Have you checked out The Hot Seat?

It's our new blog that brings in your elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions.

On The Hot Seat last week was state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, who answered readers' questions during our live chat about legislative priorities in the coming session.

Chris: There are many signs that the Leeward coast is the next target for speculative developers. What do you plan on doing to combat this so that the homeless problem doesn't blow up even more?

Colleen Hanabusa: As a product of the Leeward coast, I am particularly sensitive to forces that may rob the area of its unique charm. Development is a hard question anywhere. On the one hand, we don't want speculators destroying our neighborhoods or our state. On the other hand, we need more housing and better jobs for our residents. As to your question about the Leeward coast specifically, if you accept the definition of the Leeward coast as being the area from 'Ewa to Makua, we are already the target of development. It will take job opportunities and housing as part of development in order to combat the homeless problems.

Rob: I'm a middle-class person working two jobs. With all these extra taxes and fees I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be able to continue to live in Hawai'i. I want to know how the state expects us to survive with all these additional property taxes, GET taxes, gas taxes, when we're barely making it now. Sometimes not so lucky you live Hawai'i, yeah?

Hanabusa: I don't have the magic answer for you. I do know that we in the state have experienced phenomenal economic growth, yet one in 10 are in the same position as you are. This is probably due to the fact that we rank 9th in the nation in terms of growth, but 26th in terms of average wage. The only immediate resolution would be to develop jobs that will pay the higher-rate wage and we must make your tax and other burdens lower.

Teresa: With all the issues going around about education, and the problems we are having within the school system, do you think one of the problems could be that the DOE is top heavy? It seems that the teachers are required to do too much paperwork and not enough teaching. Could we somehow get some "clerical" help for our teachers? Thanks for your time.

Hanabusa: The issue that you raise about the burden on teachers is one that I have heard time and time again. Unfortunately, a lot of the paper work is a function of No Child Left Behind and the requirements associated with that. Teachers are members of a collective bargaining unit and many of their terms and conditions of employment are a function of those negotiations. We in the Legislature have been fully supportive of the teachers. However, we are also cognizant of the fact that they have a process to air their dissatisfaction. Having said that, I do not believe there is a legislator who would not want to have teachers teach versus doing paperwork. We would support efforts towards that end.

John k.: What are you going to do this term to rise above partisan politics, special-interest pressures and finally get meaningful legislation out in the best interest of Hawai'i's residents?

I am a Democrat, but I am so tired of watching these legislative sessions only to see task forces, meaningless pilot programs with little utility and other half measures in the interest of satiating special interests, while deep and long-simmering problems such as homelessness, runaway taxes, poor planning (piecemeal development), struggling schools and lack of opportunities for our kids take its toll on life here. Do you have the courage and political will to truly lead and to get things done?

Hanabusa: First of all, as to partisan politics, no one ever accuses me of doing that. I think we can agree that no one has a monopoly on good ideas. I am always willing to listen to arguments for ideas that are different from my own. It doesn't matter to me if an idea is from a Republican or Democratic, or from a friend or someone I have had disagreements with in the past. A good idea is a good idea. Check with my friend Sam Slom. But we have a duty to preserve the checks and balances built into our legislative system. That means closely scrutinizing proposals made by the governor's office as well as ideas that cross from the House. Not every disagreement you see at the Capitol is political, and very few of them are personal. We are fulfilling our obligations to be thoughtful in our deliberations.

Bill & Natty Prescott: Is there something the Legislature can do to stop the DOE and BOE from using disadvantaged schools as points of hire for probationary teachers? Our children have been used to practice on for over 35 years and it has to be stopped. Not until our schools have a stabilized teaching staff will we see a reduction in the continuing high number (more than 40 percent) failing to finish high school and in special education classes.

Hanabusa: I think what we are really talking about here is teacher retention, which raises a whole lot of issues. Teachers want to work in good schools that are close to their homes. First of all, we need to have schools that are desirable places to work. This session, the Senate will be introducing bills to do that by ensuring that the standards we apply are relevant to the student. We will also further empower the school community councils with more funding responsibilities and the authority to meet the unique needs of each school community.

Bill, I know that as one of the originators of the SCBMs in Ma'ili you will identify with this. We also need to find ways to recruit teachers from all over the state. In the near term, we might look at providing incentives for teachers to stay in certain schools. As you can imagine, there are lots of parts to answering that question. We would need to include the teachers, DOE, HSTA, UH, the Legislature and the governor (in looking) for a solution.

SteveK: I read that this session you will have someone from HECO working in your office. The House has prohibited this practice, so I wonder why you are allowing a corporate person to work in your own office?

