Tag: legislation

  • Legislative Wrapup 2013

    Thanks to Donna Wong of Hawaii Thousand Friends here is a legislative wrap for bills she was tracking.  Caucus member please do a wrap for those bills you were tracking.  It is important for us all to know how are legislators voted on important bills. Click here

  • Testimony needed-Protect the Iwi

    Oppose SB1171 which allow a project to move forward before a cultural survey is completed.  Starting a project with an incomplete survey will endanger cultural sites because the project may be to far advanced to make necessary changes.  Click here for more details.

  • Testimony needed

    Repeal PLDC.  Sen Solomon is playing political games again.  Tell her to pass a clean bill.  Click here for details.

    Support Watershed Management and Invasive Spp control. Click here for details.

  • Testimony needed PLDC Dirty Dozen Bills to be heard tomorrow in WAM

    Submit your Comments to WAM today.  For more information click here.

  • Senate proposing rider to override Court decisions on GMO Crops

    The biotech industry has quietly inserted a dangerous policy rider into the Continuing Resolution (CR) now being debated on the Senate floor.

    This dangerous rider was not included in the House-passed CR, and we are extremely disappointed to see that the Senate has included it. Though wrapped in a “farmer-friendly” package, this Monsanto-driven rider is simply a biotech industry ploy to continue to plant GE crops even when a court of law has found they were approved illegally.

    Click here to petition the Senate to oppose this rider.

  • Bill Tracking as of 24 February 2013

    Bill Tracking as of 24 February 2013.  Bills needing action are in bold. Click here to see tracking document.

  • Call to ACTION – HB1330 DOCARE funding

    Our near shore fishery is in trouble. Today, these same resources are estimated to contribute $800 million in annual revenue to the state, with an added recreational, amenity, fishery, biodiversity, and educational value of $364 million per year.

    The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) is the only agency focused on enforcing laws that protect our natural and cultural resources. Everyone know DOCARE is woefully underfunded. 

    Given this broad scope of responsibility, and the large amount and variety of equipment, training, and manpower needed to effectively carry out DOCARE’s mission, it is clear that DOCARE has been critically underfunded for many years.[4] A review of budget worksheets from the last ten years indicates past legislative appropriations for DOCARE have ranged from $6 to $8 million dollars annually; by contrast, the Honolulu Police Department – tasked with enforcing state and county laws in Honolulu county only, and primarily in developed or municipal areas – reported a budget of $224 million in 2010 alone.[5] Clearly, much greater investment is necessary to ensure that DOCARE has the resources to ensure that the laws protecting our natural and cultural resources have actual teeth, and to relieve mounting community concerns regarding the lack of support for DOCARE’s important mission.

    By restoring lost funding to DOCARE, this bill therefore provides a small but critical step in the right direction for investing in the conservation and protection of the resources that the Native Hawaiian community and the larger public rely upon.

    To submit testimony on HB1330 Click Here 

  • Action Alert – HB1080

    The House Finance Committee is considering whether or not to hear HB1080 which provides for Complete Streets mitigation.  Tell FIN we need safe streets. FIN has till 2/27 to schedule a hearing.

  • Support SB620

    SB620 requires restaurants offer an alternative to styrofoam doggie bags.  Styrofoam kills people and wildlife.  It is particularly dangerous in food containers.  Styrene leaches from the foam and is highly cancerogenic as well as causing estrogen problems.

    Check here for more information

  • PLDC important update

    For those of you who are not yet aware the Public Land Development Corporation is an agency mandated to maximize economic development projects on State Land.  Their projects are exempt from any permitting or zoning regulations.  This is among the worst legislation ever passed by the State.

    Senator Thielen just announced that SB707 will be amended to make it a clean repeal bill.  We need to support this legislation provided promises are kept.

    To see Senator Thielenʻs announcement click here

    This is a powerful change in Senate attitude from blocking repeal to supporting it.  Thank you Senator Thielen for you hard work and negotiating skills.