Excise tax,
abortion bills too hot
to rally votes

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Could have, should have... Gov. 'disappointed'
Key issues of the 19th Legislature assessed
Sizzle or fizzle? A look at what passed, what failed

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By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Although more than 2,500 bills were introduced in the 1998 legislative session, only a few hundred survived.

The rest -- including proposals by the Economic Revitalization Task Force to raise the general excise tax and to eliminate the state Land Use Commission -- were tripped up along the way.

Some stalled because of public opposition or the lack of money to implement them, while others never got put on the table for discussion. And a few were too politically hot to handle, especially for lawmakers in an election year.

For example, one controversial measure quickly shot down by a united Hawaiian community was the native Hawaiian autonomy bill, introduced by House Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Ed Case (D, Manoa).

The bill proposed, among other things, consolidating the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to form a Native Hawaiian Trust Corp. The corporation -- managed by elected Hawaiians -- would serve as an overall base for future state decisions on Hawaiian issues. But a large opposition march to the state Capitol, followed by a rally, overnight vigil and lengthy public hearing, forced the committee to hold the bill. Case later agreed the issues of sovereignty and autonomy are best left to native Hawaiians.

Another bill that put lawmakers in the hot seat was a partial-birth abortion ban. The Senate Health Committee refused to hear the House-approved measure, prompting a Senate faction to successfully pull it out of committee so the 25-member body could vote on it on the floor. Despite the action, the vote failed to pass 10-15.

Senators also shelved an administration bill that would have curtailed government-funded health and life insurance benefits for spouses, dependents and reciprocal beneficiaries, all to save the state about $10 million in the fiscal year 2000. State and county workers who opposed the bill labeled the measure as "draconian."

Another bill would have legalized cockfighting. But Hawaii's anti-gambling advocates successfully lobbied lawmakers to kill the bill, saying it would pave the way for state-approved gambling.

The Senate's hard-line stance against the task force recommendation to raise the general excise tax wore down the House, which finally backed off in conference negotiations.

The House also retreated from proposals to eliminate the state Land Use Commission in light of state attorney general's opinions that said the measures were unconstitutional. The House did not support the Senate version to rename and revamp the commission, killing the task-force proposal.

Enacted

The following are some noteworthy bills from this year's session that Gov. Ben Cayetano has signed into law:

Legal notices (Act 2): Gives government agencies flexibility in selecting means to disseminate public notices beyond the two Honolulu daily newspapers.

Auto registration (Act 3): Grants counties authority to exempt stored motor vehicles from registration requirements and vehicle taxes.

Child-care facilities (Act 5): Extends license period of child-care facilities from one to two years.

Mental health (Acts 6 and 7): Appropriates more than $10 million to provide mental health services for adults and emotionally disturbed children.

Transfer of inmates (Act 8): Provides $2.2 million immediately to transfer 300 inmates to out-of-state prisons.

Snake detection (Act 10): Allows the Agriculture Department to import a sterile male brown tree snake for research and to train dogs in detection.

Miss Universe (Act 15): Appropriates $3.3 million for hosting the Miss Universe pageant.

Frivolous allegation (Act 17): Allows the state Ethics Commission to determine if a lobbying violation charge is frivolous; requires the written request of person charged.

Milk prices (Act 19): Makes permanent the Board of Agriculture's authority to set minimum milk prices and production quotas to stay competitive with imported milk. Governor must approve minimum milk prices.

Elections (Act 22): Makes any nonpartisan county election, where a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the vote to win, subject to the same six-day challenge period as a primary or special primary election. If no candidate receives sufficient votes and a run off election follows, that election would be subject to the same 20-day challenge period as any general or special election.

Building auction (Act 26): Approves a $5 million, public auction sale of the 3,800-seat Mabel Smyth Memorial Auditorium building and property.

Bicyclists (Act 29): Allows bicyclists to ride on roadway shoulders.

Records review (Act 32): No longer requires the Ethics Commission to keep a list of people who review financial disclosure statements.

Political parties (Act 33): Extends from 10 to 20 business days the time in which a political party or the chief election officer can object to the petition for party status filed by a group seeking ballot recognition.

Wages and hours (Act 46): Authorizes the hearing officer to render final decisions on appeals in cases involving violations of wages and hours of employees on public works projects.

Government secrecy (Act 48): Allows state boards to hold secret meetings to consider the solicitation and acceptance of private donations.

Campaign commission (Act 50): Authorizes the state Campaign Spending Commission to use money from the state election campaign fund instead of the general treasury for operating expenses; saves the cash-strapped general treasury $300,000.

Absentee voting (Act 55): Allows chief election officer to determine when absentee polling places are to open, providing they open no later than 10 working days before election day.

Air ambulance (Act 59): Requires the Health Department to develop a statewide emergency air ambulance system for transporting patients from the neighbor islands to Honolulu.

Irrigation systems (Act 67): Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to plan, build, operate and maintain state irrigation water systems.

