Senator Slom talks about the impact of minimum wage on business, unions and employees.

The Senate Minority staff consists of office staff for Senator Slom and office staff for the Senate Minority Research Office (SMO). Shown, sitting left to right: Julia Allen, Jessica Yeh. Standing, left to right: Herb Laybon, Matt Rapoza (intern), Troy Thompson, Arik Look, Moe B. Sy, E. Christine Flanagan, Matt Balkin and Lauren Rogan. Photo by Mel.

Senator Slom held the first press conference for the Senate Minority in his office on January 20. He covered fiscal, budgetary, and educational issues among other topics. The video is about a half hour long. Direct YouTube link: http://youtu.be/Mi8LxOi5Exg

Senator Slom delivers his opening day speech. 1-18-2012

Opening Day Remarks by Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom

Video Link

Senate President Tsutsui, Governor Abercrombie, distinguished guests and overburdened taxpayers of Hawaii, on behalf of the entire Senate Minority, Aloha!

Hawaii still enjoys two competitive political philosophies within our government, not dependent on the number of senators. The majority philosophy stresses more government, taxation and control of individuals. Our philosophy rewards individual risk and accomplishment, encourages lower taxes on families and small businesses, promotes transparency in government, and advocates additional economic options for all of our residents and a strong belief in our people and the future of Hawaii.

Here’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to oppose bad programs. We are going to oppose bad bills. We will bring attention to irresponsible spending. And we will do our best to offer fresh ideas and new solutions.

Let me say right upfront we acknowledge the majority’s unilateral decision to once again suspend, as was done in 2010, our tradition of making Hawaii’s opening day colorful, special and unique, in order to appear more serious and business like. But we respectfully disagree. This lack of Aloha diminishes the citizens’ role and ownership of our government. It is their chance to be here and we have marginalized that.

Expenses must be cut back in the legislature – just as individuals, families, and small business have been doing for years – but not just for opening day.

I sincerely believe our nation and our state have reached a political, economic and cultural tipping point. Never before in history have our decisions been as critical as they are now.

We have the awesome responsibility to help determine whether our nation and state will advance and prosper, or whether we allow or facilitate further interference with individual choice and rights, slipping back into a lesser standard of living.

In neighboring states and a growing number of countries, bad government decisions – overspending, burdensome taxation and debt – are bringing misery and economic despair to countless millions. We have been taught to think globally but accept that all politics is local.

While there are many actions outside of our control, still, there are changes we can make to control and improve Hawaii’s destiny. We in this body, have an opportunity to think and act outside the constraints of past failed government policy.

We must require our government school bureaucracy to be accountable for the tremendous amount of resources they consume annually. We still wrestle with a balanced budget and will vote on supplemental expenditures this year.

Our recent bond issue resulted in savings and that is positive but borrowing is still added debt and a further burden on our families and children.

Last month, the state administration was cheering over a budget surplus that enabled it to spend more money. Look at the factors that caused this “surplus.” It came from Hawaii’s hard working families and businesses who had to shoulder an estimated $600 million in additional taxes over these two years, due to the tax increases passed last year by this legislature.

More than $400 million came from increased General Excise Taxes on contractors, businesses that sublease, airlines and others – most of which that was passed on to Hawaii’s consumers and businesses as increased costs. Now we are facing a new deficit in fiscal year 2014 and beyond.

The impact of the tax increases on the state budget was acknowledged by the Hawaii Council On Revenues at its meeting on September 6, 2011. The Council increased its forecast for state general fund tax revenue growth for the current fiscal year from 11.0 percent to 14.5 percent, noting “the increases in the forecasts for tax revenue growth in fiscal year 2012 and 2013 were mostly due to new tax laws that have gone into effect this fiscal year. Without the expected revenue increase of the new tax laws, the forecast for fiscal year 2012 would have been lowered to 9.5 percent due to uncertainties about the economy and about the number of visitors.”

A few weeks ago, the Council reduced its revenue forecast to 11. 5 percent; most rational private sector businesses and economists believe that estimate is still far to optimistic.

In this weak national and state economy, working families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet or to make payroll.

Homelessness grows at an alarming rate because government creates more poverty through increased taxes, fees and regulations.

If the goal today was to show the public we understand their pain and tough financial straights, we should pledge that we will reduce taxes. We invite job-creating employers to this big square building to testify to what they believe should be done, then we ignore them.

We are all aware of our state’s severe economic challenges, many of which have been created by this very legislature. Some are still in economic denial of our actions and consequences.

Without systemic changes, we cannot improve Hawaii’s economy. Without holding ourselves to the same laws we pass, we cannot make what we do behind closed doors in this building more transparent.

