BILLS THAT PASSED, OR FAILED, AT THE LEGISLATURE
Miscellaneous

Advertiser Staff

Hurricane relief fund
(SB 706 SD1 HD1 CD1)
Transfers $29 million from the reserves in the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund to the general treasury and allows for interest earned annually by the trust fund to be transferred to the general fund. Establishes pilot loss mitigation grant program to provide grants for installation of wind-resistive devices.

Special funds
(HB 2827 HD1 SD2 CD1)
"Raids" special funds, draining off more than $140 million set aside for other purposes and depositing the money in the general treasury to help balance the budget.

Rainy day fund
(HB 1245 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Transfers $10.4 million from the emergency and budget reserve fund, or the so-called "rainy day fund," for public health, safety and welfare programs.

Tourism funding
(SB 2350 SD2 HD2 CD1)
Caps the amount the Hawai'i Tourism Authority receives from the hotel room tax at $63 million, reducing the percentage of the hotel tax that is transferred to the HTA from 37.9 percent to 32.6 percent. The bill would transfer hotel room tax collections above that level into the general treasury, and require HTA to spend $1 million on support of natural resources.

Washington Place
(HB 1093)
Prohibits campaign activities including fund-raising at Washington Place, the official governor's residence. Gov. Ben Cayetano signed the bill into law.

Burial fees
(HB 2506 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Increases the fee for disinterment permits from $5 to $20.

Marriage fee
(SB 2763 SD2 HD2 CD1)
Iincreases marriage license fees from $50 to $60, of which $10 will be allocated to the Hawaii Birth Defects Special Fund.

Ferry bonds
(SB 3049 SD2 HD2 CD1)
Authorizes up to $15 million in special facility revenue bonds for a ferry system between West Oahu and Aloha Tower.

Identity theft
(HB 2438 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Provides criminal penalties for those who steal the identity of another, and for those who obtain identity documents under false pretenses.

Korean War commemoration
(SB 2331 SD2 HD2 CD1)
Appropriates $20,000 for the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Korean War Commission.

Employee retention
Would have required successor employers of a covered establishment to retain at least fifty percent of incumbent, nonsupervisory employees. The bill cleared the House but failed in the Senate.

Gambling
Would have authorized development of a casino gaming resort in Kapolei. A second bill would authorize limited casino gaming in Kapolei and Waikiki.

Watercraft radios
Would have required vessels beyond one mile of shore to have on board a properly functioning Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) or VHF-FM radio. The bill would have exempted canoes, jet skis, surfboards, and paddleboards and would have exempted kayaks and training sailboats if accompanied by a vessel with an EPIRB or VHF-FM radio.

Traffic lawsuits
Would have limited the liability of the state, counties and utility companies in traffic accident lawsuits, specifying that government and the utilities have no duty to make highways safe for people who are drunk, on drugs or speeding.

Corrections records
Would have restricted inmates' access to public records to the disciplinary records of Department of Public Safety personnel.

Lease extensions
Would have allowed lessees of public lands to extend their leases to amortize the cost of major improvements to demised premises.