Threat moves lawmakers
to advance tax hike for rail

The City Council also is poised
to prevent loss of federal support

Two state Senate committees approved a bill yesterday that would authorize the city to increase the general excise tax to 5 percent from 4 percent to fund rail transit.

Star-Bulletin Legislature Database Star-Bulletin Legislature Guide (PDF, 1.9 MB) State Legislature: Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes

The action came after U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie vowed to pull support for federal funding of the project if the city does not come up with its share.

"Absent (the vote) taking place in a reasonable time frame here, I believe that I'll be forced to ... say that we're canceling the idea," he said.

Abercrombie also said: "If this passes the Legislature, I expect (the City Council) to take it up right away and vote. Let's have it up or down. Let's not fool around anymore."

The Senate Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs committees forwarded to the Ways and Means Committee House Bill 1309, House Draft 2, which gives the counties authority to raise the general excise tax by up to 1 percentage point to fund transportation projects.

For Oahu that could mean nearly $300 million in transportation funding a year.

Senate Transportation Chairwoman Lorraine Inouye (D, Hilo-Hamakua) predicts that the bill will make it to conference committee, where the final version will be hammered out.

"Do we need the transit at this point in time? ... I say yes," Inouye said.

She also said she believes Abercrombie will make good on his threat to pull support if he does not see sufficient progress. "There's no doubt," she said. "He has to face his colleagues up there."

Councilman Nestor Garcia, chairman of the City Council's Transportation Committee, said he knows some of his colleagues might need more time.

"Based on the statements by even those who voted for it (a resolution urging the Legislature to pass the funding authority), they need to have a little bit more information, so I think I owe them that," Garcia said.

City Transportation Director Ed Hirata said Mayor Mufi Hannemann is moving forward with an analysis of transportation alternatives that is required before federal funding approvals can be given. That process will take 18 months, he said.

Several business groups continued opposing a general excise tax hike, and testified that rail will not cure congestion.

"We're not here to stop these types of initiatives. We're just here to take a commonsense, businesslike approach to how they should be implemented," said Perry Confalone, of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.