Teachers union advocates
House health fund hearing

The House cannot take action
on the bill unless it suspends rules

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

The Hawaii State Teachers Association is still lobbying state House members to discuss a Senate bill that would create a teachers union-backed health plan.

While no agreement has been reached, House members are expected to try again tomorrow to suspend House rules to allow Senate Bill 2961, Senate Draft 2, to be presented to the chamber, at which time there can be discussion on it.

Midnight tomorrow is the deadline to have all bills ready for passage during the final week of the session, which is scheduled to end next Thursday.

"We're still trying to get the votes," Karen Ginoza, HSTA president, said yesterday. "There could be, there could be not. I can't tell you either way. We haven't given up."

As amended by the Senate, the bill allows HSTA and other public employee unions to set up a voluntary employee beneficiary association trust. This would allow the union to continue with its own health plan after it was forced to join the state in a single system through reforms approved last year by the Legislature.

The HSTA contends it can run its own health plan better and more efficiently.

Earlier this month, the Senate suspended its rules to allow the bill to be approved and sent to the House, despite missing several legislative deadlines. But the House could not take any action on it unless it suspended its rules.

Such an attempt was made two weeks ago, but supporters could not get a majority of the 51-member House to agree to suspend its rules.

As it stands, six Democrats and 16 Republicans support suspending the rules, leaving the union four votes short of a majority of the House.

State Rep. Felipe Abinsay (D, Kalihi) said yesterday the union has focused its lobbying on the House's Filipino caucus, which includes Abinsay and Reps. Michael Magaoay (D, North Shore), Ben Cabreros (D, Kalihi) and Willie Espero (D, Ewa Beach).

Abinsay said the four, who were not present when the House attempted to suspend its rules to hear the bill on April 11, continue to discuss Senate Bill 2961, but would not say if they would support suspending the rules to hear it if it came up for a vote tomorrow.

The caucus, he said, has several concerns about the measure, including a possible veto by Gov. Ben Cayetano if it is approved by the Legislature. The group has worked to be part of legislation solutions this session but remains the wild card on this measure.

"It's not over until it's over," Abinsay said.

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