Bill Will Repeal Ethanol Requirement

SB 2339 which will repeal the requirement that gasoline contain 10% ethanol, passed out of the Senate by a 23 – 2 vote on March 6. When the ethanol requirement was established several years ago I voted in opposition to it due to the cost and the negative effect the blended gasoline had on various types of vehicles and engines. For SB 2339 I voted in favor of repealing the law and was a primary co-sponsor to the bill with Senators English, Chun-Oakland, Kidani, and Tsutsui. The bill went to the House where is passed out of the Transportation Committee. It has to clear 2 more committees in the House.

Hawaii Part of States to Change TSA Policies

Watch the video above.

PRESS RELEASE

The United States for Travel Freedom, a newly created bipartisan caucus of legislators from nine states, announced its determination to fight for the rights of Americans to travel free of the invasive scanning and pat-down policies now mandated by the Transportation Security Administration.

At least a dozen USTF legislators have introduced bills in their states to halt the TSA procedures. The Texas House recently passed a bill introduced by USTF member Rep. David Simpson. The measure calls for the prosecution of any agent who unlawfully and unreasonably searches a citizen in a Texas airport.

“Our citizens are waking up to the unconstitutional policies of the TSA,” said USTF founder, Rep. Sharon Cissna of Alaska. “Our constitution guarantees us the right to travel free of unreasonable searches and seizures, yet ordinary citizens are subjected to dangerous x-ray scans that expose them to unconfirmed health risks and pat-down procedures that are so invasive they actually constitute sexual assault in many states.”

The USTF reports that momentum is building to stop TSA procedures and replace them, if necessary, with less intrusive security measures such as bomb-sniffing dogs or interview techniques similar to those used by anti-terrorist experts in Israel.

“One of my main concerns is the effect of the TSA procedures on children,” said state Sen. Val Stevens of Washington. “Parents will wisely not want their small children subjected to the scanners’ x-rays, so they opt for the pat-down. As children are touched in places they have been told to protect, they become traumatized. One six-year-old from Kentucky, subjected to a pat-down in New Orleans, started crying from humiliation. It was just heartbreaking. We should not be doing this to our kids.”

As a breast cancer survivor, Rep. Cissna has refused to travel by commercial air flights after being subjected to a humiliating and offensive pat-down when her TSA scan showed the abnormality.

“Ordinary citizens across this country have told us they are being treated like common criminals by the TSA,” said Cissna. “Many of them are cancer or other health-related survivors, whose prostheses, pacemakers or other surgically implanted devices cause them to be continually subjected to embarrassing pat-down procedures.”

Other members of the USTF include: Rep. Will Tallman of Pennsylvania, Rep. Diane Sands of Montana, Assemblywoman Alison McHose and Sen. Michael Doherty of New Jersey, Rep. Eileen Kowall of Michigan, Reps. Jenn Coffee and Jordan Ulery of New Hampshire, Reps. Chris Tuck and Max Gruenberg of Alaska, and Sen. Sam Slom of Hawaii.

Senator Sam Slom introduced SB 1150 to address the problem of the full body scanners and patdowns at airport checkpoints run by the TSA. He stated in a recent article: “In Hawaii, I introduced SB 1150 in January, 2011, “Relating to the use of Body Imaging Scanners at Airports.” The bill would make it illegal to use non-consensual full body imaging devices at Hawaii airports. There were four Democrat co-signatories. The bill was referred to three separate committees, but never given a hearing.”

Senator Slom hopes that his bill or any other similar bill introduced in the Hawaii State Legislature gets a hearing next session.

“This is not a partisan issue,” say’s Alaska’s Rep. Cissna. “We invite any state legislator – or federal for that matter – to join us in this effort. Americans deserve to travel safely, but not at the expense of their freedom and dignity. There is a way to do both, and we’re here to reclaim these rights for every citizen.

Informational Links:

Caucus Formed to Oppose TSA Intrusions
Individual States with Airport Security Legislation
Abolish the TSA, Let the Market Protect the Passngers, Forbes, May 26, 2011

Hawaii, Other States, Form Caucus to Oppose TSA Intrusions

By State Senator Sam Slom
Originally published in HawaiiReporter.com

Believing that the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has gone too far in an assault on individual and states rights, a new, national, bipartisan legislative caucus is emerging to take action.

