OHA Trustees Confirm Order Requiring LLCs to Open Books
Audit Anger at OHA
Hawaii Ranks #4 for Millionaires per Capita
Economist: Why economic freedom matters to Hawaii
Ige Appoints Leonard Hoshijo to Head DLIR
Hawaii: Firearm Surrender Bill to be Heard, Trigger Modification Bill Passes Committee
Judicial Council Extends deadline for two vacancies on Hawaii State Ethics Commission
50-State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2018
Hawaii Sanctuary Bill: 48-hour Catch and Release for Terrorists
SA: …Modeled after so-called sanctuary laws in California and other jurisdictions, Senate Bill 2290 and House Bill 1994 would generally prohibit local police from stopping, questioning or arresting anyone based solely on an immigration hold, or detainer, or an immigration warrant.
(Crime friendly-business hostile. Get it?)
The Senate measure would allow local police to hold people for up to 48 hours at the request of immigration authorities only when the detainers are accompanied by federal arrest warrants, or when those being targeted have felony convictions or are believed to have engaged in terrorist activities….
(Since Hawaii is losing population to the Mainland, we need more criminals and we need more soft-on-crime laws to attract them to move here.)
The House version of the “Ho‘okipa Welcoming Policy Act” would allow police to cooperate with immigration authorities in a wider range of cases, including some instances when the subject of a detainer is arrested for a felony, or when the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor in the past five years.
(Don’t worry. That will get stripped out in conference committee.)
The Maui County police and prosecutor’s office oppose both bills, with Maui Assistant Police Chief Victor K. Ramos reminding lawmakers that the police are sworn to support and defend the state and federal constitutions.
“I urge the Legislature to abstain from meddling into the affairs of federal, state and county law enforcement,” Ramos said in written comments. “Please keep partisan politics out.”…
Sen. Clarence Nishihara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, said he sees the bill as “a response to what the president has been doing,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s hard line on immigration….
read … Sanctuary State
491 Homeless Shipped Back to Mainland
SA: …IHS reports that since beginning its relocations in December 2014, it has returned 424 people to a place with meaningful ties. Some have not required any funds to be returned because their families paid the travel costs. IHS believes only four or five of them have come back to Hawaii, less than 1 percent of the total.
Kauai Economic Opportunities has assisted 21 individuals with their repatriations. The Maui Family Life Center has helped 46 people. Most importantly, Kauai and Maui report no returnees. The grand total for all three agencies is 491 repatriated….
Legislation calling for matching funds to repatriate the homeless back to the mainland has been introduced by the state House and Senate Tourism Committee chairmen, Rep. Richard Onishi and Sen. Glenn Wakai, respectively. It would appropriate up to $2 million in transient accommodations tax revenue, to be matched dollar-for-dollar by businesses and other private donors….
read … Homelessness repatriation program works
30% of Prison Guards call in sick on Super Bowl Sunday
HNN: …DPS reports, of 733 officers statewide assigned to work that day, 213 called in sick. That equates to about 34 percent of staff out for the day.
In 2017, that number was 260 of 733 out sick for the day. In 2016: 230.
"Everyone always asks how we are working towards the use of less leave on major holidays and event weekends," DPS Spokesperson Toni Schwartz said. "All state employees are entitled to use earned leave. Curbing excessive leave use is a constant battle for all state agencies."
DPS says staffing was adequate and no visitations were canceled….
SA: Another Super Bowl, another OCCC sickout
SA: 30% of Hawaii prison guards absent on Super Bowl Sunday
read … How many corrections officers statewide called in sick on Super Bowl Sunday?
HGEA Just Can’t Get the Job Done -- State seeks to contract inspectors for dialysis centers
SA: …The state is seeking to hire out-of-state contractors to help clear a backlog of health inspections of dialysis centers and other medical facilities.
There is a delay of up to three years in inspections for new dialysis centers, which can’t fully open until they are certified by the state. Meanwhile, the number of patients with kidney failure continues to climb.
The Department of Health doesn’t have enough (needs) workers (but instead is stuck with HGEA members) to keep up with required certifications, potentially putting patient safety at risk. The state has nearly 4,000 dialysis patients….
read … State seeks to contract inspectors for dialysis centers
Was Maui Official Ousted For Skipping Mayor’s Campaign Event?
CB:…The lawsuit comes from David Taylor, director of Maui’s Department of Water Supply, and it levels a number of claims —including defamation, wrongful termination and violation of due process rights — against his boss, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa.
Taylor, according to the lawsuit and his attorneys, does not know why Arakawa, who twice appointed Taylor to his job, wants him out. The mayor has seemed to change his rationale several times.
