Entries for February 2015

House Republicans speak out on the floor of the legislature....

“With Hawaii’s all-Democrat Congressional delegation taking a back seat in the Republican controlled congress, we’re honored to give the people of Hawaii a chance to hear from a sitting United States Senator in the majority Party."

Honolulu Ranks 42nd Overall (tied with Irving, TX): 77th for 'Income Diversity' and 101st for 'Educational Diversity'....

Senator Slom said, "I am very pleased to see that Rep. Fukumoto Chang has taken a more proactive, pragmatic approach as House Minority leader than her predecessor...."

...anti-gun Senate Bills 783 and 462 were deferred indefinitely....

Babes Against Biotech opposed DeCoite....

Hawaii and Colorado are the only states to finish in the top 10 every year since 2008....

Read their testimony below....

Wednesday March 11th at 10 AM in room 229....

Refineries would have access to cheaper domestically-produced crude oil, which would lower the cost of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil. And there would be less need for imported oil....

...Judicial Watch and former Hawaii Attorney General Michael Lilly are filing suit to compel the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission to release the list to the public....

Local, democratic control over the island’s energy infrastructure....

The deadline to submit completed candidate and voter registration forms for Neighborhood Board elections is this Friday, February 20, 2015....

Requires PUC to establish community-based renewable energy tariff or tariffs by no later than January 1, 2016....

...Healthcare.gov failed customers on the last hours of open enrollment this past weekend and now anyone who had problems signing up is getting an extension....

1,515 bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and 1,379 bills were introduced in the Senate – over 400 more bills than were introduced in 2014....

...HB631 will be granted a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, February 18th....

• Senate: Child Pornography Victims Restitution - Passage
• House: Keystone XL Pipeline – Passage
• House: Small Business Tax Extenders – Passage

Liabilities everywhere: The rail project, the failing state hospital system, overdue maintenance on state buildings and campuses, underfunded public worker pensions and health insurance, and so much more....

...a brood of unethical government contractors and incapable government enforcers....

I Mua Manoa proposes the following seven (7) steps to address the issue of transparency and to make the budget sustainable....

...to be heard by the Committees this week....

The language in the bill about non-resident aliens is just "housekeeping" to clarify terminology in statute passed years ago....

...If HCR33 gets a hearing, it will first be in the House of Representatives Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs committee chaired by Rep. Kaniela Ing....

...Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement will soon be requesting funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs....

The House District 13 Council Nominating Committee has completed its selection process and has forwarded three names to the governor....

Sales taxes in most states leave rent alone, but our General Excise Tax (GET) taxes it....

Patrick Novak v. USA, in which plaintiffs appeal the Hawaii district court’s dismissal for lack of standing of their action brought against the United States, seeking a declaration that the Jones Act was invalid as it applied to interstate commerce involving the State of Hawaii....

Consumers should be especially aware of the difficulty that continues to exist in trying to get straight information....

...Joseph Kim has been nominated to be the Deputy Director at the Department of Taxation where he will redeploy his extensive experience in training and commanding U.S. Air Force....

Horizon and its board of directors believe that the claims in the actions are entirely without merit but are entering into this settlement because it will eliminate the risks, costs, and other burdens of litigation....

...to make experimental drugs available to terminally ill patients who meet certain qualifications....

Hawaii is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to the citizen tax burden....

...Grassroot Institute has been busy tracking legislation that threatens or promotes free market principles and individual liberty....

Currently, seven states—Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin—are permitted to tax Internet access....

The deadline to submit completed candidate and voter registration forms for Neighborhood Board elections is next Friday, February 20, 2015....

The state paid nearly $60 million in overtime pay last year....

...SB 783, died yesterday.  The Senate Public Safety Committee, Chaired by Sen. Will Espero voted to "defer indefinitely."....

...managers had set up a special module in the cost reporting software that allowed them to change prices....

... February 20 is the last day to file ....

...a 50% increase in people experiencing homelessness from out-of-state compared to last winter season....

...to convert the UH Cancer Center to an organized research unit within JABSOM....

...35 schools on Oahu and 15 schools on Kauai....

"The department’s mission and future goals ... includes funding...."

Opposition parties are rightfully tattletales. They are critics and watchdogs. Without this tattling, many things go on that the public does not know about....

...Small Business Caucus of the Hawaii State Legislature today announced its priority list of bills....