GaryHooser's Blog

The so-called Democratic Majority in the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives has seemingly drunk the Qlaid and gone off the deep end (on the far right side) of the pool.

Can you believe Hawaiʻi Democrats would actually pass a “Stand your ground bill?
Well, the short answer is yes, HB2464 is it.

“Stand your ground laws overturn centuries of jurisprudence, allowing people to avoid criminal prosecution for the use of deadly force even when the person could easily and safely retreat. Research consistently shows that stand your ground laws increase homicides…” The Educational Fund To Stop Gun Violence.

“In short, Stand Your Ground laws encourage the use of deadly force. These laws open the door to a more dangerous world where everyone feels pressure to carry a gun – and if they feel threatened, to shoot first and tell their stories later.” Scholars Org

“Stand Your Ground laws – which limit or remove the expectation that lethal force in self-defense is only justified in situations where it does not seem safe to step away instead – deepen disparities in the legal system and disproportionately justify the use of violence by people who are white and male against people who are not. Moreover, research shows these laws lead to significantly more killing – in any given month, 30 to 50 people across the country are killed as a result of these laws – and have no deterrent effect on other crimes.” Southern Poverty Law Center

So who in the State House of Representatives actually voted for this dangerous, testosterone-fueled right-wing, and very dangerous piece of legislation? Unfortunately, that list is long, and it includes Speaker Scott Saiki and every member of the House Leadership faction – all of whom are members of the Democratic Party, I am embarrassed to say.

To end this on a positive note, I will list the NO votes here. Please take a moment to thank them for standing up to this madness. Representative(s) Branco, Ganaden, Kapela, D. Kobayashi, Lowen, Marten, McKelvey, Nakamura, Perruso, Sayama, Takumi, Tam, Tarnas, Wildberger voting no (14)

Complete contact information for all Representatives can be found here . If your Representative is not on the “No” list – I encourage you to give them a piece of your mind.

Over the past 12 months, Hawai’i government at all levels has been rocked by headline after headline, exposing the criminal activity of a wide range of public officials.

Sitting in jail at the moment, or awaiting sentencing, we have a former Kauai County Councilmember, a former Hawaii County Councilmember, a former Honolulu police chief and his wife a former deputy city prosecutor, up to five current and former employees of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting, a former State Senator and Senate Majority Leader from Maui, and a former State Representative and Vice-Chair of the House Finance Committee from Waipahu.

In addition, there are several top administrators of the City and County of Honolulu under indictment, numerous government contractors who have pled guilty to bribery, and ongoing federal investigations at all levels of government.

The laws broken include accepting bribes to grant building permits, accepting bribes to pass and kill bills at the legislature, methamphetamine sales, stealing from emergency COVID funding, influence peddling involving non-bid contracts, and other complex crimes too bizarre to describe here.

The above is just a partial description of the elected officials and government employees who’ve been caught in the act and found guilty. It would be naive to think there are not others currently awaiting the next investigatory shoe to drop.

It would also be naive and destructive to believe that all politicians are crooks and/or that government corruption is commonplace.

I believe in my heart that the vast majority of public employees are good and honest people. It is sad and unfortunate that the actions of a few have so tarnished the integrity of the many.

While we may differ as to our “world view” and our perspectives on what public policy initiatives might best address the challenges facing our community, I believe the number of elected leaders who are literally and illegally stealing from the public trust are an extreme minority.

But no matter how small or how large their numbers, they must be rooted out.

The Department of the Attorney General and the Hawai’i State Ethics Commission have set up several ways to confidentially report fraud, waste, or abuse involving any government official, government funds, government workers and/or persons & entities awarded government contracts.

* Submit an online complaint (https://ethics.hawaii.gov/fraud_complaint/);
* Leave a confidential voice mail message at 587-0000
* Email: anti-fraud@hawaii.gov

In addition:
FBI “tip line” is https://www.fbi.gov/tips

FBI field office:
91-1300 Enterprise Street
Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 566-4300

The Public Integrity Section of the US Department of Justice:

1301 New York Avenue, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Main Line: (202) 514-1412
Fax: (202) 514-3003

As the saying goes, “If you see something, say something.”

