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  • The 2005 Legislature

    With the election results more or less finalized at this point, attention should be turned toward the 2005 Legislative session. 2005 you ask? Yes. While the Legislature does not officially commence until January 19, the business of getting the legislature going starts in ernest today.

    For the majority Democrats they can celebrate in the fact that they have picked up 5 more House seats (GOP lost 6 but picked up 1) with the Republican minority becoming more of a minority next year. The count in the House is now 41 Democrats to 10 Republicans. Falling to a point under a 12 vote minority means that the GOP has lost a lot of power because now I think they cannot do several things like introducing amendments to bills on the on the House floor.

    In the Senate things remain pretty much status quo as the majority holds on to their 20 member count and the minority Republicans continue with 5 members.

    What will be interesting over the next few days or weeks is how both bodies will organize themselves and who will be named to various committee chair posts.

    I suspect the House will remain with the same basic leadership, but over in the Senate there could be an effort among the majority to reorganize the leadership....

    For example Senate President Bobby Bunda could be ousted if enough people within their majority decide to align themselves with another majority senator... say Senators Colleen Hanabusa or Donna Kim.

    There will be 2 new Senators this year: Senator Clarence Nishihara who ousted Sen. Cal Kawamoto in the primary and Senator Clayton Hee who won Sen. Melodie Aduja's seat in the primary & general. From what I hear, Senator Hee is a very outspoken person and will push his weight around to gain some kind of key leadership or committee chair role. He used to be the Judiciary chair many years ago, and could vie for that position again.

    Needless to say it will be interesting in the legislature. The Governor will continue to have a difficult time in getting her bills heard or passed. She will not have the veto proof power that she campaigned vigorously for.

    The majority party will be relentless in whatever agenda they have on the table for the coming year. That I know for a fact. Anything to block or thwart the kind of legislation that are supported by Republicans and anything to make the Governor look bad. That is what the coming 2 years of the legislature will be like.

    From a minority point of view, this will be nothing but "Damage Control". And controlling any damage that will be brought upon by the Democrats will be difficult.
    Last edited by mel; November 3, 2004, 06:32 AM. Reason: fix typos, edit post
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  • #2
    Re: The 2005 Legislature

    Mel what happened to my new thread on the EC vote differences: 269 vs 252. Last night around 11:30pm MSNBC had Bush with 269 EC votes to Kerry's 211. CNN and virtually everyone else had it at Bush with 252 EC votes to Kerry's 242 or something like that.

    MSNBC was raving at the 1-vote needed to hit the 270-EC votes to win and it all surrounded around Ohio. I posted that just after 11:30 last night but it's not there any more in the Hawaii Hall as a new thread?
    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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    • #3
      Re: The 2005 Legislature

      Craig, as a national topic it was moved to Bush v. Kerry in The American Asylum. When in doubt, search!

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      • #4
        Re: The 2005 Legislature

        sorry about that
        Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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        • #5
          Re: The 2005 Legislature

          Seems Gov. Lingle's little plan to stack the Legislature with like-minded (i.e., Republican) representatives kinda backfired on her. Maybe she should've just kept her mouth shut and not campaigned actively for the Hawaii Republican candidates she thought she could power back into the Legislature.

          As it stands now, she lost a net 5 Republican votes, and the ironic thing is, 2 were from Maui, where she was last Mayor. As Mel said, you guys are gonna have an interesting next two years of getting nothing done in the Legislature unless Linda mends some big fences, just like the Prez is going to have to do on the national level and with the rest of the world.

          Here's something about the Maui results: http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=2896

          Miulang
          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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          • #6
            Re: The 2005 Legislature

            I think things will be harder for the Governor to achieve here then it is for the President to achieve with Congress. On foreign matters, that is a different story and off topic for this thread. I want to keep this topic focused on the Hawaii State legislature.
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            • #7
              Re: The 2005 Legislature

              Originally posted by mel
              I think things will be harder for the Governor to achieve here then it is for the President to achieve with Congress. On foreign matters, that is a different story and off topic for this thread. I want to keep this topic focused on the Hawaii State legislature.
              Eh Mel, da mention of da Prez mending fences just one analogy, OK? I stay trying to keep dis buggah on topic, too.

