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| Malia Zimmerman |
No New Tax Rally Gets Rowdy
The nearly 300 people who attended the "No New Tax Rally" held at the Hawaii State Capitol yesterday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. got so rowdy when chanting "no new taxes," that Capitol security told the crowd to pipe down or else.
Security’s complaint -- the people working in the Capitol (probably finding ways to raise taxes) could not work because the chanting against the tax increase was so loud.
Part of the ruckus, besides protestors shouting their outrage over the legislative proposal to hike Hawaii’s already highest overall tax burden in the nation by increasing the state’s General Excise Tax by 25 percent, were bamboo stick players keeping rhythm with the crowd by banging on the concrete floor.
The banging created a resounding echo through the 5-story hollow structure, sending a clear message these protestors do not want to see their taxes increased for any reason.
The majority of lawmakers say they want to give counties the option to increase the state’s General Excise Tax from 4 percent to 5 percent -- a 25 percent jump -- to fund transportation-related projects on the neighbor islands and a heavy rail system on Oahu.
Protestors carried signs saying: "Be honest: 4 percent to 5 percent GE Tax Increase Equals $1.35 gas tax or a 70 percent property tax hike."
KHVH’s morning show anchor Rick Hamada coordinated the rally, which coincided with his live morning radio talk show broadcast on 830AM.
Hamada has initiated a number of successful anti-tax rallies and can be credited with helping to stop similar proposals to raise Hawaii’s General Excise Tax in past legislative sessions.
Lawmakers have until Friday at midnight to determine whether the bill will be positioned on the House and Senate floor next Tuesday.
The session is scheduled to end Thursday, May 5, 2005.
See the following photos by Melvin Ah Ching Productions:
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| Citizens join together to protest tax increase proposals by state lawmakers. |
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| Rick Hamada, who broadcast his KHVH 830AM radio show during the "No New Taxes" rally at the Hawaii State Capitol, inteviews Honolulu City Council Member Charles Djou. |
Wishy Washy Chamber Backs Down on Tax Increase Protest
The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii lost a substantial number of its 4,000 members when the supposed business advocacy organization endorsed the Democrats’ 1992 proposal to increase the state’s General Excise Tax to fund a heavy rail system.
The Chamber had further erosion of membership as small businesses realized the Chamber supported big business and big government proposals, such as then Gov. Benjamin Cayetano’s 1998 Economic Revitalization Task Force plan, which included a proposal to raise the state’s General Excise Tax by 12.5 percent.
So many Chamber members resigned their membership in protest over these issues (there are now 1,100 members remaining, according to their published figures) that the organization made some changes.
In testimony at the Hawaii State Legislature in 2005, president and CEO of the Chamber Jim Tollefson said while the Chamber does not support a tax increase, the need for rail transit as a solution is paramount. Therefore, he said, the Chamber would support the rail knowing a tax increase came along with it.
However, when the Chamber membership howled at Tollefson’s statement, the Chamber restated it had not taken a position and Tollefson was simply discussing transportation options.
In a Chamber board meeting that followed, the Chamber reported its members took a formal position to oppose the tax. And in fact, the Chamber was one of the groups planning to back the "No New Tax Rally" at the Hawaii State Capitol yesterday morning. The Chamber would join long-time opponents of tax increases: Small Business Hawaii, the National Federation of Independent Business, the League of Women Voters, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Hawaii Association of Realtors and many others.
But Friday, just days before the legislative session is scheduled to end May 5, 2005, the Chamber issued a statement to its members from Tollefson.
In the one-page statement, Tollefson once again reversed the Chamber’s position -- this time back to the original proposal to support the tax increase and rail -- the position that got the Chamber’s members so outraged in 1992.
Click here for the actual memo sent to members: "Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii 2005 Position Statement on Transportation Issues"
The bottom line, members say, is the Chair of the Chamber, Christine Camp Friedman, is a close ally with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, even co-chairing Hannemann’s search committee for directors of his cabinet. Because Hannemann’s administration is pro-rail, with the City Department of Transportation Services recently issuing a Request for Proposal for the rail due May 16, 2005, Hannemann and other pro-rail politicians were able to influence Friedman and the Chamber into another flip flop against the wishes of its own members.
After Receiving Non-Bid Contracts, BRT Consultants Donate $400,000 to Former Honolulu Mayor’s Campaign
Those wondering why state officials are considering building a $2.7 billion rail system on Oahu that will cost millions more to maintain, subsidize and operate, while ridership decreases on the rail systems throughout the country compared with total population growth, here is the answer -- money.
The Alliance for Traffic Improvement reports Hawaii consultants who received non-bid contracts for the failed multimillion Bus Rapid Transit system, contributed at least $435,400 to Harris’s campaign.
This amount is not a final tally and it does not include money contributed from other contractors and subcontractors or any contributions from these companies and individuals to other lawmakers, ATI says.
For more information on this report, see the Alliance for Traffic Improvement web site at http://www.honolulutraffic.com
For 2003 reports on the BRT and Hawaii Reporter’s comprehensive investigation into the city’s pay to play system under then Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, see: "Pay to Play System Exposed"
In this investigative report, Hawaii Reporter documents more than 40 percent of the consulting companies working on the city’s BRT system were under investigation, fined or had officers arrests or convicted for illegal campaign contributions to Harris.
Lawmakers Finalize Budget in Conference Committee
Lawmakers met late into the evening Monday, April 25, 2005, to finalize the state’s multi-billion executive operating budget for FY 2006 and FY 2007.