But the lawsuit provides a clue: It states that Taylor “was repeatedly contacted” on behalf of Arakawa and “requested to attend a campaign function in support” of the mayor’s candidacy for lieutenant governor.
The request is said to have come during the two weeks prior to the Oct. 9 event. The lawsuit explains that Taylor had a prior commitment and could not make it.
And that’s when things got weird.
The very next day, Arakawa is alleged to have called Taylor to his office and demanded his resignation. No explanation was given by the mayor, according to Taylor’s lawsuit….
read … Skipping
Maui Council Candidates: Will Anti-GMO Hysteria Caucus Be Cleared Out?
MN: …Ongoing discord among Maui County Council members has inspired the launching of campaigns for two candidates: former mayoral candidate and Council Member Alice Lee and Claire Kamalu Carroll, the 48-year-old daughter of Council Member Bob Carroll, who’ll retire this year.
Carroll, one of two adult children of the longtime council member holding the East Maui residency seat, said conflicts among council members have interfered with the legislative body’s business.
“I was really hoping that everyone could work together, but it seems like sometimes personal issues get in the way of what’s supposed to get done for our people,” she said. “I just feel I can do the job.”….
Lee, a 1966 graduate of St. Anthony High School, said she’s seeking the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu council residency seat held by freshman Council Member Alika Atay, who won the seat two years ago as part of the (anti-GMO whackjob) Ohana Coalition….
On Dec. 1, council members dismissed a bill that would have allowed members to remove individual staff members. The measure reportedly stemmed from the behavior of Atay’s executive assistant, Brian Bardellini, with allegations including “loud, aggressive, intimidating, confrontational and unprofessional” conduct toward a council member and others, according to an Oct. 16 letter from council Chairman Mike White to Atay….
Lee said one of Atay’s aides had been banned from the seventh floor where Council Services and County Clerk offices are located.
Claire Carroll said this last council term was “clearly disappointing that some council members chose to be more focused on seeing how to focus on personal agendas rather than focus on what was to make good government by working together.”….
MN: Retiring Carroll to focus on family, service
Dec 2, 2017: Anti-GMO Council Staffer Threatens Maui Councilmembers
read … Quacks of Duckburg
Minimum Wage Bill Especially Designed to Screw Restaurants
PBN: …The Hawaii Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday passed a bill that would establish a paid family leave program.
Senate Bill 2990 would implement a framework of laws and policies that would give employees access to leave benefits during times when they need to provide care for a family member, as well as create a paid family leave implementation board.
Language in the bill calls for $1.5 million to be appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii for fiscal year 2018-2019 and be deposited into the paid family leave special fund….
The committee also passed a minimum wage bill on Tuesday, which would increase the minimum wage to $12.25 per hour in 2019 and $15 per hour in 2020.
Senate Bill 2291 would also eliminate the lower minimum wage for tipped workers (just to screw the restaurant industry) and provide automatic cost-of-living increases. …
read … Paid family leave bill passes Hawaii Senate Labor Committee
Desperate to Block Competition from Cheap, Clean Natural Gas, Green Energy Scammers Suddenly Feign Interest in CO2
IM:…The Gas Company filed for a rate increase with the Hawai`i Public Utilities. By law, the Consumer Advocate is a party to docket no. 2017-0105. The Commission issued Order No. 35267, dated February 6, 2018, granting limited participation to three entities: 350 Hawaii, Hui Aloha Aina O Ka Lai Maile Ali`i, and Life of the Land.
Participants are limited to “whether the commission should disallow as unreasonable Hawaii Gas' LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas] costs due to the effects of Hawaii Gas' use of imported LNG on the State's reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.”…
(Note: CO2 is never an issue when biofuel or biomass projects are built. See how this works?)
The commission shall explicitly consider the effect of the State's reliance on fossil fuels and on greenhouse gas emissions. Such consideration, moreover, includes an evaluation of relevant hidden and long-term costs….
read … Its not a Biofool do CO2 matters
Hawaii County Council Again Pretends to consider measure aimed at regulating vacation rentals
HTH: …The measure, Bill 108, is set to get its first council hearing Feb. 20….
Osgood said the county is targeting nonresidents who don’t vote.
Planning Director Michael Yee said the bill is currently written generally, with specifics to be worked out to achieve a balance between residents and vacation rentals….
For owners of property who currently rent out their homes for 30 days or less in the Vacation District, the General Commercial District and the Special Downtown Hilo District, registration is all that will be required. Also, those in the General Plan Resort and Resort Nodes will be required only to register, unless in a Residential District that falls within the Resort area.
The registration form, at a minimum, requires verification that state general excise tax and transient accommodations tax licenses are in effect, and certification that the required amount of parking is available.