In addition, our elected leaders must double down on implementing anti-corruption measures.

Tightening up the oversight and rules governing non-bid contracts at both the state and county level and banning fundraising during the legislative session for state lawmakers are two obvious things that need to be done. Requiring full disclosure when any lawmaker at any level introduces, promotes, or votes on an issue that impacts their employer or their clients is another essential reform needed now

We need to clean this mess up. Lawmakers, administrators, rank and file government workers, and private citizens – we must all step up to make it happen.

HB2510 proposes a minimum wage increase that delays reaching $18 until the year 2030, is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow, Tuesday March 1. The deadline for testimony is 11am, TODAY Monday 02/28/22. (LATE TESTIMONY IS ACCEPTED)

The Senate has already passed SB2018 “the good minimum wage bill” which achieves the $18 threshold by 2026 AND has received support from the Governor.

Low-wage working families deserve SB2018 and it makes no sense that the House continues to refuse to accept and pass it.

Please offer testimony to the House Finance Committee and tell them
$18 by 2026 is already the compromise. It already costs more than $19 an hour to just survive in Hawaiʻi today. Waiting until 2030 is unacceptable.

Go to the Capitol Website and Register, Sign-In, and then go to “Testimony” (in that order) – three little steps. It’s easy and it’s important.

Here are the members of the Finance Committee. If your district Representative sits on this committee, please contact them directly as well.

Finance Committee Hearing: Tues., March 1, 11 AM (sign up for zoom if can!)
Testimony Due: Mon., Feb. 28, 11 AM (late testimony also accepted)

Please register here and join Raise Up Hawaii on March 8 as we gather at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol to make our voices heard. Let’s show up in person and send a strong message to legislators that it’s time for them to fulfill their promises and to stand up for working people.

Sample Testimony For HB2510

Raise Up Hawaiʻi continues to recommend submitting testimony in “Opposition” to HB2510, but we understand if some folks would prefer “Comments” or “Support with Amendments.” The most important thing is to hammer home the message:
 
Dear House Committee on Finance,
 
Although I support some of the provisions in this bill, I must respectfully submit my opposition to HB2510. It already costs more than $19 an hour for a single adult with no children to just barely make ends meet in Hawaiʻi today.
 
This bill would only get workers to $18 by 2030—far too slow. By 2026, HB2510 would put workers at $14 an hour, which is almost the exact equivalent of where workers were left in 2018 with $10.10—more than $7 short of a living wage. 
 
Workers can’t keep treading water. It is absolutely imperative that we reach $18 an hour by 2026 if working families are to find the economic relief that the legislature has promised to provide. Even this will be short of a true living wage, but it will put tens of thousands of working families closer to self-sufficiency than they’ve been in decades. Anything less than that is simply too slow.
 
The Senate has handed the House a clean $18 by 2026 bill in SB2018. It is now up to the House to do what is best for Hawaiʻi’s hardworking families and for its economic health and agree to the Senate proposal.
 
Send SB2018 to the governor’s desk for signature instead of this bill. 
 
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

[Your Name]
[Your Neighborhood or House District]

You might have missed it (or maybe you did not get the invite), but on Wednesday, February 23 from 5 to 8:15 pm the Hawai’i Chamber of Commerce sponsored cocktails, pupu, and essentially a speed dating event with legislators.

The Capitol remains closed to the public because of the health risk associated with citizens attending and testifying in front of those same legislators. But apparently, this health risk does not extend to cocktail parties sponsored by business lobbyists.

According to the Chamber’s official invitation to Senators and Representatives, this “meet and greet” event is in an open-air facility within walking distance from the Capitol and provides legislators with “an opportunity to meet with Hawaii business leaders.”

Note: The invitation was clear that per ethics rules (or in order to be legal), there had to be a $25 cost to legislators.

Per the invitation, “Guests will be assigned to a table with a legislator, and every ten minutes the guests will rotate to a different table and a different legislator.”

Kinda like “speed lobbying” or “speed fundraising” depending on how you look at it – with 10 tables each legislator has the opportunity to connect with 100 “business leaders” and each of those leaders will likewise connect with 10 or more legislators.