Public utility ownership (Act 73): Ensures that no one becomes the owner of a significant interest in any public utility organized in Hawaii unless approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

Approved

Key bills that the House and Senate approved last night:

GOVERNMENT FINANCES

Budget (HB2500, HD1, SD1, CD1): Cuts $151 million from the current two-year budget. Keeps vacant positions on the books but cuts funding for each post by 20 percent to 60 percent. Makes no allocation for union pay raises.

Fee increases (HB2552, HD1, SD3, CD1): Doubles the per-page copying charge of government records to 50 cents. Doubles the marriage-license fee to $50. Doubles the filing fee for name changes to $100. Increases fees charged by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center and the state and county criminal justice agencies. Establishes a fee of $10 for certified divorce certificates.

Fund transfers (HB1533, HD2, SD1, CD1): Transfers $60.1 million in excess funds from seven special funds to the cash-strapped general treasury. Requires the Public Employees Health Fund to return to the state $31.3 million, which represents the state's share of insurance carrier refunds, rate credits and interest; to the counties, $12.1 million.

State pension plan (HB2803, SD2, CD1): Decreases from 4 percent to 3 percent of employees' salaries government employers have to pay into the retirement system, a money-saving move for the state. Also allows elected officials to exit the Employees' Retirement System after attaining the maximum pension benefit of 75 percent.

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Aquaculture (HB3625, HD3, SD2, CD1): Transfers the Aquaculture Advisory Council from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Agriculture Department.

Ombudsman (SB2922, SD1, HD2, CD1): Allows the state ombudsman to facilitate the resolution of disputes involving agencies.

Privatization (SB2213, SD2, HD2, CD1): Allows the privatization of government services but prohibits contracts that result in the termination of government workers. Establishes a panel to come up with a "managed competition" process that will enable governments to compare the cost of providing services with government workers or through private firms. Creates a special panel to develop performance-based budgeting to assess the state's budget performance.

Regulatory process (SB2204, SD2, HD2, CD1): Requires departments and agencies to establish rules setting the maximum number of days for review and approval of all state or business-related permits and licenses.

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Stress-related claims (HB2648, HD2, SD1, CD1): Disallows stress claims for disciplinary actions taken in good faith by an employer, but allows a collective-bargaining agreement to set a different standard.

CRIME AND THE COURTS

Criminal injuries compensation (SB2966, SD2, HD2, CD1): Establishes a system of victim compensation fees. For a felony conviction, the maximum fee is $500; for a misdemeanor conviction, $50.

Prostitution (SB2254, SD2, HD2, CD1): Allows defendants convicted of prostitution to undergo prostitution intervention classes; requires the penalty -- $500 fine and 30 days in jail -- for second and subsequent convictions be mandatory.

EDUCATION

Educational accountability (HB2564, HD1, SD2, CD1): Establishes a temporary commission on educational accountability. Allows the Department of Education to rehire retired teachers on part-time basis. Authorizes the department to charge a textbook deposit fee.

University autonomy (HB2560, HD2, SD2, CD1): Gives the University of Hawaii substantial flexibility in managing its affairs. Examples: exempts university from requirement that the attorney general represent all departments; exempts university from having to transfer excess special funds to the general fund; places all university personnel, rather than just faculty, under the university president.

ENVIRONMENT

Waiahole water system (HB2990, HD2, SD2, CD1): Allows the state to acquire and operate the Waiahole water system through the Agribusiness Development Corp.

HEALTH

Coordinated care (SB2386, SD2, HD2, CD1): Seeks to lower workers compensation claims by creating coordinated care organizations, which can be formed by labor unions, health maintenance organizations and insurance companies, to provide coverage.

RECYCLING

Tires (SB379, SD2, HD2, CD1): Imposes a refundable $7 deposit on the sale of each new car tire that is not accompanied by a trade-in tire. Requires scrap tire haulers to provide proof to tire retailers of delivery of used tires to a permitted tire recycler.

TAXES

Hotel room tax (SB2259, SD1, HD1, CD1): Raises the hotel room tax from 6 percent to 7.25 percent. Allocates about $70 million annually for the counties. Creates the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which will receive $55 million yearly for tourism promotion. Allocates $25 million annually to pay the debt on the Hawaii Convention Center.

Time-share tax (SB2259, SD1, HD1, CD1): Imposes the equivalent of the hotel room tax on time-share vacation rentals. Tax formula is linked to a time-share's weekly maintenance fee. Based on the average fee, the time-share tax would be $2.50 a day.

TAX RELIEF

Energy tax credit (SB2092, SD1, HD1, CD1): Extends energy conservation tax credits for using solar and wind energy, heat pumps and ice storage systems to July 1, 2003.

Tax reform (HB2749, HD1, SD1, CD1): Cuts personal income taxes by $752 million over the next four years as tax rates are lowered. Eliminates the food tax credit and establishes a lower income tax credit in its place.

