Bills readied for Thursday's crossover
| • | Legislature 2008 Read up on the latest happenings in the Legislature, find out how to contact your lawmakers, and explore other resources. |
 |
Compiled by Derrick DePledge and Treena Shapiro
Tuesday is the 25th day of the 60-day session.
State lawmakers and their staffs worked to meet the first significant deadline of the session — first decking — to get bills ready for crossover between the two chambers this week.
State House and Senate leaders said bills in their majority packages are moving, along with other high-profile legislation, such as repair and maintenance at the University of Hawai'i and Gov. Linda Lingle's proposal that the state purchase the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore.
Some bills failed to make the deadline and are likely dead for the session.
House and Senate leaders have said doctors did not made a convincing argument that malpractice reform would help reduce the shortage of specialists in rural areas and on the Neighbor Islands.
Other incentives to keep doctors, such as tax credits and higher reimbursement rates, are still alive.
Activists with the Sierra Club's Hawai'i chapter, Common Cause Hawai'i and other groups argued it would have expanded the corporate influence on politics and government.
A Maui court ruling last year led the state Campaign Spending Commission to suspend corporate contribution limits while the commission appeals.
State House and Senate leaders believe the campaign-finance law should be clarified this session and a Senate version of the bill is up for a vote on Tuesday.
Police argued that the weapons are not useful for target shooting and hunting and could pose a risk to civil aviation. Gun enthusiasts said the weapons are used for target shooting and that the risk to aviation was overstated.
Candidates would have to collect at least 200 signatures and $5 donations from registered voters to qualify for public financing to run competitive campaigns. Activists believe public financing will attract a wider variety of candidates and limit the influence of campaign contributions on politics. Others, however, question whether taxpayer money should be used for campaigns and whether the existing partial-public financing system could be improved to achieve similar goals.
State Sen. Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, said he plans to schedule a hearing on the bill this month. The bill passed in the House last session.
The House Judiciary Committee amended the bill to cover bloggers and citizen journalists and to create an exception that would allow a disclosure requirement in civil cases if all other avenues to obtain the information have been exhausted. Attorneys in criminal cases would likely argue that a shield law should be balanced with the constitutional rights of defendants to receive fair trials.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"It's just another firearm. People want to ban fur coats and Hummers, I guess. This is similar. It's still a free country."
— Maxwell Cooper, legislative co-chair of the Hawai'i Rifle Association, on a failed bill to ban .50-caliber Browning machine-gun rifles and rounds.
LEARN MORE
COMING UP
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
