With approximately 300 testimonies in opposition and less than 10 in support, the State House Committee on Public Safety deferred decision-making on SB3240 until Wednesday, March 18, at 11:30am.

Testimony opposing the measure focused on three main points:

1) Why in the world is our State government contemplating spending $1.3 million of Hawaii taxpayer funds to promote the Department of War and related industries? Why doesn’t the War Department use federal funding and federal agencies to provide their public relations, community building, and federal “workforce development” needs?

2) Hawai’i’s government needs to invest Hawai’i taxpayer funds in education, healthcare, affordable housing, food and energy independence, and true economic diversification — NOT in growing the defense industry, which already dominates the economy.

3) The military industrial complex should stay out of our schools and away from our kindergarten students. Hawai’i public schools should not be treated as a “pipeline for work-force development” necessary to grow the weapons manufacturing industry.

Testimony supporting passage of SB3240 was provided primarily by the Hawai’i Chamber of Commerce and the State of Hawai’i Military and Community Relations Office (MACRO).

Their primary points:

1) The military spends a lot of money on schools that serve both military dependents and local non-military dependent students.They support small businesses, and a variety of community projects.

2) The defense industry will continue to grow in Hawai’i, and they need young people to grow up to fill the job pipeline that’s being created, and they need local business to do the same.

The House Public Safety Committee listened intently to public testimony, asked a handful of questions, took a two-minute break, announced “decision-making” on a handful of other bills, then deferred SB3240 until Wednesday, March 18 at 11:30am.

There was a moment near the end of the hearing when Committee Chair Della Belatti seemed to imply that amending SB3240 by removing the word “kindergarten” might help assuage community concerns.

Amending SB3240 in some small way, and passing it forward, is probably what the Hawai’i Chamber of Commerce and the State of Hawai’i Military and Community Relations Office is hoping and lobbying hard for.

Per standard operating procedure in that big square building on Beretania Street, anything that “keeps the bill alive” is better than having it killed.

The supporters and stakeholders will then work in the secrecy of a future conference committee, get SB3240 “amended back” and passed into law.

Fortunately, Chair Belatti did not actually make that recommendation. Instead, she suggested a deferral until Wednesday to allow committee members to review the voluminous testimony, including those 300 pieces in opposition.

In the very first Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee hearing held on Feb. 11, SB3240 then traveling in stealth mode, attracted only a single testifier in opposition.

I still cannot believe that just two weeks ago, 24 of 25 State Senators voted on the Senate floor in support of SB3240 (Senator Ihara was absent). Not a single Senator offered objection, not even a wimpy but all-too-common “with reservations” vote.

My guess? Given the volume of bills before them, and given that SB3240 had mostly been flying under the radar, the majority of Senators were likely asleep on this bill, not properly informed as to its implications.

Absolutely without question, SB3240 impacts public schools and public school students. Yet this bill has not been scheduled nor heard in either the Education Committee of the House nor of the same committee in the Senate.

The Senate gave the public only a single day’s notice for SB3240’s first hearing. Perhaps that’s why there was so little testimony.

During the final Senate Ways and Means Committee’s “public decision-making” hearing, no new public testimony (oral or written) was allowed, and there was zero public discussion among committee members prior to the Chair announcing the committee decision.

Bottom line: SB3240 represents bad policy, bad process, and — in an election year — very bad politics.

My hope is that on March 18th, the House Committee on Public Safety will kill it dead. Gently and humanely, according to the United Nations rules of engagement — but kill it dead nonetheless.

Please help to send that message loud and clear, but polite and professionally – directly to each individual member of the House Public Safety Committee.

If you need more convincing read my blog piece Can’t make this stuff up. And it’s sickening

And yes, the calls and emails need to happen ASAP and before 11:30am on Wednesday March 18.

Mahalo to the 300 of you who submitted testimony opposing SB3240 – need you again now.

Imua.

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Chair Rep. Della Belatti
808-586-9425
repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov

Vice Chair Kim Coco Iwamoto
808-586-8485
repiwamoto@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Mark Hashem
808-586-6510
rephashem@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Linda Ichiyama
808-586-6220
repichiyama@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Dee Morikawa
808-586-6280
repmorikawa@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Mahina Poepoe
808-586-6790
reppoepoe@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Justin Woodson
808-586-6210
repwoodson@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Garner Shimizu
808-586-9470
repshimizu@capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Kanani Souza
808-586-8465
repsouza@capitol.hawaii.gov