Wow! What’s there not to like about this?

Think of the opportunity for these captains of industry to tell legislators how “It’s not a good time to raise the minimum wage (actually it’s never a good time wink wink) ”.

Think of the opportunity for legislators to tell business leaders, “I’ve got a tough campaign coming up and I could really use some help.”

The Capitol is closed to the public, yet legislators are going to walk less than a block away for cocktails and schmoozing with the Chamber of Commerce.

They can’t let the public into a public hearing, yet they can go to a “cocktail and speed lobbying party” where they discuss in person the same issues that the public is prohibited from discussing with them in person.

Sheesh. There ought to be a law.

Note: If you are a business owner who believes in putting people and the planet above profits, please consider joining the recently launched Chamber of Sustainable Commerce https://www.chamberofsustainablecommerce.org

They believe “We can strengthen our economy without hurting workers, communities, or the environment.”

Why bother being involved in government and politics when Hawaiʻi lawmakers are crooks? Why bother testifying at the legislature when the policy decisions are fixed and insiders with money are calling the shots?

As a good friend once told me, “What else are you gonna do Gary, just give’em the keys?” And as other more cynical friends would say, “They already have the keys, in fact they have the whole building.”

Nope. We’re not gonna give them the keys AND we are in fact going to take the building back. We can and we must. There is no choice really. The planet, our ancestors, and future generations are counting on us.

The answer is stepping up, not stepping back.

The “people’s work” is what our elected leaders are supposed to be doing, and many are trying their best to do just that. But they need reinforcements.

We can throw the bad apples out, but only if we have good people to step up to take their place. All the moaning and groaning is for naught if when we show up to vote on August 13, there’s only one name to choose from.

In a state where the Democratic Party brand dominates, for state legislative races the primary election is everything. In the 2020 primary statewide, 34 legislators got a free ride and ran unopposed.

Competition is good and healthy. Without it, there is complacency and arrogance, which sets the stage for insider dealing, pay to play, and ultimately a betrayal of the public trust.

2022 is a year of political opportunity. There will be more retirements, resignations, and most would say that more indictments and arrests are likely as well. Every single seat in the State House and Senate is up for election plus the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, County Council, Congress, and on Maui the Mayor’s race will also be hotly contested. Should Congressman Kahele decide to run for Governor, then it’s likely at least two other seats open up “down-ticket” as everyone below tries to “move up”.

As they say in politics, 2022 will be a year where there is “movement”, especially with voters in a sour mood spurred on by the bribery and corruption – they will be looking for change options.

But change will only happen when good people from across the islands put away their fears, doubts, and excuses, and put themselves forward as candidates.

It’s called responsibility, obligation – kuleana.

Yes, it’s hard. Cry me a river. Then suck it up, put your big person pants on and do it. Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone because no one else is willing to do it, and if no one does it bad things will happen. So it falls on your shoulders to step up and step out.

It’s hard, it’s challenging, and it’s a tremendous opportunity to help make your community and our world a better place.

If you’re interested, if you have an even modest track record of leadership and participation in your community (PTSA, coach, board member, volunteer), and if your core values are centered around putting people and the planet first – lmk, I’d love to talk more.

And if for whatever reason you are not that person, please reach out and support others who are willing to take the plunge. Running a successful campaign is a team effort and every candidate needs help. Volunteer, give money, spread the word – but get involved please.

As the saying goes, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

Sincerely,
Gary Hooser

The Hawaii Reapportionment Commission is hiding the truth about their practice of using the home addresses of incumbent legislators as criteria to be considered when re-drawing district maps. That’s what it looks like anyway. I welcome the qualified opinions of others, including actual lawyers who know this stuff better than I do.

Actually, I would really welcome a response from the Reapportionment Commission explaining why they are avoiding a direct answer. What are they afraid of?

According to the Hawai’i state constitution Article 4 (Reapportionment) Section 6 #2 states – “No district shall be so drawn as to unduly favor a person or political faction.”

I have been told by numerous competent and credible individuals that the Reapportionment Commission was provided early in the process with the home address of all incumbent legislators.

