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Legislators loath
to let counties decide

THE ISSUE A Senate committee has revised a bill to fund traffic solutions and approves a 25 percent increase in the state's excise tax.

NEIGHBOR island residents offended by the state Legislature's Honolulu-centric perspective can take a tiny bit of comfort when they see lawmakers aren't so much protective of the city as they are of their own turf.

In amending a bill that would have let each county determine its own traffic solutions and set financing levels for them, a Senate committee has decided that the state should hold on to that power. The changes not only keep the Legislature's tight reins on revenue, but look suspiciously like a plain, old tax increase dressed as transit aid.

The bill, as originally crafted, would have authorized counties to place a surcharge on the state's general excise tax to pay for transportation improvements. It was largely aimed at financing a mass transit system for Honolulu, where traffic has become a commuter's nightmare.

A statewide tax increase was seen as unfair because residents of Kauai, Maui and Hawaii counties would be laying out money for a Honolulu system from which they would gain little direct benefit.

The bill as amended by the Senate Ways and Means Committee bumps up the tax from 4 percent to 5 percent in 2007, contingent on the city approving a light-rail plan by Jan. 1, 2006. The revenue, expected to draw at least $320 million a year, would be handed out to counties with Honolulu getting $200 million; Maui and Hawaii counties, $20 million; and Kauai, $10 million.

The balance of at least $70 million would supposedly go toward tax relief and credits -- a convoluted grab-and- rebate scheme subject, of course, to legislative whim.

Moreover, counties should be left to resolve their transportation problems and to seek the amount they believe their residents can bear without the Legislature's interference.

Committee chairman Brian Taniguchi speciously contends that giving counties a free hand would "create a lot of confusion" if each has a different rate. More likely, the concern is that lawmakers would lose a measure of control over the state's pursestrings.

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Irresponsible hikers
should pay for rescue

THE ISSUE The Legislature is considering a bill to make some stranded hikers pay for their rescue.

HIKERS lost in Hawaii's wilderness areas are required to pay for the cost of their rescue, but only if it can be proved that they deliberately ignored warning signs. A bill before the Legislature would make it easier for counties or the state to seek reimbursement. Hikers must have used "reasonable care" to qualify for a free rescue, and the government in return should exercise reason in imposing a fee.

John Clark, Honolulu's deputy fire chief, says he considers such operations as part of his job. He and Ralph Goto, Honolulu ocean safety administrator (the bill also applies to swimmers), agree that a more flexible law could act as a deterrent, but they warn that those in distress should not be discouraged from calling for help.

Officials now base the cost of a rescue operation on what they charge film companies for staff and equipment. Using that method, they estimated that a six-day search for two Danes rescued from atop a cliff at Oahu's Kahana Valley State Park five years ago cost more than $100,000. At that time, the cost, including a helicopter, pilot, fire engine and five firefighters, amounted to $1,700 an hour.

That is excessive, since the pilot and firefighters are paid regardless of whether they are on a mission or awaiting their next assignment. Any reimbursement should be for the additional cost to the government.

The bill measures "reasonable care" by whether the lost person had gained knowledge about weather and terrain, was equipped with a cellular phone, maps, locating devices or other equipment, and informed others about the route and expected time of departure and return.

Three hikers who were rescued from a Wahiawa ridge in December deserved a free ride because they had a global positioning system and called their coordinates to rescuers by cellphone. Their rescue took little more than an hour.