The era of government free spending of other people’s income is over.

This is not just about money. It is about leadership and discipline. It is about setting the bar higher for our citizens to follow. It is about the future we will leave for our children

No matter how much taxpayer money we spend, government has allowed our basic infrastructure to deteriorate, including our roads, airports, harbors, parks, sewers, and water systems.

This legislature should do everything in its power to stop the $6 billion plus heavy, steel on steel elevated rail, which we made possible years ago and which diverts taxpayer money from sensible and desperately needed, infrastructure repair.

Hawaii recently suffered the loss of two major medical facilities on O’ahu. Part of this was financial but part was the role of legislative actions.

A few weeks ago, our largest petroleum refiner announced it would shut down and sell its refining capacity, distribution and retail outlets. It is hoped that a new buyer will be found without major labor lost. But is this unexpected? For more than a decade, this state has made big oil, a public enemy. We added taxes, more regulations, investigations and bans on new facilities. In our love affair with “clean” energy alternatives, we have not told our citizens the truth about the real cost of transitioning to wind, solar, OTEC, Geothermal and biomass. We led the community to believe these sources are “free.” We need a new, deregulated, voluntary energy policy.

Your minority offers real alternatives to the serious problems Hawaii faces:

• We should immediately reduce the continuing job destroying unemployment compensation tax increase set for March, pass overdue tort reform, reduce state spending, eliminate waste and debt, and implement solutions to our massive unfunded liabilities, such as the State Employees Retirement System (ERS) and State Employer Union (Health) Trust Fund (EUTF).
• We again will prepare an alternative, supplemental, operating balanced budget showing where cuts should be made while keeping our pledge for “No New Taxes”;
• Technology is only a tool, but we have adopted it as our new Deity. We have data overload and need to support the new chief information officer’s goal to modernize and efficiently manage all government data systems;
• For too long our community has overlooked labor and human trafficking slavery because of several politically placed individuals and organizations here. This is the year we must end these practices and stop looking the other way;
• Government schools must be fully vetted and incentives provided for students and meritorious teachers. Throwing more dollars at government schools while allowing reductions in classroom teaching is neither good business, nor good education.
• We must support measures to restore political power to our citizens including initiative, referendum, recall and legislative term limits.

Hawaii needs an economic jumpstart, not from more government stimulus debt, but from the ideas and experience of those who actually create private jobs.

We celebrate and honor our men and women in uniform and are grateful for the military’s many contributions –not just financial – to Hawaii. Yet, through reapportionment, we seek to ignore and disenfranchise them, unlike all other states. This must change as we here define “permanent resident.”

Our professed belief in sustainability should not be solely related to energy.

There is wide spread public discontent with our state legislature. Many believe we spend too much time increasing our own salaries and benefits, exempting ourselves from laws we pass for others, and covering up questionable ethics. We must have the political will to change this.

These are not partisan issues, rather, real problems we can face and solve together.

We can be compassionate, but not at the expense of complacency of our fiscal responsibilities.

We approach this session for the opportunities that these tough times present. We restate our belief in Hawaii’s people.

We celebrate our individual God-given liberty and our ability to change for the better. We hope that prayer will return to the Senate this year. If there is ever a time that God’s spiritual support and guidance is needed, it is during our legislative decision making.

Every day is a “new” day; it is time we make it A Better Day for all of Hawaii’s people.

Mahalo, God Bless Hawaii and the United States of America.

Aloha.

THE TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE

INTERIM OF 2011

NOTICE OF INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING SCHEDULE

A G E N D A

 * Denotes joint informational briefing with the House Committee on Finance

The date, time, and location of the briefings are subject to change as may be required, at the call of the Chair of the Committee.

No public testimony will be accepted.

If you require special assistance or auxiliary aids and/or services to participate in the informational briefing (i.e., sign language interpreter or wheelchair accessibility), please contact the Committee Clerk at (808) 586-6800to make a request for arrangements at least 24 hours prior to the briefing. Prompt requests help to ensure the availability of qualified individuals and appropriate accommodations.

For further information, please call the Committee Clerk at (808) 586-6800.

Senator David Y. Ige

Chair

The 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) showing the financial condition of the state government was just published, and it showed a substantial cost increase for medical services for state employees.

As Hawaii Reporter recently reported, “the 2009 CAFR shows an unfunded liability for the Employees Union Trust Fund of $7.2 billion and for the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) of $1.6 billion for a total of $8.8 billion (for July 1, 2007, even though the CAFR is for June 30, 2009). Whereas the 2010 CAFR details unfunded liability for the EUTF of $11.5 billion and for the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s VEBA of $2.5 billion for a total of $14.0 billion. (These numbers are for July 1, 2009.).”