Numerous media accounts have described the impacts the proposed maps will have on various legislators, and some have complained about how their districts were treated.

It appears that the Reapportionment Commission has taken into consideration the potential impact of their new maps on the districts of incumbent legislators, as part of their decision making process.

Rumor has it that the “mapping program” used by the Commission includes the home addresses of all incumbent legislators. Apparently with the flip of a switch, their home address location light up on the maps so commissioners know exactly how the new maps will impact incumbents.

Tell me again how including the home addresses of incumbent legislators into the active decision making process does not “unduly favor a person or political faction”?

One would think the process would be conducted “blind” of political implications.

One would think.

In the off chance that the information that came to me from a wide variety of sources was wrong, on January 25, I sent a formal Uniform Information Protection Act (UIPA) request to the Reapportionment Commission.

A UIPA request is similar to a Freedom of Information Act request, but for State and County agencies.

My UIPA request sent on January 25 requested:
1. All documents, including e-mails, maintained, received or sent by the State Reapportionment Commission, its members, or its staff that includes the home addresses of currently elected members of the State House of Representatives or the State Senate, or any reference or discussion pertaining to the home address of any currently elected member of the State House or the State Senate. The home addresses may be redacted.

On Feb. 4th the Reapportionment Commission replied:
“Attached is our response…
THIS NOTICE IS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR RECORD REQUEST:
Cannot be granted. Agency is unable to disclose the requested records for the following reason: Agency does not maintain the records. (HRS § 92F-3)”

I responded on Feb. 4th:
“Thank you for the reply which though leaves me confused.

Are you saying the Reapportionment Commission does not maintain records of emails or other communications between Commissioners and or staff and others including the public on issues pertaining to the work being done by the Commission?

Please help my to better understand your response.”

To which the Commission replied also on Feb. 4th:
“No, I understood your request to provide specifically:

All documents, including e-mails, maintained, received or sent by the State Reapportionment Commission, its members, or its staff that includes the home addresses of currently elected members of the State House of Representatives or the State Senate, or any reference or discussion pertaining to the home address of any currently elected member of the State House or the State Senate. The home addresses may be redacted.

I have no documents, including e-mails, maintained, received or sent by the State Reapportionment Commission, its members, or its staff that includes the home addresses of currently elected members of the State House of Representatives or the State Senate, or any reference or discussion pertaining to the home address of any currently elected member of the State House or the State Senate.

Have I misunderstood your request?”

To which after a few days of reflection and consultation I replied on Feb. 7th:
“I want to mahalo you again for the earlier response and clarification.

So sorry to bother you with one more question.

Can you clarify whether you or the Commission asked each of its members whether they have any of the documents referenced in the UIPA request?

I understand when you say “I have no documents…etc” but it’s unclear whether the members of the commission may have any of the documents requested or whether they were asked.

Thank you in advance for any additional clarity you can offer on this particular question.”

The Commission on February 9th then replied:
“I am following up for a response. I should be able to reply today.”

Later on February 9th the Commission replied again:
“I apologize. I cannot answer your question. Please bear with me. I will follow up.”

On Feb. 16th I reply:
“Do you have an ETA as to an answer?

Then on February 17 the Commission said:
“Please see attached response to your UIPA request.
Cannot be granted. Agency is unable to disclose the requested records for the following reason: Agency does not maintain the records. (HRS § 92F-3)”

To which I replied also on February 17:
“From your response, it remains unclear as to whether or not a request was made to the commissioners and related staff, as to whether or not they were in possession of the documents/information requested.

Did you or anyone from your office request from the commissioners the information being requested in my UIPA?

Can you be clear on this?

Please?”

Today, as of February 20th I continue to await a response (and will update this blog if/when a response is received).

While the response from the Reapportionment Commission has been relatively timely, courteous, and professional – they have been less than forthcoming.

They have most likely not outright lied to me, but they have certainly been less than forthcoming, just shy of disingenuous, without a doubt misleading, and very close to lying.

It seems highly improbable if not impossible that there has been no discussion or communication between the public and Commission members, or between Commission members themselves, and/or staff – referencing or pertaining to the home address of elected members of the State House or the State Senate.