              Miulang
              "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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              • #8
                The 2005 Legislature - Opening Day

                The Opening Day of the 23rd Hawaii State Legislature occurs on Wednesday, January 19 at the State Capitol. Both the House and Senate will commence with their floor sessions at 10:00 a.m. with the usual array of speeches, swearing in of new and returning legislators, entertainment and free food afterward at various offices. Chamber seating by invitation, meet legislators afterward, free.

                For those who cannot make it, the opening day sessions are usually shown live on Olelo cable TV, channels 53 and 54, with reruns to follow a few times afterward.

                ________________________________

                Caution: You playing in a liberal inundation zone.
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                • #9
                  Re: The 2005 Legislature

                  As the session draws to a close, lawmakers are getting in their last licks:

                  Legislators’ feud erupts on last day of session
                  A power struggle for control of the state Senate spilled into public with Republicans and Democrats exchanging insults and charges of racism yesterday as the 2005 Legislature closed for the year. Senators were debating a resolution that allows them to return in a special session to reorganize Senate leadership and oust Robert Bunda as president.
                  Hanabusa had gunned for Bunda before, and with Donna Kim (senate VP) and Shan Tsutsui (Democratic caucus leader) switching sides, The resolution passed 13-12.

                  The Republicans seized on the dissent, Fred Hemmings saying he'd take Bunda over Clayton Hee, given how Hee had managed OHA. Hee barked back at the "haole" that "the last thing the kanaka need is an outsider telling the insider what's wrong with it." Hemmings bristled, claiming racism.

                  Even the Republicans had a bit of a quarrel, but they wisely kept it out of the public eye. After Paul Whalen and Gordon Trimble sided with Hanabusa and Kim, despite a visit from Lingle, Trimble was stripped of his GOP policy leader position.

                  Just another day in politics...

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                  • #10
                    Re: The 2005 Legislature

                    The organizational battle makes for good drama and serves as a possible springboard for some politicians to use as a launching point to higher office. While the coup failed to produce change yesterday, the issue of leadership in the Senate will fester through the interim. Only time will tell what kind of coalitions will be formed among the Senators before another leadership vote is made.

                    That said, this years legislature will be best known for the notoriously expensive general excise tax increase bill and its failure to provide tax relief as announced by the Senate President on opening day. Tax increase for rail? Give us a break.

                    Hawaii has one of the highest cost of living in the United States and certainly the highest per capita tax burden in the nation as recently reported.

                    The legislature's passage of the General Excise Tax increase bill only cements our horrible reputation as being a continual tax hell. The Governor needs to do an about face on this bill and veto it. This is not about home rule, this is about our wallets.

                    The GE tax increase was not the only additional cost to taxpayers.

                    The legislature also voted to increase the conveyance tax and floated proposals to increase the cigarette tax, the gasoline tax, and create a new ad valorem tax on the value of all vehicles... this would be tacked on to the vehicle weight tax which the Democrat heavy but so-called non-partisan City Council threatens to increase this year.

                    What happened to the income tax relief?

                    Gone because the public employee unions all demanded and got another round of large wage increases.

                    The taxpayers need to throw out the tax and spend legislators and allow for a constitutional convention to amend our union favorable constitution.

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                    • #11
                      Re: The 2005 Legislature

                      Legislature Ends Year of Tax Increase

                      State lawmakers adjourned their 2005 session Thursday with critics calling it "The Year of the Tax Increase."

                      The blow of higher taxes and fees to Hawaii consumers is especially severe when you couple it with taxes the city is planning to raise. Lawmakers said the pain of the tax hikes has to be weighed against the benefits they will provide in the future, but some residents said the pity is everything is happening all at once.

                      Lawmakers approved tax and fee hikes as Hawaii residents are struggling with soaring housing costs and higher fuel costs that drive up prices of everything from food to gas at the pump.
                      The entire story can be read and viewed at KITV's HawaiiChannel.com link (click title) above.

                      Taxes hurt everyone, especially all residents of Hawaii who face higher costs, increased tax burden because of the rail tax and others cited in the story.

