HawaiiVotes

Whirlwind legislative session draws to a close

2011-04-29T07:48:00Z

The fate of the final 146 legislative fiscal bills will have been decided after the last conference committee meeting today, which is currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

So far 80 bills have passed the Legislature for the 2011 session. See them here: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/RptMeasuresPassed.aspx Of those, 30 have become law – see: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/RptActs.aspx - and the rest are shown as having passed final reading or having been sent to the governor, where he can sign them into law, veto them or have them pass into law without his signature.

At 6:30 p.m., the Senate and House are each slated to go into session, and by the time they adjourn for today, the final fiscal bills that passed their conference committees most likely will have until 11 p.m. or midnight for the clerk to receive them into the journal. Then, on Tuesday, May 3, the legislators will vote on the bills that will pass as is, and give 48 hours to vote on any bills that they want to amend. On Thursday, May 5, the last votes will be taken and the regular 2011 session will come to a close.

Traditionally, about 10 percent of the bills introduced at the beginning of a session pass into law. By the time the Legislature adjourns, the public will know the final percentage of the 3,224 bills introduced this year that passed into law.

The public is invited to a potluck at the Public Access Room, on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at 4 p.m. in Room 401 at the state Capitol to celebrate the (almost) end of session. For more information, go to page 4 of the Public Access Room’s April 2011 newsletter at http://hawaii.gov/lrb/par/pub/nl0411.pdf

To see this post in Rooted in Reason, go to: http://wp.me/pFlrJ-n3 or see other posts there at http://rootedinreason.com/

Anyone interested in sending an email to all legislators, go to:

sens@capitol.hawaii.gov

reps@capitol.hawaii.gov

Or find your individual Senator or Representative at:

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/members/senate/senatemembers.aspx

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/members/house/housemembers.aspx

To contact the governor, go to:

http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact/

Start a discussion at on HawaiiVotes Facebook.

Road to Taxes is Paved with Good Intentions

2011-01-27T11:10:00Z

2011 Senate Bill 819 (Transportation; Vehicle Miles Traveled Pilot Program)

· Introduced by Sen. J. Kalani English (D) on January 21, 2011, to require the state Department of Transportation to evaluate a vehicle miles traveled user fee and establish one or more pilot programs to test alternatives to the existing state and county system of motor vehicle fuel taxes.

o Scheduled to be heard in the Senate Committee on Transportation, International & Intergovernmental Affairs on Friday, January 28, 2011, at 1:15 p.m. in Conference Room 224.

Thanks to the high cost of motor vehicle fuel -- which in Hawaii includes the second highest gasoline taxes in the country at 63.5 cents per gallon, -- people have started buying alternative cars and cars with better fuel efficiency. The unintended consequence of increasing the cost of motor vehicle fuel is that there is less money going into the state coffers to pay for the upkeep of the roads. With this change in driving behavior, which has spawned the age of the electric car, our Legislature is now looking at ways to bring the electric-driving public back into the tax fold. Hence this pilot program to track vehicle miles traveled by road users. So much for “going green.”

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=819

Repeal of Special Funds Bill – to Use Dormant Funds or Turn Users' Fees into New Taxes?

2011-01-21T16:43:00Z

A multitude of special funds are slated to be on the chopping block with the introduction yesterday of Hawaii Senate Bill SB120, to repeal certain special funds and transfer balances to the state general fund. The question arises, if a special fund is repealed, and the fund is paid for by users’ fees, does the user fee get reduced or does it stay the same and essentially that extra money becomes a tax to go into the general fund? The bill does not address this issue.

Hawaii Legislature Opens Jan. 19, 2011

2011-01-19T01:49:00Z

Hawaii's Twenty-Sixth Legislature will officially convene the 2011 regular session on Wed., Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. at the state Capitol.The public is welcome to join the festivities, but seating in the House and Senate galleries is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Following the ceremonies in both houses, starting at noon, the public is invited to a potluck at the Public Access Room, in room 401, where information on the session is readily available. The legislators' offices also will be open to the public, for a chance to meet and greet the Senators and Representatives. For more information and to reach specific offices, go to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/ For assistance with where to park, go to http://hawaiibusiness.com/pdfs/parking2010.pdf

Informational Briefings Scheduled at the State Capitol

2011-01-04T23:27:00Z

Various Committees of the state Legislature have scheduled informational briefings at the Capitol through Jan. 18, 2011. No public testimony will be accepted.

The Dept. of Taxation and the Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will be making presentations to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Jan. 5, 2011, at 9 a.m. in Conference Room 211.

