HONOLULU — House and Senate conference committee members have just over a week to reach agreement on measures they want to see passed this legislative session.
The Senate hasn’t changed its position on priority measures outlined when the session convened in January, according to Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria.
His counterpart on the House side, Rep. Pono Chong, says the House has also remained consistent.
The end goals for both chambers aren’t drastically different. Lawmakers have focused on initiatives that continue Hawaii’s economic recovery, create jobs and enhance government services.
Where they differ is in the approach.
For instance, the Senate’s flagship bill was never heard by the House, forcing senators to revive it themselves. House Bill 2145 — originally Senate Bill 2012 — would use bonds to finance $500 million in public works projects that are ready to go. The idea is to get construction workers back to work quickly, while tackling a backlog of repair and maintenance projects at state facilities.
The bill is now in conference. “We’re hopeful,” said Galuteria, D-Downtown-Waikiki.
Chong, D-Maunawili-Kaneohe, said the House didn’t hear the Senate’s original “Invest in Hawaii” bill because that chamber doesn’t want to add to the state’s debt.
However, the House would like to put $50 million toward the state’s unfunded health and retirement liabilities. Since that was left out of the Senate’s budget draft, the House and Senate conferees could find a way to resolve their disagreements on both issues.
Chong said other important measures for the House include making it easier to get capital improvement projects completed. “Clearly increasing efficiency in government, reducing duplication and streamlining the permit process, as well as procurement, would help all users of government, especially the construction industry,” Chong said. “That’s where a lot of our focus has been.”
The Senate is also looking at streamlining government services. Proposals to bypass environmental reviews and zoning regulations for certain government projects have received considerable criticism. However, Galuteria said the bills sent to conference would not overturn Hawaii’s environmental law. “None of the permitting or procurement exemptions are permanent. They are very focused and very laser-like for the life of the project,” he said.
The conference committee on the budget convened on Tuesday and could wrap up by Friday, opening the door for negotiations on remaining fiscal bills. All legislation must be in final form by April 27 in order to be scheduled for a vote before the 2012 session ends May 3.
