To pass a bill into law at the State level, requires the support of 13 Senators and 26 Representatives – assuming the Governor is supportive.
The votes of 51 U.S. Senators, 218 Representatives, and support by a President who is verifiably bat shit crazy – is required in Washington D.C..
Yet, laws can be passed and programs funded at the County level with the support of only 5 or 6 Councilmembers, whether the Mayor likes it or not. (5 votes are needed to override a veto in Kaua’i County, all other Counties require 6 votes)
This is where we must put our focus and energy.
County Councils meet year-round, AND are governed by the Sunshine Law requiring all policy discussions be made in public.
The State Legislature’s in session only 4 months per year, with decision-making occurring mostly behind closed doors.
County residents may collect signatures, place a “citizen initiative” on the ballot, and create new laws or charter amendments.
No such power exists at the State level.
It’s at the County Council where true change can happen – TODAY.
Students of government will say, “That’s all well and good, but the County’s power is limited and may not encroach into Federal or State jurisdictions”.
Yes, but not really, is what those with the “lived experience” of actually working in the public policy arena will tell you.
The County powers are broad, and there are always “work arounds”.
Through a variety of mechanisms, a County can regulate or tax, just about any entity that seeks to do business within the County.
The power to regulate the use of County roads or water systems, is significant.
The County regulates “land use” and determines/regulates what activities can be conducted.
AI data centers, chemical companies, and other noxious high impact industries, all require the use of County roads and water, AND all require the use of lands regulated by the County.
County property tax incentives or disincentives can influence the actions and activities of all landowners or renters.
No hotels, large landowners, wealthy vacation home-owners, beachfront, or fake-farm estate owners – are leaving the islands because property taxes are too high.
Taxes on these properties can be increased to support energy and food independence.
Different “uses” may be charged different property tax rates.
Owner occupied residential properties pay the lowest tax rates in most Counties. Locally owned small businesses could be taxed similarly.
Taxes on absentee, corporate, and foreign owned businesses could be increased.
The County could create “categories” and “rate tiers” for local business based on the certified use of local agricultural products, percentage of living wage jobs, and/or the amount of waste diverted from the land fill.
Several Counties have already banned the sale of “single use plastics and styrofoam” in the fast food business. Imagine if these “bans” were expanded to include other non-compostable junk now going into our landfills.
Imagine those 5 or 6 Councilmembers increasing property taxes on businesses with the greatest impacts on our public trust resources – and then using those funds for mitigation and enhancement.
The Hawaiʻi County Council is at this moment, considering a proposed ordinance to ban or severely restrict “AI data centers” that consume extraordinary amounts of electrical energy and water.
The Maui Council is leading the way in regulating vacation rentals, thus significantly increasing the availability of rental housing for local residents. They’re also at the forefront of ensuring the protection of Maui’s streams, rivers, and drinking water.
The Kauaʻi Council has created generous tax incentives in support of true affordable housing for local residents, and now in the process of protecting local multigenerational families from being taxed out of their homes.
Honolulu County voters will soon be voting on a proposal to implement “Ranked Choice Voting” for their Mayor and Council.
Imagine if every County did this.
Imagine if every County implemented a robust “vacant homes” tax and used those funds to support “youth services”, additional affordable housing, or other worthy programs.
The passage of new forward thinking public policy initiatives is limited only by the creativity of 5 or 6 Councilmembers, and the community that supports them.
On November 3, vote for Council members willing to think big, who will listen to their community, and implement the forward thinking change we need so desperately.
Please email gary@garyhooser.blog YOUR top-of-mind forward thinking public policy initiatives. Together, we can select and refine the boldest and the best, AND then ask our new Council to take action.
Gary Hooser
www.garyhooser.blog
https://www.facebook.com/garyhooser
Good one, Gary! You made a great case for working, even with limited bandwidth, ‘where the rubber meets the road’!
Rob Culbertson
Mahalo Rob!
