TV: A Better Day with Senator Sam Slom

Senator Sam Slom talks with Rep. Colleen Meyer who worked in his Hawaii State Senate office this session.She was in the State Hawaii State House of Representatives from 1995-2008, and was a member of Kahaluu Neighborhood Board #29 from 1992-1995. Elise Anderson is a graduate of Princeton University AB, English Language & Literature and has worked in the legislature for a few years.

Legislature Adjourns: 180+ Bills Pass Final Reading on Final Days

During the budget bill discussion Senator Slom stated that he saved the state $118,037 by not using his legislative allowance since being elected to the Senate in 1996. This symbolic check was presented to “the keiki” and future taxpayers of Hawaii.

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Floor Action: April 30, 2013 – Session Day #59 & May 2, 2013 – Session Day #60: Adjournment Siné Di

By State Senator Sam Slom – as published in the Kuliouou Neighborhood Board Report #2 – May 2, 2013.

The Hawaii State Legislature ended the 2013 Session today with more than 180 bills passing out of the House and the Senate on Tuesday, April 30. Several bills that the House and Senate agreed on before and during the conference committee process were voted on last week and have been enrolled to the Governor’s office for final action. The Governor has enacted 71 bills into law so far. He has 45 additional working days between now and mid July in which to decide on the remaining bills.

In final reading votes taken on April 30, I voted “no” on the following bills:

SB 2 HD1: Simulated firearms – Amends the offenses of terroristic threatening in the first degree and robbery in the first degree to include the use of simulated firearms.

SB 1084 CD1:  Constitution amendment to permit the appropriation of public funds for private early childhood education programs.

SB 1070 CD1: Mortgage servers – fees.

SB 1071 CD1: Financial institutions, fees.

SB 1171 HD2: Authorizes “phased review” of certain projects by the DLNR’s State Preservation Division – re: iwi along rail route.

HB 848 CD1: Redefining small employers with employees of 50 or less for consistency with new federal health insurance laws.

SB 1214 CD1: Ban on wheel boots – will put wheel boot firm out of business; the wheel booting firm was not given adequate opportunity to testify on the bill during the process.

HB 785 CD1: Allows Hawaii Roll Call Commission to certify native Hawaiians.

HB 622 CD1: Significantly weakens Hawaii’s journalism “shield law” – definition excludes “new media” and traditional print media with no paid subscription. While the conference draft passed in the Senate, the House passed an amended version of the bill which essentially killed the law with 2 different versions passed but neither concurring.

SB 978 CD1: Establishing that cruelty to animals in the second degree is a class C felony if the offense involves ten or more, rather than twenty-five, pet animals in any one instance.

SB 535 CD1: “Domestic workers bill of rights” – subjects domestic workers to same legal rights as other employees in non-domestic worker situations.

SB 655 CD1: Expedited partner therapy – sexually transmitted diseases; health professionals; prescription drugs.

SB 345 CD1: Raises fees related to portable electronics insurance licenses to $5,000 for the issuance of the initial portable electronics limited lines licenses and $2,500 per year for the initial or renewal term.

SB 997 CD1: State archives; electronic records.

SB 1087 CD1: Appropriation for the Green Infrastructure Loan Program.

SB 1194 CD1: Makes permanent the transient accommodation tax rate of 9.25 per cent.

HB 820 CD1: Salary increases for collective bargaining cost items. I voted against all collective bargaining cost item bills including HB 816, SB 907, SB 911, SB 895, HB 833, SB 909 and SB 902.

SB 593 CD1: Expands livestock feed subsidies to include milking goats, goats raised for meat, sheep, lambs, fish, and crustaceans.

SB 1133 CD1: Adds energy and dietary supplement beverage containers in the deposit beverage container tax program.

SB 69 CD1: What started out as a gun buy-back bill is now a gun registration bill that I continue to oppose.

SB 532 CD1: Requires employers to set up accommodations in the workplace for breastfeeding.

SB 237 CD1: Appropriation for pilot program to generate revenue through the lease of public school lands for public purposes.