This is an increase of 60 percent or $5.2 billion in just two years, largely because Hawaii has among the most generous health benefits in the nation, but we have to do what we can to get these growing costs under control.

Every year at the Hawaii State Legislature, I sponsored senate legislation to establish fiscal notes, alternative budgeting, reform for health care and changes for the public Employee Retirement System.

The Administration is content with lame efforts to ‘slow the growth of the deficit,’ and the lop-sided Democrat Legislature has thus far been unwilling to seriously confront this problem.

We are running out of time and we must act aggressively and decisively to change direction to save what is left of economic security for the taxpaying families we represent.

If you are diagnosed with terminal cancer, you can’t settle for slowing the growth; you must get rid of the cancer.

We have had several options to deal with this problem but have not had the political back bone to do it. It is clear that the trend is devastating.

The 2011 CAFR will be worse than 2010 and so on until we are unable to act.

Taxpayers must hold the 2012 legislature’s feet to the fire and be directly involved in next November’s election to remove those elected officials unwilling or unable to stop this fiscal cancer.

Rogan will be responsible for legislative review and bill drafting, office streamlining and communications, research, and general management responsibilities.

She joins the Senate Minority with five years of private legal practice in the area of local government, land use and zoning. Additionally, Rogan previously served as an assistant to the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where she focused on special projects and bipartisan initiatives.

Rogan, who was employed by the Senate Minority as a session hire earlier this year, said “I very much enjoyed getting to know the Senate members and staff during the previous session and I look forward to the additional responsibilities of the coming term. Good research makes good law — thorough, thoughtful and open review of pending legislation is our primary goal.”

Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom said, “ We are very fortunate to have the talent and experience Ms. Rogan brings to the Senate. Lauren will be an active member of the Senate Minority team and will share her knowledge with the entire Legislature and the people of Hawaii.”

Other full time members of the SMO are Herbert Laybon, Office Manager and Analyst and Arik Look, Budget Director.

State Budget in Dire Straits

A Capitol panel on October 11, sponsored by the House Republicans, with Sheila Weinberg of the Chicago Institute for Truth in Accounting, State Budget Director Kal Young, former Council of Revenues Chair, Paul Brewbaker and Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamel Tumpap spoke on various issues and concerns regarding the State Budget.

If you thought Hawaiiʼs spending and debt crisis is bad; itʼs worse than you thought. Weinbergʼs organization identified Hawaii as a “sinkhole” state and ranked Hawaii 47th worst in the Nation. Mr. Young stated that the State Employee Retirement System (ERS) and the Hawaii Employee-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) are “problematic, unfunded obligations”.

Budget impacts from education and human services will put more burden on the state and the taxpayers.

The Senate Republican caucus will be refining its alternate state budget in the coming months and during the 2012 session.

Lawsuits Filed after Redistricting

The Hawaii State Reapportionment Commission is being sued after the final redistricting plans finalized last month. The Reapportionment Commission also voted on a revision to State Senate staggered terms which is based on a formula based on population. For the 8th district the State Senate term will be 4 years after 2012.

Despite the apparent finality of the commissionʼs redistricting work, two lawsuits have been filed against the Reapportionment Commission on the issues of residency and the constitutionality of its decision. Basically some politicians and people on the Big Island want another senatorial district.

Redistricting maps were redrawn last month to extract some but not all military populations residing in the state. The U.S. Census Bureau includes all of the military in the official census count. Most of the states count their military, prison and student populations during the redistricting process.

Outspoken critics who opposed counting everyone continually forced the issue eventually getting the council to reconsider their original 8 to 1 vote to include the entire population and go with one of 3 population extraction plans (Extraction A). The opponents cited a 1992 state constitutional amendment as the basis for their opposition in hopes of getting a new Senate district for the Big Island. With extraction A, that did not happen.

Several individuals stated that the legislature needs to define what a “permanent resident” is in order to have clarity on the issue at the next reapportionment 10 years from now. Legislation to correct some of the issues brought up during the reapportionment process may be drafted for the upcoming session.

Current redistricting plans can be viewed on the commissionʼs website at: http://hawaii.gov/elections/reapportionment/

Hawaii State Legislature Website Gets a Major Makeover

The Hawaii State Legislatureʼs website at www.capitol.hawaii.gov is getting a major makeover this weekend in an attempt to make the site easier to use and packed with more features.