Those currently operating outside of a permitted district — such as in a Residential, Rural or Agricultural district — will be required to get a Nonconforming Use Certificate. For that, the owner/operator must show they have been in use, declaring income on the commercial activity and in “Good Standing” prior to Jan. 20.
Yee is unsure whether grandfathered properties should retain their designation forever or whether it would change when, for example, property is sold….
Bill 108: Text, Status
read … Council to consider measure aimed at regulating vacation rentals
Hotels Cashing in on Mindless Anti-Sunscreen Histrionics
KITV: …Aqua-Aston Hospitality owns three dozen hotels, a majority of them Hawaii. They recently partnered with all natural sunscreen company, Raw Elements, to focus on maintaining a sustainable future for both tourists and locals.
"We provide our guest with reef safe sunscreen dispensers free of use."
"Hopefully this is a way that someone seeing that dispenser says, wait wait a minute there's and then they read the board and its like reef safe."
But the "Reef Safe Initiative" goes beyond sunscreen.
"Having our hotels green certified, eliminating plastics, introducing eco kits to our guest to help them have sustainable stay," said Theresa Van Greunenname of Aqua-Aston Hospitality….
read … Cashing In on Hype
Animal Liberation Nuts Push Two Bills
CFI: …The Hawaii Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act will ban the sale of any cosmetic product that has been tested on animals. If passed, the ban would come into effect in January 2020. Hawaii will join over 30 countries including the European Union, Norway, Israel, and India in prohibiting the sale of new animal tested cosmetics.
A second bill would make it compulsory for manufacturers and laboratories in the state to use scientifically approved non-animal alternatives for cosmetics or household product testing. California, New York and New Jersey have all had similar laws in place for over ten years. …
LK: HAWAII PROPOSES TO END ANIMAL TESTING FOR GOOD
read … Obsessive-Compulsive
Chaos at Kau Charter School Meeting
HNN: …The state Public Charter School Commission organized the community gathering about Ka'u Learning Academy to explain the "notice of prospect of revocation," the first step in the process of revoking the school's charter.
But the meeting last week turned into a shouting match when Ka'u Learning Academy's executive director reached her two-minute limit to comment and the commission's executive director, Sione Thompson, tried to cut her off.
When several audience members offered Kathryn Tydlacka their time and she continued to speak, Thompson abruptly ended the meeting….
In November, commissioners took the first step to revoke the school's charter after reviewing an auditor's report and listening to testimony from school leaders and others.
The academy hired a CPA and created a corrective action plan after the audit, which found a lack of internal financial controls and additional oversight.
The commission said it takes seriously the use of school funds to pay for a couple of personal expenses. Tydlacka said one case was a mix-up and the other bill was promptly reimbursed. (Uh-huh. Happens all the time.)
read … Charter school leader cut off at a meeting, leaving questions over school's future
Hawaii May Allow Tourists To Get Marijuana with Doctor’s Note
CB: …Visitors who are allowed to use marijuana in their home states may soon be able to shop at Hawaii dispensaries.
That’s one of the proposals in three wide-ranging bills heard this week by the House and Senate health committees. Senate Bill 2718, House Bill 2729 and HB 2733 all address cannabis issues.
Visitors would need to register with the Health Department in order to ensure that their purchases do not exceed the legal limits. A photo ID, and a cannabis card or physician’s note (LOL!) recommending cannabis would be required.
“I think it’s incumbent on our state, being that tourism is our top industry, that we recognize our visitors (are addicts) who rely on their (drugs)….”
Big Q: Should medical marijuana be sold to Hawaii visitors who have a valid card/certificate for use?
read … Keep the People Doped up
10 Dead: Legislators do nothing to Stop Lawyers from Suing Lifeguards
CB: …Last year, ocean safety advocates said lawmakers actually did more harm than good. The Legislature let expire a liability protection that lifeguards had for 15 years, opening them up to lawsuits. A group of prominent personal injury lawyers with strong ties to House leaders provided the only testimony in favor of eliminating the immunity.
That issue is back before the Legislature this session as a top priority of county mayors and council members, as are several other issues that either stalled last year or bring new ideas to the table in light of the spate of drownings.
No hearing has been set yet for any of the dozen bills that would restore the liability protection but it’s clearly top of mind among county leaders and lifeguards. It’s referenced in public testimony on other measures related to ocean safety, such as House Bill 2097.
That bill, introduced last month by Reps. Ryan Yamane, Lynn DeCoite and Nicole Lowen, would appropriate $1 million to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to hire lifeguards to monitor beach parks. It was heard Wednesday by the House Water and Land Committee, which Yamane chairs….
KITV: Lifeguard liability
read … Lawyers are #1
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