SB 403 CD1: Bonds; loan program from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

SB 668 CD1: Transfers medical marijuana program from Dept. of Public Safety to Dept. of Health; establishes a new special fund.

Prior to the April 30 floor session, a bill that I also vote against was:

SB 1193 HD1: The bill repeals the General Excise Tax exemption for goods sold to common or foreign carriers.

Despite my “no” votes, all of the bills listed above passed and have since been enrolled to the Governor for further action. The Governor will have to option to sign the bill into law, let it pass without signature or veto it. A 45 working day period commenced after the bills were sent to the Governor in order for him to take action.

Dead For This Session: Finally on the last day of the regular session, SB 946 “Relating to the Unfunded Liabilities of the State and Counties” failed to pass in a floor vote at the Senate. I voted “No” on this bill as well as 19 of my other Senate colleagues. In the end the bill failed to pass with 4 ayes and 20 no’s, 1 excused.

Also dead on the last day was HB 31 which passed out of the House but was recommitted in the Senate back to conference committee. The bill makes it a disorderly conduct offense to lie down at a bus stop shelter. I noted that this was a “home rule” issue that the county should address, and not the state.

Several other bills did not make it out of conference committee and have died. They were covered in the previous post below. Final bill updates are online at www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

Journalism – The Fourth Estate

Senator Sam Slom talks about the Journalism Shield Law and bill in the latest edition of “A Better Day”. Guests include Gerald Kato of the University of Hawaii School of Communication and Stirling Morita, President of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Hawaii’s shield law will lapse after the sunset date of June 30. The House and Senate passed two different versions of HB 622 which the original intent was to just delete the sunset date and continue the still current law as is.

The latest episode of “A Better Day” is also streaming on Olelo.net:

Links to previous episodes of “A Better Day”.

April 2013: http://youtu.be/-rcbzlXOiqw – Taxes; Lowell Kalapa

March 2013: http://youtu.be/CqmX-KfqBBA – Sen. Dela Cruz

February 2013: http://youtu.be/zftkUg74QGc – Noelani & Matt; 2013 Session

January 2013: http://youtu.be/wXqx1Myq8dI – Paul Harleman; Budget

December 2012: http://youtu.be/Izps5dpGUyg – Linda Smith

November 2012: http://youtu.be/o0kd54JV9r8 – Sen. Donna Mercado Kim

September 2012: http://youtu.be/hk5SavyyxDw – Charles Djou

August 2012: http://youtu.be/-K7dz38htg8 – Kailua Bay w/ Sen. Fred Hemmings

July 2012: http://youtu.be/3iLnmiv9UEw – Rep. Gene Ward & Sen. Fred Hemmings.

Legislative Wrap – Last Days of 2013 Session Part 1

The Senate conference committee on Judiciary and Labor.

April 26 – Floor Action: Session Day #58 – The big news of the evening was that a number of bills failed to pass out of conference committee on this the last day of the conference committee process. All conference committee hearings stopped by 6:00 p.m. Among the bills that were declared dead by this time were the minimum wage increase bill (SB 331), the definition of “permanent resident” bill (SB 286) which could have counted the military, their dependents and student populations for Hawaii’s redistricting process (like it is done in most states), HB 634 the “employer successor bill”, the voter registration bill at absentee ballot polling places (HB 321), a cesspool tax bill (HB 903), and SB 880 which would have strengthened Hawaii’s law somewhat against sexual assault of a minor. In addition to the bills that died, more than 180 bills were made ready for final reading votes that occurred on April 30.

Senator Slom opposed the dead bills mentioned above except for SB 880  and SB 286, which he introduced at the beginning of session.

April 25 – Floor Action: Session Day #57 - Session was held at 6:30 pm that night. It was also the last day to deck non-fiscal bills and ready them for final reading. Conference committees were still busy. On the Senate floor 10 bills passed final reading votes with Senator Slom voting in favor of all 10 along with the unanimous majority.

April 24 – Floor Action: Session Day #56 - A number of resolutions passed as week as SB 1083 on transportation for school children.