They also passed last night a Capital Improvements Project budget, Judiciary Budget and OHA budget.
Advocates of the Kapolei court complex and the Superferry were pleased when legislators accommodated the projects in the budget. Ninety-five million will be used to construct family court in Kapolei, a juvenile detention center and Wai'anae District Court, on 13.6 acres of land give to the state by Campbell Estate specifically for these projects.
Taxpayers also will fund $40 million worth of improvements to the infrastructure of the state harbors, so the Hawaii Superferry can pick up and deliver passengers and goods to shuttle them island to island by 2007.
"Clean Elections" Bill Moves Forward Despite the Governor’s Plan to Veto
Despite Republican Gov. Linda Lingle’s promise to veto the so-called "clean elections" bill, clean election advocates are still lobbying lawmakers in hopes their plan will be funded.
Yesterday afternoon, Democrat lawmakers in conference committee muddled over the final draft of a compromise bill that will cost Hawaii taxpayers an estimated $25 million. Under the proposal, taxpayers would be forced to fund the campaigns of candidates who qualify and apply.
The new version of the bill proposes funding House candidates one year, Senate candidate the next year, and lieutenant and gubernatorial candidates the following year.
Gubernatorial candidates would receive between $4 million and $12 million for the primary election, an amount that would then double in the general election. Lieutenant governor candidates who qualify would get between $600,000 and $1.8 million for the primary election, an amount that doubles in the general election. House candidates who qualify will get between $32,000 to $96,000 in the primary -- an amount that doubles in the general. Senate candidates can acquire between $58,000 and $174,000 in the primary and the same again in the general.
The Governor says she opposes the "clean elections" bill, saying the state already offers a matching public financing program.
Bob Watada, the state Campaign Spending Director, also opposes the bill because the expense to the taxpayers for this program is too great and will not improve the quality of lawmakers elected or laws passed
Democrats Tie Unemployment Compensation Tax Burden Reduction to Minimum Wage Increase
Gov. Linda Lingle this week urged state legislators to lower the unemployment compensation tax burden on Hawaii businesses.
Citing the latest statistics that show Hawaii’s unemployment rate (2.8 percent) is the lowest it has been in 14 years, the Governor says the taxable salary that employers must pay taxes on for their employees should be reduced to the federal level -- $7,000. Currently in Hawaii, employers pay on salaries up to $34,000. No state has as high of a tax base as Hawaii. She says this will save employers an estimated $196 million and allow businesses to use the savings for increased wages, added benefits, paying down debt or the purchase of new equipment.
However, Democrats took this tax reduction measure and put it in the same bill to increase the employers’ minimum wage from $6.75 an hour to $7.25 an hour, and then $7.75 an hour the following year, thus nullifying most of the savings. The bill is still in conference committee where horse-trading continues.
Hawaii’s high employment level during the past two years has resulted in nearly $400 million being accumulated in the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. That amount is more than enough to maintain the state’s yearly unemployment costs for the next three years, the governor says.
Raiding Highway Fund Becomes a More Outrageous Concept with Release of Damaging Transportation Study
Lawmakers are considering a proposal to raid Hawaii’s Transportation fund by an estimated $22 million. This despite the fact that more than $144 million already has been raided over the last decade – a reality that has lead to Hawaii getting the distinction of having the worst roads in the nation in 2003.
Add to that a study released yesterday by TRIP, a national transportation nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C.
See "Substandard Roads Cost Average Hawaii Motorist $995 Annually, $677 Million Statewide"
Some of the highlights:
- Driving on substandard, congested roads costs each urban Hawaii motorist an average of $995 per year - $677 million total statewide - in diminished safety, longer delays and increased wear and tear on vehicles.
- Hawaii's major roads and its bridges have significant deficiencies.
- 125 people, on average, die each year in motor vehicle accidents statewide.
- Nearly a quarter of Hawaii's urban Interstates and other highways or freeways are considered congested, because they carry a level of traffic that is likely to result in delays during peak travel hours.
- Traffic accidents and fatalities in which roadway design was an important factor cost Hawaii motorists approximately $218 million annually, including medical costs, lost economic and household productivity, property damage and travel delays.
- Roadway design-related safety costs are estimated at $261 annually per Hawaii driver.
- Traffic congestion in Hawaii costs urban drivers $147 million annually in delays and wasted fuel - $339 per motorist each year.
More Women Power: Senate Judiciary Chair Agrees to Learn to Shoot
Senate Judiciary Chair Colleen Hanabusa, D-Waianae, wouldn’t consider herself pro-Second Amendment. She’s never hel hearings on the concealed carry bill introduced annually in the Hawaii State Legislature by Sen. Sam Slom, R-Hawaii Kai, and says she doesn’t believe people in Hawaii should be allowed to carry guns as they are in 37 other states.
But after numerous pro-Second Amendment callers to Rick Hamada’s show on KHVH radio, where Hanabusa and Slom appear as guests every Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., made Hanabusa aware of how many local people are in favor of concealed carry. She then agreed, though she’d never touched a firearm in her life, to join some of her female constituents and firearms instructors from LIFE and the Hawaii Rifle Association to learn to shoot.
After a two-hour safety lesson and target practice at the Kokohead Shooting Range in early April, attended by Hanabusa and a number of other women who were first time shooters, Hanabusa said she enjoyed herself and was willing to attend future events. Firearms instructors also discovered Hanabusa has a pretty good aim.
Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor and president of Hawaii Reporter, via email at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com
