the Office of Consumer Protection (DCCA) to prevent financial abuse of seniors.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

Relating to Climate Change: This bill provides the resources and timeline to ensure Hawaii adapts to protect the public from the effects of climate change. Provides positions and resources to the Office of Planning who will, within 18 months, come up with plans and policy recommendations to effectively address the worst impacts expected through 2050.

Relating to Invasive Species: This bill provides a proposed $5 million in funding for the Hawaii Invasive Species Council to help eradicate threats from invasive species on all the islands.

The full package is available at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/advreports/advreport.aspx?report=package&pkey=92&year=2014&name=Joint+Majority+Package

###

2014 House Committee Assignments and Appointments

2014 HOUSE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS

The Hawaii House of Representatives has convened the 2014 Legislative Session. In conducting the official business of Opening Day, the House voted to pass several measures including one designating committee assignments changes for members.

“I’d like to congratulate and welcome Representative Creagan to the House, as our newest member,” said Majority Leader Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kakaako-McCully).  “In addition, my thanks to the following individuals for their service to the House. Every organization goes through frequent fine tuning to ensure that it optimizes its most valuable resource: human resources. These appointments and assignment changes reflect a part of that ongoing process.”

This morning, the House voted to approve HR2, which details changes to committee assignments as follows:

Representative Mark J. Hashem was appointed Chair of the Housing Committee and a member of the Health Committee and Human Services Committee; will no longer be the Vice Chair of the Labor & Public Employment Committee and a member of the Public Safety Committee and Transportation Committee; but will remain as a member of the Finance Committee.

Representative Gregg Takayama was appointed Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee and a member of the Labor & Public Employment Committee and Public Safety Committee; will no longer be a member of the Agriculture Committee, Economic Development & Business Committee, Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts Committee, and Tourism Committee; but will remain as a member of the Finance Committee.

Representative Kyle T. Yamashita was appointed Vice Chair of the Labor & Public Employment Committee, and will remain as a member of the Finance Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Transportation Committee.

Representative Richard Creagan, who was appointed as a member of the House of Representatives from the Fifth District to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Representative Denny Coffman, will be a member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee, Judiciary Committee, Health Committee, Housing Committee and Human Services Committee.

Representative Ken Ito was appointed to the Economic Development & Business Committee, and will remain as the Vice Chair of the Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts Committee and a member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee.

Representative Jessica Wooley was appointed to the Economic Development & Business Committee and Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts Committee, and will remain as the Chair of the Agriculture Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Representative K. Mark Takai was appointed to the Tourism Committee, and will remain as the Chair of the Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts Committee and a member of the Education Committee and Higher Education Committee.

Representative Sharon Har was appointed to the Transportation Committee, Labor & Public Employment Committee, and Public Safety Committee, and will remain as the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee and a member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee.

Representative Scott Y. Nishimoto was appointed to the Energy & Environmental Protection Committee, Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs Committee, and Water & Land Committee, and will remain as the Chair of the Legislative Management Committee and a Vice Chair of the Finance Committee.

Representative Mele Carroll will no longer be a member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee, but will remain as the Chair of the Human Services Committee and a member of the Health Committee and Housing Committee.

Representative Mark M. Nakashima was appointed to the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee; will no longer be a member of the Education Committee and Higher Education Committee; but will remain as the Chair of the Labor & Public Employment Committee and a member of the Public Safety Committee and Transportation Committee.

Representative Linda Ichiyama will no longer be the Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee but will remain as the Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee and a member of the Education Committee, Labor & Public Employment Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Transportation Committee.

For more information on the House Committees and its members see http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/committees/committees.aspx?chamber=H