Paul Deslauriers made this excellent point in his book “Reclaiming Paradise.” Some progress was made on Maui before the fire. It was the inspiration for HULI PAC on Hawai’i. Some progress was made but not enough. The mayor is where the deals are done.
We need to secure mayors with vision and fortitude.
Agree the Mayor is an important player in the process, but with 5 or 6 Councilmembers working together…great progress can be made with or without the support of the Mayor. A super majority on the Council can control the County budget…which is everything. Yes, ideally the Mayor is on board and/or leading the charge…ideally but not a pre-requisite…IF there is that solid coalition of 5 or 6 Councilmembers.
Itʻs an if.
And the mayor is where implementation takes place, or not. Just as with disaster recovery, money budgeted is not money spent. And where it does get spent is riddled with political influence.
We need the council and the mayor working together to really make any progress. Which means we need to start now growing independent mayoral candidates on every island and not just wait for them to show up. Thatʻs how we ended up with smiley face ShakaMan.
Where I live the beach parks are closed, the pool is closed, the roads are full of holes, the power is reliably unreliable, the water works most of the time, the pharmacy is gone, and resilience is mostly a dream reliant on donations from the oligarchs.
Our health care system is just as fragile as power and water. “Not my jurisdiction.” “Thatʻs a state problem.” “Thatʻs a local problem.” “That is not my responsibility. You will need to speak with (fill in the blank).” “We donʻt collect that data.”
But here in Kohala most of the homeless are gone (usually three or four these days). Even they canʻt afford to live here anymore.
The current solution? The wisdom of capitalism. Keep building luxury homes on aquifers and ag land sold by Hawaiian land trusts to keep paying the trustees.
We have the solutions. Our dreams of self sufficiency and resilience could be met. But only with the active participation of the electorate.
Unfortunately, they mostly work too much and struggle to stay afloat. And 16% are illiterate.
What is the key to unlock their power? Inspiration. Communication. And dogged determination of the few (maybe 3-4%?) who actively participate in this type of conversation.
Thank you for your service to our communities. Truly.
We have too few voices speaking up and taking a stand.
Not to belabor the issue, but you got me going:
The fish stinks from the head. It is the mayor or governor and their appointees who are making the deals, and the money.
Bribes? Kickbacks? Favored contractors? One can only imagine.
We need young leaders like those trained by HAPA and those already in governance to coalesce, to research the issues, address the issues, and quit playing aloha-as-usual status quo politics to get elected and solve the issues.
Nobody wins by being nicer.
If we are serious about turning this ship around, we need people guided by values: Hawaiian values. HULI PAC that got part right. Their execution is nice, but how effective? Even political action committees ignore the available data on their reach and influence.
Solutions to Hawaiʻiʻs issues based on our shared Hawaiian values are inspiring. That is where we need to be: raising the issues and offering the solutions that are required to set our course in a way that provides us with long term survival and sustenance.
Am I being too aggressive?
I think that is what it will take to get the mass of the electorate to become interested in voting again.
Maybe we need to quit dreaming and start scheming.
Gotta do both my friend…we gotta dream AND we gotta scheme THEN WE GOTTA TAKE ACTION –
And yes, we need those emerging young leaders with deep roots to be at the forefront…and you and I gotta back them up…with active community support we can do anything.
But no individual person or “leader” is going to take us to the promised land…
To move forward requires collective action, community organizing and yes…we must have strong voices who can speak truth to power and navigate the hallways.
And we must of course always be shining the light…as they say sunshine is the best antiseptic!
I’m thinking and writing about the power of the Council because I believe it is greatly underutilized and under appreciated AND the barrier of entry is lower for new candidates…especially on the neighbor islands… It’s almost impossible for a new candidate to beat an incumbent state legislator but because of the term limits at the Council level…there are regular “openings”…should a renegade friend of ours who is a dreamer, as schemer, and a doer…decide to run for Mayor…the PRP’s of the world will jump in and do their best to smash them. I keep coming back to building a strong council is like building a strong foundation and a strong bench for the future openings at all levels. And yes…you got me going now as well and that is a good thing!