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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 1, 2003

Veto likely on long-term-care bill

By Gordon Y.K. Pang and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Eight of 10 first-time Democratic lawmakers joined all 15 Republicans in the House in voting against the controversial bill establishing a long-term-care tax on workers.

But Democratic legislators said they don't believe this signals the formation of a new faction of dissident Democratic lawmakers. Rather, it may just be a maverick streak among the newcomers. "Maybe we just have a lot of independent spirits in the freshman class," said Scott Nishimoto, D-21st (Kapahulu, Diamond Head).

The eight were Nishimoto, Kirk Caldwell, Cindy Evans, Jon Karamatsu, Romeo Mindo, Alex Sonson, Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo and Tommy Waters. Only Maile Shimabukuro and Glenn Wakai did not join their fellow first-time House members in voting against the bill. The ninth Democrat to vote against it was veteran Rep. Bob Nakasone.

The bill imposes an income tax of $120 a year to pay for a long-term-care program, increasing to $276 a year by the end of 2011. Those who pay the tax for 10 years would be eligible for the full $70-a-day cash benefit for up to one year. The benefit would increase to $85.58 per day in 2013.

The bill also provides long-term-care insurance policyholders a maximum tax credit of $120 a year for five years and a maximum of $180 a year for the following five years.

Breakdown of lawmakers' vote

The vote by lawmakers on Senate Bill 1088, the long-term-care bill:

HOUSE

YES (27)

Democrats

Felipe "Jun" Abinsay, Dennis Arakaki, Jerry Chang, Helene Hale, Eric Hamakawa, Bob Herkes, Ken Hiraki, Ken Ito, Michael Kahikina, Sol Kaho'ohalahala, Ezra Kanoho, Bertha Kawakami, Marilyn Lee, Sylvia Luke, Michael Magaoay, Hermina Morita, Blake Oshiro, Marcus Oshiro, Scott Saiki, Calvin Say, Brian Schatz, Maile Shimabukuro, Joe Souki, K. Mark Takai, Dwight Takamine, Roy Takumi, Glenn Wakai

NO (24)

Democrats

Kirk Caldwell, Cindy Evans, Jon Karamatsu, Romy Mindo, Bob Nakasone, Scott Nishimoto, Alex Sonson, Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, Tommy Waters

Republicans

Brian Blundell, Kika Bukoski, Corinne Ching, Lynn Finnegan, Galen Fox, Chris Halford, Mark Jernigan, Bertha Leong, Barbara Marumoto, Colleen Meyer, Mark Moses, Guy Ontai, David Pendleton, William "Bud" Stonebraker, Cynthia Thielen

SENATE

YES (16)

Democrats

Rosalyn Baker, Robert Bunda, Suzanne Chun Oakland, Kalani English, Carol Fukunaga, Colleen Hanabusa, Gary Hooser, Les Ihara, Lorraine Inouye, Brian Kanno, Cal Kawamoto, Donna Mercado Kim, Russell Kokubun, Ron Menor, Norman Sakamoto, Brian Taniguchi

NO (9)

Democrats

Melodie Aduja, Willie Espero, David Ige, Shan Tsutsui

Republicans

Fred Hemmings, Bob Hogue, Sam Slom, Gordon Trimble, Paul Whalen

Because the bill won only a narrow 27-24 vote in the House and by a 16-9 count in the Senate, it's unlikely that an expected veto by Gov. Linda Lingle will be subjected to an override vote.

Nishimoto said that there was no coordinated effort by the freshmen to vote as a bloc, noting that he has had problems with the bill from the beginning. "I talked to my constituents about it, and they just didn't want it and they can't afford it," he said.

Waters, D-51st (Waimanalo, Lanikai), said he also believes that the new Democrats are largely an independent bunch. "Personally, I'm not just going to go along with a bill just because everybody else is," Waters said, adding that he did not think it is a good time to impose a new tax.

"If it's a good measure I'll vote for it, it doesn't matter who introduced it," Waters said. "If it's a bad measure, I'll vote against, and it doesn't matter who introduced it."

Tamayo, D-42nd (Waipahu, Honouliuli, 'Ewa), said the freshmen Democrats have the potential to form a voting bloc to be reckoned with but have not done so yet.

Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said he struggled on how he would vote on the measure. Ultimately, he said, lingering doubts about the regressive nature of a flat tax and cynicism about the creation of a large special fund that could be tapped for unrelated needs convinced him to vote against it.

Frustrated veterans who have been working on the long-term-care issue over a number of years may simply have been more inclined to vote for a less-than-perfect bill than first-year lawmakers, Caldwell said.

"This is something they've been working on since 1988," he said. "The new guys come in and they want the perfect bill because we're all new, we're fresh, we haven't gone through the wars and we say, 'Let's work on it and make it better.' ''

Assistant Minority Leader David Pendleton, R-49th (Kane'ohe, Maunawili, Enchanted Lake), said that had the Republican caucus known there were that many Democratic dissidents on the issue, there would have been a lot more lobbying to defeat the bill on the floor. "We would've worked that much harder if we knew that many of them were going to break ranks," he said.

He added that there may be hope that the new Democrats would be more willing to work with the Republicans. "I think one of the lessons, as we look back over the course of the session, we see that we probably should have tried to liaison with the Democratic freshmen much more," he said.

In hindsight, "it makes sense that they're the ones who are most responsive to the constituents," Pendleton said. "The farther away you are from your initial election, you become more entrenched and less responsive. The old-time cronies hardly even listen to their constituents." And those freshmen who would tend to be more responsive, he said, would be "Democrats from Republican-type areas."

House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, D-22nd (McCully, Pawa'a), said he didn't see the long-term-care vote as a partisan one or a harbinger of a new, dissident group of Democrats. House leaders always knew the tax was "a bold initiative" that would not gain the full support of all Democrats.

And on "the big issues" dealing with taxes or civil rights, Saiki said, "we want our members to vote their conscience." He agreed with the conclusion that "the freshmen group, for the most part, is very independent."

While long-term care is no longer in the hands of the Legislature, lawmakers are set for final voting today on several bills before adjourning the legislative session for the year.

Among them is a measure to extend the hotel construction and renovation tax credit for three years at 8 percent of the construction or renovation costs and for the following four years at 4 percent. The Senate leadership said new figures from the state Tax Department show a larger tax loss and that it won't fit into a balanced budget plan.

The House leadership, however, disputes the numbers. As somewhat of an insurance strategy to protect the hotel tax-credit measure, House leaders postponed until today a vote on a bill offering tax credits for development at the Ko Olina Marina and Resort. The Senate leadership, particularly Senate Majority Leader Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), has pushed hard for the Ko Olina measure.

Both the House and Senate will vote on the hotel tax credit today. The Senate approved the Ko Olina tax-credit measure on Tuesday.

House and Senate lawmakers will also vote on a measure that would restore binding arbitration for members of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association and take away their right to strike.

Restoring binding arbitration has been a priority for the HGEA, whose leaders say it would prevent disruptions in public services caused by a strike and that issues would be settled by a neutral, objective third party.

The Lingle administration, however, has said settling labor contracts through binding arbitration virtually guarantees wage and salary increases and that it is a disincentive for the parties to actively negotiate.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or reach either at 525-8070.