Hanabusa: You are mistaken about having a HECO person working in my office. The Senate is adopting a rule which prohibits interns from the private sector. We are only permitting students interns from the University of Hawai'i who are part of an established program.

Coffee: I just wanted to know if it was possible to make more shelters or even affordable housing at Barbers Point? The infrastructure is there; would this be a good option to help our homeless population?

Hanabusa: As you are aware, the Wai'anae Coast has carried more than its share of this burden. I do know that one transitional shelter has opened, which has taken families off of our beaches. I believe Kalaeloa is a good location. However, one major drawback is transportation for working families. Having said that, I would support additional shelters there for those who can use them.

Resident: All of the conferences and task forces don't seem to be doing anything to reduce Hawai'i's reliance on nonrenewable energy sources. Can you think of something to do to promote (photovoltaic), wave energy, etc.? I think it's better to change sooner rather that later.

Hanabusa: You are correct and I believe this is due to the fact that we must address the fundamental issue of changing behavior and perception. I have been an advocate that to promote renewable energy we need to force it in ways similar to what the military has now done in their housing development. That is to say, require that the project produce a certain percentage of energy on site and that production must be renewable. In the military's case, it is 30 percent by way of solar and photovoltaic.

Steve Doyle: Senator, I recently returned from a visit to Brazil, where I discovered a nation that is virtually oil and energy independent. Ninety percent of its newer vehicles (including the bus systems and taxis) were using ethanol derived from sugar cane, not the less efficient corn product that the U.S. Congress subsidizes in our country. Its electric grid power suppliers were using sugar cane bagasse to provide power to the cities and towns of the country. Wind turbines were also widely used. Will you, as president of the state Senate, encourage the passage of legislation to promote energy independence for our state in order that we become less reliant on overseas imports of petroleum products? I think that all of us await your response.

Hanabusa: The Senate is very supportive of promoting energy independence, as I am. I have been studying ethanol and the difference with cellulosic biomass conversion. We have looked at it for Hawai'i and the issue that needs to be addressed is its demand on water. Still, I believe that as an island state we must follow the lead of Brazil and shed our dependence on fossil fuel.

John: If water is the problem for the ethanol question, (water that was used for farming is now used for residential homes), why can't we use a desalination process of making irrigation water from ocean water?

Hanabusa: Desalination is a very expensive process. We need to have alternative energy be cost efficient and cannot have the cost of water add even more to that. We are requiring many developments to use nonpotable water to irrigate golf courses and other agricultural and green belts. Still, water is expensive. There are also concerns as to the ecological balance if we were to remove large volumes of water from our oceans.

B: Since technology is the future, do you foresee more job growth in this area? It seems that our brightest are going away because of the lack of jobs available here in the Islands. What can we do to make sure they have something available to them when they graduate?

Hanabusa: You are absolutely correct. I will say that one of the concerns that I have is whether our people will see their grandchildren grow up here because their children are unable to have the quality of life they deserve.

America1: On the first day back to work, will you focus on reimplementing the ethanol tax credit as a way to lower the current high price per gallon on gasoline or can we just start the gas cap back in again? What is your opinion on the new GET (general excise tax) tax for the rail the mayor wants? Do we need more taxes to be raised?

Hanabusa: As to reinstating the GET exemption on ethanol content in gasoline, I personally support that. However, it must have full discussion within the Legislature. As to the county GET surcharge on rail, I voted for it with reservations because it is a home-rule issue and it provided the county with the authority they decided they needed to address traffic.

Lee: The bottle bill seems to be working for the state, but not for the citizen. I'm shortchanged a couple dollars every time I recycle because they weigh the bottles rather than count them. This seems a little unfair. They are quick to take my money, and slow to give it back. Maybe by hiring a few more people we could get a more accurate count for the recycler and be helping people to obtain jobs. Seems like a win-win to me.

Hanabusa: I am glad to hear that you appear to be in favor of recycling. The issue that you raise is one that we are aware of. As you know, the Department of Health has been tasked with implementation of the bottle bill and they are working the kinks out as quickly as they claim they can. However, we will be looking at this issue in the upcoming session. I believe we have asked for an audit and are waiting for the results of the audit report.

Shon: Do you feel that rail will help alleviate traffic? I think in the end with all the extra taxes it might end up hurting the public more. I realize that something has to be done, but I'm sure there are other alternatives. Bus lanes might help. I just don't want my grandchildren to have to pay for it 20 years from now.

Hanabusa: As someone who drives that traffic, I share many of your concerns. I have yet to see a report that states traffic will substantially reduce with rail. As you know, the decision to proceed and where it goes is with the City Council. I will add that traffic for me is very different when the UH and private schools are not in session.