A bill that would relax some of the state building code requirements was gutted when it crossed from the House to the Senate, Rep. Robert Herkes, D-Puna, Ka’u, South Kona, North Kona, said. A bill that would relax some of
A bill that would relax some of the state building code requirements was gutted when it crossed from the House to the Senate, Rep. Robert Herkes, D-Puna, Ka‘u, South Kona, North Kona, said.
But he’s hopeful he’ll be able to convince legislators to allow some of his original proposals in House Bill 2358 to move ahead.
“The building codes aren’t working,” Herkes said Wednesday.
One problem with that, he added, is people just build whatever they want if they can’t get or think they cannot afford a permit.
“Everything built without a permit doesn’t go on the county tax rolls,” he said.
The bill now needs a hearing with the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee.
Herkes said he’s also working on “lengthy” amendments to Act 48, which regulated mortgage foreclosures in Hawaii.
One measure Sen. Josh Green, D-Kona, Kohala, told his constituents he’d be aggressively promoting, a bill that would strengthen Hawaii’s drunken driving laws, never got a committee hearing, he said. Other bills are moving through the Legislature, though, including a bill to create a hospital sustainability program. Senate Bill 2467 would increase Medicaid payments via a provider fee. Enacting the measure would bring about $36 million to Hawaii Health Systems Corp. hospitals and private hospitals, Green said.
Another bill already passed and in effect provided $1.5 million for an organ donation program. Green said he met three organ donor recipients since the money went to the program. It is rare, he added, to see the results of legislative action so quickly.
Sen. Gilbert Kahele, D-Puna, Ka‘u, Hilo, said getting capital improvement project funding for the University of Hawaii-Hilo’s College of Pharmacy building is one of his top priorities. Not having a building could put the program’s accreditation at risk. The Senate’s proposed CIP bill, Senate Bill 2012, is another measure Kahele said he hopes to see survive its crossover to the House.
“There’s still a ways to go,” he said. “It will create a lot of jobs.”
Legislators in the last several weeks made several changes to a bill stripping the requirement for green coffee beans to be inspected before being shipped. House Bill 280 now makes it a Class C felony to transport, distribute, advertise, sell or possess with the intent of selling green coffee beans with false information on the origin label. The Senate Ways and Means Committee scheduled a decision making hearing for 9 a.m. today.
Farmers hoping to produce their own renewable energy, on a small scale, may be tracking a House bill that crossed over to the state Senate. The Senate’s Energy and Water, Land and Housing committees will hear House Bill 2150 at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday.
A bill requring skateboarders of all ages to wear helmets is awaiting committee hearings in the Senate. Representative Linda Ichiyama, D-Moanalua Valley, Moanalua, Salt Lake, introduced the measure. The bill passed to the Senate, where it is awaiting hearings in several committees. No hearings have been scheduled as of yet.
A proposal to restrict the cutting and selling of sandalwood crossed over to the House in early March, passing its first reading March 8. Senate Bill 3028 was referred to three committees but has not yet been scheduled for any hearings.
A measure that would give counties a portion of uncontested traffic fines hasn’t moved since Feb. 17. The state’s four county councils requested House Bill 1729, as they have for several years. Representative Joe Souki, D-Wailuku, Waihee, Waiehu, Puuohala, Waikapu, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, gave the bill a hearing this year. The House Finance Committee adopted the latest report on the measure, which is now in its second draft. A companion Senate bill made no progress this session.
Strong opposition from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian community apparently outweighed strong boating community support on a measure to create a Honokohau Marina Development District. House Bill 2398 passed from the House to the Senate March 8. But the Senate’s Water, Land and Housing Committee deferred the measure March 15.
DLNR Chairman William Aila wrote in his testimony he would prefer the Public Land Development Corp., which DLNR administers, develop the property. While he said he would welcome potential developers for the harbor, “due to the current economic climate there is little if any interest” right now.
