State gains several health-related laws
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday signed into law bills to increase the cigarette tax, raise the marriage license fee and take the first steps toward designing a long-term care financing program.
With the deadline for vetoes passed, all other bills become law even without Cayetano's signature. The governor's signature largely shows his endorsement of a measure.
House Bill 2741 would increase the cigarette tax from $1 to $1.40 per pack in three increments, raising an extra $16 million a year for the state. Increases take effect in October, when the tax goes from $1 to $1.20; in July 2003, when it increases from $1.20 to $1.30; and in July 2004, when it increases to $1.40 per pack.
As of today, a pack of cigarettes sold for about $5.
Supporters of the bill said the increase would help deter people from smoking.
"I like to think of this bill as a preventive measure than a revenue-generating measure," said House Majority Floor Leader Marilyn Lee, D-38th (Waipi'o, Mililani). "Anything we can do to decrease ... smoking in our community is a positive thing."
The governor also signed Senate Bill 2763, which establishes a statewide birth defects program and a fund to support it. The law also increases the marriage license fee from $50 to $60, with the $10 difference going to the Hawai'i birth defects special fund.
State Health Department director Bruce Anderson said the program would collect data on birth defects, "identify possible environmental problems associated with birth defects and provide the information we need to make good health decisions."
And the governor signed House Bill 2638, which establishes the Hawai'i long-term care financing program and Hawai'i Long-Term Care Benefits Fund. A board of trustees will design the program and determine how the state would collect, and how much, in long-term care taxes to be deposited in the fund.
Advocates called the bill a good first step in addressing Hawai'i's long-term care costs.
"This is really very, very important, not only for senior citizens but for their families as well," Cayetano said.
The measure requires the board to report its findings to the Legislature next year.
House Health Committee Chairman Dennis Arakaki, D-28th (Kalihi Valley, Kamehameha Heights), said the bill "is really for the caregivers" of the frail, elderly and disabled who need long-term health care. He said people had been trying to tackle the issue for years, and First Lady Vicky Cayetano — who spearheaded the effort this year — was the "key difference" in the bill's passage.
Cayetano signed House Bill 2840, which establishes a commission to review state government functions and determine whether programs should be eliminated or modified. The commission will make recommendations to the next Legislature.