Dubbed tentatively the “United States for Travel Freedom” caucus, it officially convened on April 14, 2011 via teleconference and video live streaming (http//alaskalegislature.tv/).

The mission of the caucus is to, “establish a centralized location to share information regarding

· detailed information of federal security policies as they pertain to the right to travel freely;
· detailed information on how these policies affect the citizens of the United States of America;
· detailed information on methods of screening and the accumulative costs of these procedures.

Primary organizers are Alaska State Representative Sharon Cissna and Washington State Senator Val Stevens. Republican and Democrat legislators from Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington have pledged to work together for common goals to oppose what is perceived as an ever growing threat to liberty by the TSA. Additional state legislative participation is anticipated.

Each of the lawmakers involved to date has introduced legislation in their state to curb what they, and their state’s citizens, believe to be excessive power by the TSA.

Specific issues include constitutional rights, invasion of privacy and civil rights, child protection and fiscal issues. Many of the state bills call for individual state prohibitions on TSA procedures with the ultimate goal federal action against the operations of the TSA itself.

(a series of legislative lists regarding pending legislation may be found at www.akhealthcaucus.org/TSA.php)

In Hawaii, I introduced SB 1150 in January, 2011, “Relating to the use of Body Imaging Scanners at Airports.” The bill would make it illegal to use non-consensual full body imaging devices at Hawaii airports. There were four Democrat co-signatories. The bill was referred to three separate committees, but never given a hearing. It will be back in 2012.

The full imaging device was installed at Lihue, Kauai, in mid-2010. A second unit was placed in service in Honolulu in October 2010, and to date, two more of a planned six units are in operation in Honolulu.

For years, a growing number of people and organizations have raised red flags about the operations of the TSA, its costs and its effectiveness, or lack thereof, of ever identifying a single terrorist or crime, while inconveniencing and traumatizing hundreds of citizens. Now TSA will be unionized.

There are several national and local controversial issues involving TSA. Last week, a video surfaced on Drudge.com, showing (video and audio) the detailed “patting down” of a six year old child. Parents were horrified.

In March, 2011 in Honolulu, KITV-TV investigative reporter Keoki Kerr uncovered a series of incidents at Honolulu International Airport where more than two dozen TSA screeners were not in fact screening checked luggage. The lapse had gone on for months. At least 27 TSA Honolulu officers are currently under a federal probe for these actions.

Just this week, a former Honolulu TSA employee, Dawn Nicole Keka, is facing embezzling charges for allegedly stealing cash from wallets of Japanese visitors in Kona on the island of Hawaii. Keka was arrested last week and she resigned her job on April 11. The TSA initiated a sting operation after numerous allegations had arisen during the past several months.

It should be remembered that Alaska Representative Cissna made headlines previously, when she, a breast surgery survivor, refused invasive TSA handling and was denied aircraft boarding to return home to Anchorage. She was forced to use several other forms of alternate transportation.

In Hawaii, there are no other alternate forms of transportation.

The next caucus meeting is set for late May or early June. Individuals or organizations in Hawaii who would like more information may contact me directly at SBH@lava.net or 808-349-5438.

Rail Project “On the Ropes”

 

Proposed downtown rail station

HawaiiReporter.com’s Malia Zimmerman reports on the state of the City’s fixed rail transit project. Senator Sam Slom along with HonoluluTraffi.com’s Cliff Slater and former Hawaii Governor Benjamin Cayetano will be bringing on a lawsuit against the proposed multi-billion dollar project.

Former Democrat Governor Benjamin Cayetano, Republican Senator Sam Slom and Honolulu transportation expert and author Cliff Slater, have become the focal point for conservatives, liberals, conservationists, environmentalists, Democrats, Libertarians, Republicans, property owners, farmers and small businesses, who are concerned not only about the ballooning cost of the multibillion dollar project, but how the 20-mile steel on steel elevated rail system through downtown Honolulu will impact the environment, view planes, ancient Hawaiian burial sites, historic buildings, property rights, traffic and noise levels.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT HAWAIIREPORTER.COM

Senator Slom is a long time opponent of the fixed rail project and has voted against it and the State’s GE Tax increase to fund it.