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With tons of breeding areas for mosquitos cleared from Central Maui and more than 140,000 miconia plants removed from forests above Hana, the need to continue the state emergency environmental work force is clear, state legislators say. Land crews gain support
By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comA bill (Senate Bill 2900) approved by the Senate Labor Committee this week appropriates a yet-unspecified amount of money to continue the work force, which was established after last year's third special session. A similar measure is moving in the House.
Tom Ishii, project coordinator, said crews on Kauai are tackling invasive plants at Kokee State Park, while miconia crews on the Big Island have removed 30,000 miconia seedlings, 1,200 saplings and 1,100 trees.
On Oahu a crew has removed about 30,000 invasive plants from 150 acres at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii and cleared 10 tons of thorny kiawe from Maile Stream. Crews are now at Kalaeloa and city parks.
"I have spoken to many individuals working throughout the state, and everyone is grateful for being employed and for doing a job that they feel is meaningful and important," Ishii said.
The work crews also are removing the breeding grounds of mosquitos that may carry dengue fever.
In other news at the state Capitol this week:
>> Benefits forfeiture: Elected officials convicted of a crime could lose their retirement benefits under a bill that comes in response to the conviction last fall of Andy Mirikitani, former Honolulu city councilman.
House Bill 2842 passed second reading this week, although Speaker Emeritus Joe Souki (D, Wailuku) had reservations over what to do about the retirement contributions an elected official has made over the years.
"I know its a nice election (year) issue, but I think we should be mindful of the problem that can occur," Souki said.
>> Crossing over: The House has sent its first handful of bills to the Senate for review. The measures include a bill (House Bill 1011, House Draft 1) that allows voters with disabilities to receive and vote on a ballot within 100 feet of a polling place. The deadline for the House and Senate to forward bills to each other, known as first crossover, is March 7.
>> Death and taxes: Imposing a $20 death registration permit fee before the dead can be disposed brought out some morbid comments during debate this week in the state House.
House Bill 2503 imposes the fee, half of which would help modernize and computerize the vital-statistics section of the state Department of Health. The other half would go into the state general fund.
House Health Chairman Dennis Arakaki (D, Kalihi Valley) said not only does it cost more to live in Hawaii, it will also cost more to die here.
House Minority Floor Leader Charles Djou (R, Kaneohe) added the new fee gives a new meaning to "death and taxes," while state Rep. Bob McDermott (R, Aliamanu) quipped, "It's a fee increase on those who can least afford it: the dead."
>> ERS payments: A bill reducing state annual contributions to the Employees' Retirement System has won preliminary approval in the House.
House Bill 2460, House Draft 1, which passed its second of three readings this week, extends the number of years it would take to make the ERS fully funded so the state can make smaller payments. The unfunded liability is estimated to be about $991 million.
State Rep. Ed Case (D, Manoa), along with House Republicans, opposed the plan. Case said the bill is a stopgap measure to help resolve the state's budget shortfall. He said this pattern of pushing off payments until later years must end and another way must be found to pay off the fund.
>> Cigarette tax hike: A House measure adding 5 cents tax to each cigarette sold, raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes by $2, is on its way. Proponents hope House Bill 2741, House Draft 1, will discourage children from smoking, while opponents of the measure say this is just another tax that targets the low-income community, who will continue to smoke regardless of the cost of cigarettes.
>> Airline merger: A group of citizens opposed to the proposed merger of Hawaiian and Aloha airlines presented Gov. Ben Cayetano with a petition with more than 20,000 signatures this week. The coalition believes the merger ultimately would lead to major job losses and higher ticket prices, all of which would have a ripple effect on the state economy.
>> Campaign spending reform: The House and Senate have different ideas on what new limits should be placed on fund raising for political campaigns.
The House wants a bill that bans direct contributions from corporations and labor unions, as well as forbids anyone with a state or county contract from making a campaign contribution.
The Senate, however, has deleted the contract provision.
>> No assisted suicide: The Senate Health Committee has decided not to hear Cayetano's bill on assisted suicide due to lack of time.
Passage of a "death with dignity" bill and a companion measure on a constitutional amendment on physician-assisted suicide is an uphill fight, said the governor, who had hoped for a hearing to let people affected by these problems testify.
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