Among some of the new major features will be the ability to do just about everything from the home page. Users will be able to get bill status, search by keyword, get hearing notices by date, pick up the order of the day, search the Hawaii Revised Statutes, submit testimony, and s e t up personalized bill tracking with notes and custom bill lists all from links on the home page. Users will be able to set up their own accounts and keep their legislative information (like custom bill lists) online. Frequent testifiers will not have to enter basic information every time they send in new testimony with a user login. The options, links and information are plentiful complete with an archive (like before) that goes back to 1999.

DOE Stimulus Spending

Senator Slom was interviewed by Hawaii News Now Jim Mendoza (photo above) on the subject of federal stimulus fund spending by the Department of Education (DOE). You can read and view the report at the following link:

Hawaii News Now – DOE Details Stimulus Spending

Reapportionment Commission Votes on Final Redistricting

The Hawaii State Reapportionment Commission voted on the final redistricting plans yesterday at a meeting held at the State Capitol.

Now that the plans have been finalized the Commission will submit those plans to the the Chief Elections Officer. The Chief Elections officer will then have to publish the final plans by October 10, 2011. The Reapportionment Commission has to also file a report to the Hawaii State Legislature by December 29.

The redistricting maps were redrawn after the commission voted earlier this month to extract certain people residing in the state out of the population count for redistricting purposes, even though the U.S. Census Bureau includes them in the official count. We are talking mainly about military personnel, prisoners and college student populations.

Outspoken critics who opposed counting everyone continually forced the issue eventually getting the council to reconsider their original 8 to 1 vote to include the entire population and go with one of 3 population extraction plans (Extraction A). The opponents cited a 1992 state constitutional amendment as the basis for their opposition in hopes of getting a new Senate district for the Big Island. With extraction A, that did not happen.

Governor Neil Abercrombie weighed into the issue after sending a letter (9-12-2011) to the Reapportionment Commission stating “my strong support for drawing the lines on the basis of residency,” continuing that “the alternative of including non-residents in the count severely distorts the actual population shifts which have taken place across Hawaii over the past 10 years”.

Last month, the Honolulu Council Reapportionment Commission reached a decision to count all residents including military and dependents, students and prisoners residing in the State of Hawaii as it redrew lines for the Honolulu City Council districts.

Several individuals stated that the legislature needs to define what a “permanent resident” is in order to have clarity on the issue at the next reapportionment 10 years from now.

The possibility of a lawsuit on the residency issue looms in the near future.

The State’s proposed redistricting plans for congressional and legislative districts are available on the commission’s website at the following URL:

http://hawaii.gov/elections/reapportionment/

Copies are also available for public inspection at the main branch of the Hawaii State Public Library in downtown Honolulu, the City & County of Honolulu Clerk’s Office in Honolulu Hale, downtown Honolulu and the Kaimuki Public Library, 1041 Koko Head Ave.

The Oahu Apportionment Advisory Council will be holding another meeting public meeting at the State Capitol Room 312 on Thursday, September 29 starting at 1:00 p.m. The council will report on comments they got from various public meetings at neighborhood boards, community associations the the Reapportionment Commission itself. They will also discuss and take action or make recommendations on the Reapportionment Commission’s Final Report to the State Legislature.

Special Session

Senate Confirms Karen Nakasone as New Circuit Court Judge

The Hawaii State Senate completed a two-day special session on September 1 and confirmed Karen Nakasone as the State’s newest judge to the First Circuit Court of Hawaii.

The Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee one of 14 that I am the minority member of, held a hearing for Ms. Nakasone’s confirmation on Monday, August 29. The testimony was highly favorable and her nomination unanimously passed out of committee on August 31 after the special session was gaveled into order. The full senate completed the process on September 1 with a 22 – 0 vote, 3 being absent. I was among the Senators who voted in her favor.

Governor Abercrombie nominated Karen Nakasone to the First Circuit Court on August 15. Since 1996 until her appointment, Ms. Nakasone was a Public Defender for the City & County of Honolulu. Prior to serving in the Office of the Public Defender, she served as a law clerk to the Judge Simeon Acoba, Jr. in the Intermediate Court of Appeals.  She earned her law degree from Boston University School of Law, and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College.

We are not creating private jobs nor improving our business and investment climate. But we can. The futurist and author Joel Kotkin addressed the Council of State Governments—West Conference in Hawaii last week. His admonition was to talk to the private job creators—not government—about adding needed income producing jobs. We need to incentivise private employers to spend more, invest more and add jobs thus creating a bigger wealth and tax pool.

Click here to read the story.

Just Say “No” the Raising the Debt Ceiling

…. we should not raise the debt limit, which was “modest” compared to the current national debt of $14.5 trillion ($ 46,450 per citizen), because there was a limit or ceiling for a good reason. We should instead, utilize fiscal restraint.

Click here to read the story.