For a complete list of briefings posted by the state on Jan. 4, 2011, click on the following link:

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/hearing2.asp?button1=current

Illegal Fireworks Task Force Meeting Monday, Dec. 13, 2010

2010-12-10T22:09:00Z

A public meeting is set for the Illegal Fireworks Task Force on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010, in Conference Room 309 at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol, 415 South Beretania St. Presentations by Matson Navigation and Horizon Lines are scheduled.

New Tool For Hawaii's Voters (News Rel.)

2009-03-24T05:43:00Z

NEWS RELEASE

Hawaii Voters Get New Transparency Tool
Powerful, free website empowers citizens to track activity of state legislature and individual lawmakers

March 24, 2009 --- Citizens now have a powerful, online tool to track the actions of Hawaii’s state legislature and individual legislators. HawaiiVotes.org is a free website that provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill, amendment and vote in the Hawaii House and Senate. These are all sortable by legislator, issue category, keyword and more, allowing a citizen to quickly create a custom “voting record guide” for any legislator on any issue.

How did a state representative or senator vote on an issue or bill that you care about? What bills and amendments did each legislator sponsor? What legislation actually became law this year – and what did not? What would all these bills actually do (vs. what their sponsors intend)? Which legislators have missed the most votes, and how many did yours miss? The answers to all those questions and more are at citizens’ fingertips 24 hours a day on HawaiiVotes.org.

HawaiiVotes.org is a free public service from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH), a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational institution. The purpose of the new site is to inform citizens, media and public officials about legislation that affects their families, schools, jobs and communities.

Grassroot Institute President Jamie Story says it's a great tool for anyone who is either frustrated with the performance of elected officials or is just plain curious about the process. “The new website empowers citizens to actually participate in the democratic process,” she said. “HawaiiVotes.org will shed great light on our state legislature and government.”

The site also provides other features, including a comments section/forum where citizens can share their views about particular bills or other state public policy issues. A blog aggregator displays the most recent post of the state’s leading political blogs both left and right, and “LegislatorPedia” and “JudgePedia” shed additional sunlight on the Aloha state’s elected officials and judiciary.

“State government is involved in so many areas of our lives and economy; HawaiiVotes.org has never been needed more,” said GRIH Communications Director Tom McAuliffe. “It’s free, easy to use, fast and informative. Think of it as a giant spyglass on the Hawaii State Legislature!”

For more information please visit www.grassrootinstitute.org

-GRIH-

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

1314 S. King St.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Office: (808) 591-9193

eMail: info@grassrootinstitute.org

www.grassrootinstitute.org

Grassroot TV

www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootHawaii

The mission of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is to promote individual liberty, free market economic principles and limited, more accountable government.

HIvotes goes LIVE!

2009-03-24T05:31:00Z

Aloha,

As Jackie Gleason use to say... "And awaaaaaay we go!" HawaiiVotes is going live!

Since the 60-day session of the 25th Legislature started Jan. 16th TeamGrassroot has been hard at work and we are re-describing the bills and categorizing them. We are past the half way mark to Sine Die (last day) on May 7th. Please let us know what you think about the site and how we can make it even better. Also let it fly, within reason, in the forums... How shall we get out of the present fiscal problem? Should we raise taxes? Cut state government hours and/or jobs? Where are you on issues like Civil Unions, the Public/Ceded lands or the Union card law? This is YOUR forum we are but facilitators of information. Let the sun shine in...

Their Votes... YOUR views!

TeamGrassroot

Please take the Poll!

2009-01-23T06:13:00Z

Under the General Gov. section

Please take the poll about what issue you feel

will be the #1 issue this session.

ALSO: please check out this podcast with the head of the Public Access Room at the Capitol.

http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/podcasts/pod29_Marinelli.mp3

And away we go!

Aloha,

Tom @ HiVotes

Aloha from GRIH and HIvotes!

2008-12-11T00:58:00Z

Aloha Fellow Hawaiian, and welcome to the HawaiiVotes BLOG! Team Grassroot and I will be keeping you up to date on the inner workings of the Hawaii State Capitol and the measures they will introduce the next legislative session which starts Jan. 22, 2009. It's both an exciting and a challenging time, because we are finally starting to see some movement toward governmental transparency and challenging because there is so much we can and should do to move our state forward.

Welcome to HawaiiVotes.org!

2008-12-10T02:57:00Z

Welcome to HawaiiVotes.org! This web site provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Hawaii House and Senate. You can search these by legislator, category, keyword and more. Citizens can also post comments about bills and discuss other state policy issues on the Forums.

So what do you think?