                      Businesses will hurt and the economy will falter.

                      Time to stop the rail tax is now. Call Governor Lingle and ask her to veto.


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                      • #12
                        Legislative hits and misses

                        Your State Legislature certainly was busy this past session. Here's a list of the new laws and failed bills.

                        I like the law that passed which allows people to include trusts in their wills to provide for the care of surviving pets. I think that means that the Legislature acknowledges that pets are people, too.

                        Miulang
                        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                        • #13
                          Re: The 2005 Legislature

                          Originally posted by mel
                          The organizational battle makes for good drama and serves as a possible springboard for some politicians to use as a launching point to higher office. While the coup failed to produce change yesterday, the issue of leadership in the Senate will fester through the interim. Only time will tell what kind of coalitions will be formed among the Senators before another leadership vote is made.
                          Interesting points in an article this morning in how the Democratic showdown over Senate leadership might affect the "majority" party from holding its regular "veto override" party against Lingle's pen.
                          According to the state Constitution, both the House and Senate must override a veto with a two-thirds majority. In the Senate that would mean 17 out of the 20 Democrats would have to vote in favor of an override and 34 of the 41 Democrats in the House would also have to approve it. If a move is made to depose Bunda or if one or the other Senate factions forms a coalition with the five Senate Republicans, it might not be possible to get 17 votes to override.
                          Republicans and Democrats working together? What is this world coming to?

                          Seriously, I always liked having Lingle as governor despite the Democrat-controlled legislature, as it made for more of a balance of power - or at least, for more healthy discussion of issues rather than just an assembly-line rubber-stamp setup. But the sheer numbers in the legislature often rendered Lingle's pen moot. With dissention in the ranks, things could actually get interesting.

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                          • #14
                            Re: The 2005 Legislature

                            Originally posted by pzarquon
                            Interesting points in an article this morning in how the Democratic showdown over Senate leadership might affect the "majority" party from holding its regular "veto override" party against Lingle's pen.
                            Borreca may be writing a story using a Star Wars analogy in reference to the Democratic power struggle in the Senate.

                            Originally posted by pzarquon
                            Republicans and Democrats working together? What is this world coming to?
                            Don't worry, it is a fluke at the moment in the Senate. Just a passing fad.



                            Originally posted by pzarquon
                            Seriously, I always liked having Lingle as governor despite the Democrat-controlled legislature, as it made for more of a balance of power - or at least, for more healthy discussion of issues rather than just an assembly-line rubber-stamp setup. But the sheer numbers in the legislature often rendered Lingle's pen moot. With dissention in the ranks, things could actually get interesting.
                            The balance of power thing only looks nice on paper for the moment. As mentioned, the majority party's immense numbers in both sides of the legislature has been to the disadvantage of the Republicans (bills not heard, bill not passed, etc.) and a more conservative agenda.

                            A lot of people thought there would be big changes once Linda Lingle was elected Governor. They forgot and continued to forget that in order for the changes the governor wanted, the people would have had to also elect enough Republicans in at least one house to 1. prevent veto overrides and 2. and get a majority.

                            Things would have been more interesting if in the House there would have been say, 24 Republicans and 27 Dems, or better yet, 26 Republicans and 25 Democrats... The Republican party was almost there in the House with a 20-member minority at the end of last year's legislative session.

                            Sadly the elections were botched for the GOP as they could not muster a response to the last minute negative campaign mailers sent out by the Democrats during the November election season. That hurt the Republicans in the House in so far that 6 of them lost their seats... also hurt in the Senate but to a lesser degree as some highly touted Republican candidates never fared as expected.

                            It also did not help the GOP when one of their incumbent legislators got busted for a sexual crime.

                            Next year's election will be a difficult one to win, especially if the Democrats can rally around a candidate that they can all agree to. While no one seems to be a clear front runner in the Democrat party for governor, that party has an amazing track record of rallying around a supposedly dark horse and putting him in as the blessed one and perhaps eventual winner.

                            The bottom line to all this is that you need the numbers, and plenty of it on your side to win at the polls as well as with an agenda in the legislature.

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