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Legislators Gov. Ben Cayetano opened his last 24 months in office yesterday, vowing in his State of the State address to think big and urging legislators to be bold.
and unions aren’t
enthusiastic about
Cayetano proposals
He touched on education
Hawaiian groups buoyed
but avoided the subject
of salary negotiations
'Pre-plus' to UH tuition aid
Concerns over drug idea
Gallery great in theoryBy Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin
Instead of an enthusiastic thumbs-up, however, Cayetano won only noncommittal praise.
"I liked the proposals on education and the economy," Senate President Robert Bunda said.
But he declined to endorse Cayetano's new idea to use the $175 million in the Hurricane Relief Fund to start an interest-gathering account to pay for college scholarships.
"It is something worthy of hope, so that kids can get a decent education. I guess I would call it worthy of discussion," said Bunda (D, Wahiawa).
House Speaker Calvin Say, however, rejected Cayetano's idea. The money, Say said, should remain in the fund in case Hawaii is threatened by another severe hurricane.
Cayetano is also in the middle of negotiations with the public worker unions and he didn't use his speech to bargain, except to say he wouldn't agree to raises without getting something in return.
"We will continue to follow a policy of only agreeing to collective-bargaining agreements that increase the efficiency and productivity of government workers," Cayetano said.
Russell Okata, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, which has already won an arbitrated 15 percent pay raise that Cayetano refuses to pay, agreed that efficiency and extra pay go together.
But he said state workers are doing the same job with fewer workers, so they have already showed how to be efficient.
"We are very supportive of productivity and we are also hoping for fair pay and competitive compensation to attract the best workers," Okata said.
Karen Ginoza, Hawaii State Teachers Association president, pointed out Cayetano didn't touch on the negotiations with the teachers."He talked about some things that will help the schools, like more computers, but he didn't address teachers' salaries and the teacher shortage," she said.
When Paul LeMahieu, school superintendent, was asked why he thought the governor didn't mention any of the collective-bargaining raises in his speech, he said "that at this moment in time most especially collective-bargaining issues are best taken up in collective bargaining."
Cayetano said: "I didn't want to talk about the collective-bargaining agreements because we had so many other things to discuss, and I didn't want that to detract."
"I wanted people to know what's on the agenda. And I hope the HSTA leaders who are here will recognize it. There are many other needs that the state has. And we want to give the teachers a pay raise because they deserve one. It's a question of how much," he said.
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Hawaiian leaders say it is better not to put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to the future of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the state Hawaiian Homes Commission. Hawaiian groups
buoyed by commentsOHA trustees and others say they
feel encouraged by the governor's speechBy Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin"I think it's good to give our enemies a lot of different areas to attack, instead of just one consolidated target, and make it harder on them," said OHA trustee John Waihee IV.
OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said she's encouraged by Gov. Ben Cayetano's pledge to use every authority and resource available to his administration to defend against a court case that challenges the constitutionality of both agencies, as well as native gathering rights.
And she agreed with the governor in his State of the State address yesterday that lumping the two agencies together might make it easier for the opposition to eliminate them.
"I think the governor is wise to encourage the Legislature to be very careful during this time period when there's so many moving parts," she said.
Apoliona said that with so many variables in terms of the litigation surrounding the two agencies that consolidation of these trusts would increase the possibility of negating and extinguishing them. The Legislature must take a very methodical approach to the issue, with any final decision left to the people, especially Hawaiian beneficiaries, she said.
State Senate Floor Leader Fred Hemmings (R, Waimanalo-Kailua) said he will introduce a bill that combines OHA and the Hawaiian Homes department into a private trust that will give the agencies autonomy and protect them from the constitutional question of the state spending money on an ethnic effort.
Hemmings likened the proposal to creation of Bishop Estate and added it will be harder for politicians to then mingle in native Hawaiian affairs.
"We're faced with some real challenges, and I think we have to honor the basic commitments we've already made with Hawaiians, and I'd like to see them to be able to control their destiny," Hemmings said.
Hawaiian Homes Chairman Ray Soon said he didn't expect Cayetano's speech to have so much focus on native issues, and the Barrett vs. State of Hawaii case. It shows the governor is committed to Hawaiian issues, he said.
"It's good to know we're going to battle together," Soon said.
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Universal access to preschool for needy 3- and 4-year-olds will help improve reading skills, curb behavioral problems and lessen the costs of special-needs services, according to supporters of the proposal. Proposals hit both ends
of education spectrumThe 'Pre-plus' plan would put
thousands of needy children in
preschools to help prepare them to learnBy Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin
Gov. Ben Cayetano proposed the program, dubbed "Pre-plus," which will be aimed at getting 8,000 of these children into preschool to better prepare them for school. Cayetano helped create the "A+" after-school program when he was lieutenant governor.
The plan is a collaboration between the Department of Education, Good Beginnings Alliance, the Kamehameha Schools, Head Start and other private preschool operators.Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono will head the public and private agency.
"We want to make sure that kids have access to preschool because research shows that a preschool really helps kids to become ready to learn," Hirono said. "They're not going be trying to catch up all of the time."
While no money will be requested from the state general fund, Cayetano will be asking for $10 million each year for the next four years to build new preschool buildings on public elementary school campuses, Hirono said.
"This will be all new facilities located only in places where the site plans allow it without interfering with the existing schools' offerings," state Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said. "We'll build portables and other reasonably costed facilities to house them."
Once the facilities are built, private groups will operate preschools there, officials said.
The program will be similar to the relationship Kamehameha Schools currently has with the Department of Education in which Kamehameha runs preschools at several school sites across the state.