Dead

Here are some of the noteworthy -- and even odd -- measures that died this session:

ABORTION

Partial-birth abortion: Would have banned partial-birth abortions, except in cases to save the life of the mother; would have imposed a maximum prison sentence of two years on doctors who perform the procedure.

CRIME AND THE COURTS

Date rape drug: Would have made possession of a single tablet of the so-called "date rape" drug, Rohypnol, a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

Sexual assault: Would have created a felony sex offense for an adult who had sex with a minor under age 18 if the adult is more than five years older.

Soliciting juvenile crime: Would have imposed harsher penalties on adults who use a juvenile to commit a crime.

Truth in sentencing: Would have mandated criminals serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Cockfighting: Would have legalized cockfighting by using gamecocks wearing tiny boxing gloves.

EDUCATION

Appointed board: Would have proposed a constitutional amendment to change the statewide elected school board to a panel appointed by the governor.

County-based boards: Would have proposed a constitutional amendment to break up the statewide elected school board into four appointed county-based panels.

ELECTIONS

Campaign contributions: Would have included political parties and their national affiliates under contribution limits set for political action committees and individuals, reducing the amount parties can give from $50,000 to $6,000.

Campaign contribution whistle-blowers: Would have imposed a civil fine on anyone who retaliates against someone who reports illegal campaign contributions.

Candidate eligibility: Would have proposed a constitutional amendment requiring legislative candidates to be qualified voters in the districts they seek to represent. Presently, candidate is not required to be a voter in district sought until after results of the primary election.

Elections by mail: Would have permitted special county, state and federal elections to be held by mail.

ENVIRONMENT

Land Use Commission: Would have renamed the Land Use Commission the state Planning Commission; given the panel sole authority in conservation and agricultural districts; and given counties sole authority in urban and rural districts and sole authority over zoning matters.

Waikiki impact statements: Would have eliminated the requirement for an environmental impact statement for any use within Waikiki.

GOVERNMENT DOWNSIZING

Departmental consolidation: Would have merged Budget and Personnel departments along with the accounting, audit and procurement functions of the Department of Accounting and General Services into a new Administration Department.

Department merger: Would have merged three departments -- Agriculture; Commerce; and Business, Economic Development and Tourism -- into one.

Salary cuts and other take-aways: Would have imposed unspecified across-the-board salary reductions for all state employees; cut number of state holidays from 13 to 10; and reduced state workers' vacation time.

Severance and early retirement: Would have provided generous severance and early retirement packages to entice workers off the state payroll.

Vacancies: Would have required the transfer of all vacant general-funded positions to "vacancy pools" where half of the positions would be abolished with the funds lapsing to the general fund; remaining positions would have been reallocated by the governor and the chief justice; and would have prohibited new exempt positions.

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Collective-bargaining overhaul: Would have changed collective bargaining and civil service to limit union contracts to wages, hours and benefits; removed union status from some supervisory personnel; and encouraged merit pay.

Salary payments: Would have allowed state to pay all new employees by electronic funds transfer and to pay new workers on an after-the-fact basis to prevent salary overpayments.

Salary overpayments: Would have required state workers who have received salary overpayments to be paid on an after-the-fact basis rather than on a "predictive" basis. State's salary overpayments exceed $2.5 million.

State contracts: Would have increased the local preference for bidders on state contracts from 7 percent to 15 percent, meaning an isle contractor could submit a bid 15 percent higher than a mainland bidder's and still get the contract. Would have applied local preference to subcontractors.

State payroll: Would have established a pilot program to privatize the processing of the state payroll.

HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS

Hawaiian autonomy: Would have created the Native Hawaiian Trust Corp. to handle all aspects of Hawaiian affairs now done by agencies such as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Intent was to establish a structure for sovereignty within the state, thereby providing an overall base for future decisions on Hawaiian affairs.

HUMAN SERVICES

Human services fund: Would have created a human services special fund to be funded with a voluntary check-off channeling a portion of a person's tax refund to human services.

INSURANCE

Insurance rate regulation: Would have allowed the insurance commissioner to annually reduce or adjust rates prospectively for any type of insurance if the rates are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.

JUDICIARY

Judges' pay raises: Would have raised judges' salaries.

Judges' retirement benefits: Would have required judges to serve for at least 10 years and reach age 55 before being eligible to receive retirement benefits.

TAX BREAKS

Advertising tax credit: Would have granted small businesses a tax credit for advertising.

Job-related tax credit: Would have created a tax credit for technology training or job creation.

Meal deduction: Would have increased the deduction for meals and entertainment to 80 percent as a way to help businesses.

Renovation tax credit: Would have provided a 50 percent tax credit of total planning costs associated with renovating a home or business.

TAXES

Tax on nonprofits: Would have imposed an unspecified general excise tax on 13 previously exempt classifications of nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals and cemeteries, and funds, such as life insurance death benefits.

TOURISM

Lei greeting: Would have required the Department of Transportation to present leis to all airport arrivals as well as provide Hawaiian music at all state airports.

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--Mike Yuen and Keith Kosaki, Star-Bulletin