It is further highly unlikely that the conversations and communications that did pertain to this topic were all conducted orally and there are no records either paper or electronic.

The Reapportionment Commission appears willing to hide/dodge the truth on what I believe is a basic, fair, and essential question.

It’s sad really. This is not how democracy is supposed to work.

We must jump all over this – now.

Senator Karl Rhoads, Chair of the Judiciary Committee has scheduled SB555 introduced by Senator Les Ihara, banning campaign fundraisers during the legislative session. The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-22-22 9:30 am.

If you go to the “SB555 status” page there is a link to provide testimony in strong support. You must first Register and Sign In. Please note that there is a “Proposed Draft” that changes the language slightly.

Please testify in STRONG SUPPORT before 02-21-22.

In addition, please consider suggesting the committee amend the bill to not just ban fundraisers held during the session, but also ban the solicitation or acceptance of campaign contributions during the session.

Please also spread the word! I mean to every single person on your email list – everybody.

Two legislators have pled guilty and admitted to taking bribes. As the investigation unfolds in the weeks and months ahead, others will no doubt follow.

28 states (but not Hawaiʻi) presently ban legislators from campaign fundraising during the legislative session.

In Hawaiʻi it’s perfectly legal for a legislator, perhaps the Chair of a Committee that’s preparing to decide whether to pass or kill a bill, to solicit campaign contributions from the industry or group who might be impacted by that very same bill.

We must change the law and pass SB555.

Please take a moment to read “Corruption By Any Other Name Is Still Corruption” Civil Beat: (4 minutes).

After you submit testimony, and after you share this with your friends and neighbors – take the extra time if you can to let your own district Senator know of your strong support for SB555.

Let’s do this. *Scroll down for the minimum wage issue update.

Gary Hooser
Pono Hawaiʻi Initiative

*if you receive this email forwarded from a friend and would like to receive my email updates directly Please opt-in – “Hawaii Policy and Politics”: at https://policy-and-politics.mailchimpsites.com

Note on minimum wage issue: As expected, though HB2510 is inferior to SB2018 and unnecessary, the House passed it on the floor yesterday. The following Representatives should be thanked for standing up on for their principles, the needs of working people, and for their votes and remarks given on the floor. The rest of the members either voted in support of delaying the $18 increase until 2030, or flat out opposed $18.

Please take a moment to say mahalo to our strongest friends in the House:

Rep. Jeanne Kapela repkapela@Capitol.hawaii.gov

Please listen to her awesome speech given on the floor of the House!

Rep. Sonny Ganaden repganaden@Capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Amy Perruso repperruso@Capitol.hawaii.gov

Rep. Roy Takumi reptakumi@Capitol.hawaii.gov

For the record, while I am disappointed in the failure of some of our friends to support the fundamental provisions contained within SB2018, I remain optimistic that as the issue moves forward they will more closely examine the issue and realize that the phased-in impacts to business as balanced with the benefits to low income working people – warrant strong support.

A great majority of the Representatives say they support increasing the minimum wage, but yet so far have refused to support SB2018 which proposes to increase the minimum wage to phased in increments to reach $18 in 2026. SB2018 has already passed the Senate and has the support of Governor Ige.

The reason for the lack of support by this group is political in nature. There really is no other reason. It’s the internal politics of the House, the political rivalry dynamics with the Senate, and the ego and arrogance of the House Speaker and Labor Chair that are driving this train.

Today, Thursday 02/17 there will be a floor vote on HB2510. It will be interesting to see who votes Yes in support of delaying the $18 increase until 2030, who votes No and stands firm with working people, and who votes with reservations “WR”, attempting to appease both sides.

At the House Labor & Tourism HB2510 hearing this past Tuesday, 85% of the public testimony supported a minimum wage of $18 by 2026, not 2030. But as you can guess, the committee chose to ignore the testimony and pass HB2510 delaying raising the wage to $18 until 2030 AND treating restaurant servers like second-class citizens by paying them even less.

There is no question whatsoever that SB2018 is a much better bill for low-wage working families. It achieves the $18 threshold in 2026, has passed all the hurdles in the Senate, and has the support of the Governor.