Funds also will be used to shore up facilities at places that already have preschools.
"In some instances they're in places where the regular enrollment is growing and that puts them at risk of needing to be pushed out."
Funds also will be used to construct buildings at other public school sites which have not yet been identified, LeMahieu said.
LeMahieu said there are some long-term and short advantages to universal access to preschool.
Gov. Ben Cayetano's idea to reward academic achievement with free tuition to any of the University of Hawaii's 10 campuses couldn't have come at a better time for Jeanelyn Firme. Cayetano wants public
funds to pay for some
students’ tuition at UHBy Suzanne Tswei
Star-BulletinThe McKinley High School senior hopes to attend Honolulu Community College in the fall and she needs as much financial help as she can get. Firme, who has a 3.38 grade-point average, lives with her older brother and has been trying to support herself by working as a waitress and cashier part time while finishing high school.
The 17-year-old expects to support herself through college as well -- a task made more difficult if the university raises its tuition according to a five-year plan. Cayetano's plan would ease her financial burden and allow her to concentrate more on her studies.
"I think that'll be a good thing," Firme said, "because there are a lot of students that would go to college, but they just can't afford it. It's good for students who work hard but just don't have the money."
Cayetano yesterday proposed setting up an endowment to pay full college tuition for any public or private high-school student who graduates with a "B" grade average and is admitted to the university. His proposal would give Hawaii's high-school graduates greater access to a college degree, he said.
Cayetano proposes using the $175 million now in the Hurricane Relief Fund for the endowment. The money would go to the state's Rainy Day Fund, which has about $40 million.
The endowment, called Hawaii New Century Scholarship, would be funded by interest from the combined $215 million, said Neal Miyahira, state finance director. He estimated the state would receive about 6 percent return on the money.
In December Cayetano proposed refunding the money left in the fund to homeowners. The fund was established in 1993 as an emergency measure after Hurricane Iniki produced $1.3 billion in damage claims. After the devastating hurricane, most private insurance companies canceled or refused to renew policies and the state set up the fund to protect homeowners.
Lloyd Lim , acting executive director of the hurricane fund, said the Legislature has final say over the money.
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State lawmakers say there are many questions regarding Gov. Ben Cayetano's idea for mandatory treatment instead of punishment for Hawaii's non-violent, first-time drug offenders. Concerns raised over
drug treatment proposalSome lawmakers say the plan would
compete with the existing drug courtBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinAmong the concerns is the cost of the program. Also, how will it affect the state Judiciary's voluntary drug court, and can local drug treatment facilities handle treatment of convicted offenders? Foremost, however, is whether there is the political will in Hawaii to pass such a law.
The governor, in his State of the State address yesterday, called for "a major departure from the state's current philosophy" and wants to mandate drug treatment for such offenders.
He pointed to last year's Proposition 36 amendment in California, where 61 percent of the state's voters declared drug abuse a health problem and mandated treatment for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders.
The proposition was opposed by nearly all of California's law enforcement community and most of its state judges.
But Cayetano said the new law is expected to save the state more than $200 million in incarceration costs and $550 million in construction costs for new prisons. California has about 200,000 inmates.
"Here's my concern, when you have a Prop. 36 being proposed and you have a drug court set for expansion ... You have two programs competing for the same money in the general fund," said House Public Safety Chairman Nestor Garcia (D, Waipio).
The governor wants the legislation effective July 1, 2002, and has already included funding in his current biennium budget.
The delay will give the state time to inventory the drug treatment programs in Hawaii and set up rules to assure the most effective treatment programs.
House Speaker Calvin Say (D, Palolo) said the state will have to balance funding for this program with the money spent to house inmates on the mainland.
There are about 1,200 inmates housed on the mainland, Garcia said.
Say said drug offenders have a chance in this program because the alternative does not help them with their addiction.
State Public Safety Director Ted Sakai favored the proposal and said the treatment of qualified offenders will be less expensive that incarceration.
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The late Gov. Jack Burns had a dream more than 30 years ago, a dream Gov. Ben Cayetano wants to fulfill -- a state art gallery at the Hemmeter Building. Art gallery a
great idea --
in theoryBut cost concerns might
outweigh the desire for a
$3.3 million state museumBy Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinBut while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they support education and the arts, they also say funding for the gallery must be balanced with other pressing needs, most notably $640 million in repair and maintenance for schools.
"It would be great to have (the state gallery) -- like the aquarium, which are good ideas in and of themselves -- but we have to take a look at the whole picture," said Brian Taniguchi (D, Manoa-McCully). Taniguchi said $640 million is a large amount, and that making significant inroads in repair and maintenance is a priority of the majority caucus.
Cayetano has said it would cost $3.3 million for construction and equipment for the next couple of years. Plans call for increasing staff for the state Foundation on Culture and the Arts, demolishing existing offices, building a museum-quality gallery, and buying furniture and equipment, among other things.
The gallery would offer educational programs for schoolchildren and convenient access to artwork from the Art in Public Places Collection.
House Tourism Chairman Jerry Chang (D, South Hilo) voiced support for the gallery, saying: "We need to expand and showcase our artists. ... (There are) art pieces in a warehouse deteriorating. This would at least give them exposure as well as (serve as an attraction) for tourists and residents to see them."
The state bought the Hemmeter Building in December for $22.5 million from Japan-based Bigi Corp.
Minority Leader Sam Slom (R, Hawaii Kai), who said he is not a big proponent of a state art museum, said if it came to having a state facility vs. supporting arts in the schools, the school program would take priority. The Senate minority has been promoting economic reform, education and restructuring government, he said, adding, "This doesn't fit into any of those categories."
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