Representatives who cast solid yes votes today will no doubt echo the talking points of the various business lobbyists saying that HB2510 includes the expansion of various tax credits and thus represents a “comprehensive” approach. These same speeches will ignore the fact that passing Senate bill SB2018 does not preclude or prevent them from also passing other bills with those same tax credits. It is not an either-or choice.

The main objective of these lobbyists and their enablers is to delay the increase as long into the future as possible, and/or just get the issue into conference committee and have it die there – behind closed doors, without fingerprints or accountability.

Today’s vote is essentially a litmus test.

Each Representative must state publically via their vote and floor remarks, whose interests they serve. Are they going to be on the side of working people or will they simply go along to get along with the business lobby who’s mantra is “no time is a good time” and “the longer we can stretch this out the better”.

Representative Roy Takumi says it well in this Civil Beat piece published recently:
“As expected, the business community opposes any effort to increase workers’ wages saying that now is not the right time.

This is nothing new. When the economy is going well, the business community testifies that an increase isn’t necessary or needed since businesses pay more to attract workers.

When the economy is not going well, the business community testifies that any increase will lead to layoffs and closures. In other words, there is never a right time. Actually, now more than ever, we should raise the minimum wage.” Workers Deserve A (Barely) Living Wage (https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/02/rep-roy-takumi-workers-deserve-a-barely-living-wage/)

The fundamental question for Representatives this morning is:

Pete Seeger “Which Side Are You On?” ()
(you really, really, should click and listen to this classic labor anthem)

“Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there.
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

My daddy was a miner,
And I’m a miner’s son,
He’ll be with you fellow workers
Until this battle’s won.

Which side are you on?…”

Please ask your district Representative this question if you get a moment this morning. A complete list and contact info for all Representatives. Or if you plug in your address into “Find Your Legislator” and you can easily identify your specific District Representative and contact info.
Sincerely,
Gary Hooser
Pono Hawaiʻi Initiative

Do you know firsthand of any corruption involving bribery of public officials or government employees occurring here in our community? I sincerely hope not, but if you do https://www.fbi.gov/tips

It is our collective community’s responsibility to report if we know of or have witnessed this type of ugly and criminal betrayal of the public trust – it is our kuleana.

Likewise, it is the kuleana of our elected leaders to take action now, to rebuild that public trust, to further expose the wrongdoing, and to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

Waiting around for the other shoe to drop, issuing statements of concern, or just looking the other way, hoping this will just go away is malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.

You choose: Malfeasance occurs when the act is intentional, whereas misfeasance is completed accidentally. Nonfeasance is a failure to act when action is required.

There are many, many things that our sitting legislators can do today that would greatly improve the transparency and accountability of lawmaker actions.

Simply by amending their own internal rules the House and Senate could today:
*Ban the soliciting and accepting of campaign contributions during the legislative session.
*End the unilateral power of a committee chair.
*Require public votes to defer bills indefinitely, or to otherwise kill a bill.

It is the current practice of some committee chairs to solicit campaign contributions from prospective donors literally at the same time they are deciding to pass or kill a bill that impacts those same prospective donors. This, in my opinion, is unethical but currently not illegal.

The chair of a committee exercises nearly dictatorial power over the bills that are referred to that committee. A majority of the committee members technically can override the chair, but the process is such that such an act is considered adversarial and thus rarely acted upon. This concentration of power creates an environment that invites corruption.

Requiring a publicly recorded vote to kill bills ensures both transparency and accountability. The current system simply shields bad actors and bad actions from the public eye. As Senator English in the criminal charging file said, “It’s easy to kill bills.”

Two Hawaii legislators, former Senator Kalani English from Maui and Representative Ty Cullen from Oahu pled guilty yesterday to federal charges, admitting that they accepted thousands of dollars, trips, lavish dinners and more – in return for selling out the public trust.

They face up to 20 years in prison for their involvement in a scheme in which they accepted bribes in return for “fixing” legislation that benefited a private businessman involved in wastewater treatment and other enterprises.

It’s a sad time for those of us who believe in and are fighting daily to reinvigorate public involvement in the civic process.

In last week’s The Garden Island column, I praised Senate President, Kauai Senator Ronald Kouchi for showing leadership with regards to increasing the minimum wage.

Today, I implore upon Senator Kouchi, and all state legislators in both the House and the Senate to rise to this occasion and demonstrate the leadership our community and all Hawaii is desperately in need of.

Please, push back against what seems like a rising tide of public corruption by immediately championing and implementing the above 3 reforms. None require a bill, a hearing, or a task force to create and implement. All that is required is leadership and political will.

There is much more that can and must be done, but we need our lawmakers to lead.

The three points mentioned above are a start, but we must also implement term limits for state legislators, expand the public funding option for elections, increase regulation of lobbyists, and require state legislators to comply with the Sunshine Law.

The House Labor Committee has finally scheduled Speaker Saiki’s minimum wage bill HB2510 to be heard this coming Tuesday and it’s absolutely essential that we flood the committee with testimony saying essentially –

$18 by 2026 is the compromise
Roses are red, violets are blue,
Anything less than $18 by 2026 simply won’t do.

HB2510 is a complicated measure that delays until the year 2030 increasing the minimum wage to $18 and has other components that are unacceptable. The Senate Bill SB2018 proposes phased-in increases that reach $18 by 2026. SB2018 has already passed the Senate and has the support of the governor.

TESTIFY TODAY BEFORE 9:30am MONDAY MORNING 02/14

Please tell the House Labor Committee that SB2018 is the bill we want to be passed. Hawaii’s workers deserve $18 at least by 2026!

See further sample testimony at the bottom.

Tell the committee your story and why increasing the minimum wage is important to you and your family.

Keep it short if you like. But submit something, please.

If you are unfamiliar with the process: To testify, you must go to the Capitol Website, register (it’s very easy), sign in, and then voila!

Info provided on this page courtesy of Raise Up Hawaii
 
The House Labor Committee is hearing HB2510, a slower minimum wage increase that would move the minimum wage up to $18 by 2030, except for tipped workers. We need all the testimony we can get to demonstrate broad support for the faster, better Senate language in SB2018.

Hearing: Tues., Feb. 15, 9:30 AM (sign up for zoom if can!)
Testimony Due: Mon., Feb. 14, 9:30 AM (late testimony also accepted)

HB2510, proposed by the State House leadership team, also contains multiple tax credit provisions that are generally good for working families. It is our belief that House leadership is bundling these tax credits into their inferior minimum wage bill as a way to try and force us to support the bill.
 
Fortunately, the tax credit provisions in HB2510 also exist in other bills that are still alive and doing well.
 
Therefore, Raise Up Hawaiʻi suggests either submitting testimony as “Comments” or “Opposition” to HB2510, but we understand if some folks feel they have no choice but to “Support with Amendments.” The most important thing is to hammer home the message:
 
$18 by 2026 is the compromise position when it already costs more than that to survive in Hawaiʻi today.

Sample Testimony
 
Dear House Committee on Labor & Tourism,
 
Although I support some of the provisions in this bill, I must respectfully submit my opposition to HB2510. It already costs more than $19 an hour for a single adult with no children to just barely make ends meet in Hawaiʻi today. It is absolutely imperative that we reach $18 an hour by 2026 if working families are to find the economic relief that the legislature has promised to provide. Anything less than that is simply too slow to catch the tens of thousands of struggling Hawaiʻi workers back up to a livable level.
 
The worthy tax credit proposals in this bill also exist in other, less complicated bills, and should be advanced forward using those legislative vehicles instead.
 
The Senate has handed the House a clean $18 by 2026 bill in SB2018. It is now up to the House to do what is best for Hawaiʻi’s hardworking families and for its economic health and agree to the Senate proposal. Send SB2018 to the governor’s desk for signature instead of this bill. 
 
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

[Your Name]
[Your Neighborhood or House District]

Getting acquainted with the Capitol website
 
Make your voice heard at the state legislature! It’s easy to register for an account to submit written testimony. And, you’ll be able to testify from home! To learn about the new remote testimony process, watch this helpful video.