DEMOCRATS
Session's main goals completed
By Calvin Say and Robert Bunda
The 2004 legislative session was one of the most cooperative sessions on record. Democrats in the House and Senate agreed on a common agenda at the outset and worked together to pass groundbreaking legislation in three areas of top importance — substantive education reform, legislation to combat Hawai'i's ice epidemic, and help for those on fixed incomes in coping with the high cost of prescription drugs.
At the end of the session, all three goals had been significantly achieved.
• The Reinventing Education Act will revitalize our schools and improve student achievement.
The act changes the budgeting process to address the specific educational demands on each school. Principals are given a greater say in how money is spent in their schools, with an expectation that each principal's role in spending decisions will grow with experience.
The act also provides for more textbooks, smaller classes in Grades K-2, and increased community and parent involvement by establishing school community councils and hiring parent coordinators for each school. It establishes a Principals Academy for leadership training and bonuses for teachers who become nationally certified.
• The Winning Against Ice package provides a balanced set of enforcement, treatment and community initiatives to fight Hawai'i's crystal methamphetamine epidemic, supported by nearly $15 million in new financing.
Tough new penalties target ice dealers, particularly when their actions harm others or involve children.
Courts are authorized to decide when nonviolent ice users should be placed in treatment instead of prison. And school-based substance-abuse treatment programs are expanded for young people who previously were simply suspended from school.
The package also requires health insurance plans to cover substance-abuse treatment just as they cover other diseases or illnesses. The package expands adult treatment programs, with priorities given to parents, women of child-bearing age, families and Hawaiians. And for the first time, state money is appropriated for prevention programs that target adolescent abuse.
• The Hawai'i Rx Plus Act gives those with incomes at or below 350 percent of the federal poverty level the ability to purchase prescription drugs at significant discounts beginning July 1.
We achieved what we set out to do — make a substantial difference in three areas the people of Hawai'i care deeply about. We listened to what people from all walks of life had to say. We worked through their differing perspectives. We focused on practical solutions, and in the end passed legislation that will make a significant difference in people's lives.
What is often forgotten is the work that goes into creating such landmark legislation.
• A joint Senate/House task force held more than 80 hours of hearings statewide before the legislative session to develop the initial draft of the ice legislation.
• Members of the House and Senate Education committees spent countless hours visiting schools, talking with educators and learning about school systems on the mainland to craft the education package.
• Hawai'i Rx Plus is rooted in more than three years of hard work by Democratic legislators and others in the community, such as AARP.
But,of course, the session was much more than just these three initiatives.
• The state budget proved to be a significant challenge, but we believe we did the right thing in fully funding the state's labor agreements with the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly, the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the Hawai'i Government Employees Association. All three were reasonable wage agreements that deserved to be funded.
• We extended the life of Act 221, tax credits for high-tech businesses, for another five years with tightened eligibility and enforcement criteria so it can continue to attract new businesses and jobs to Hawai'i.
• We passed a bill to establish a deposit/redemption program for drink containers that will reduce litter on our highways and beaches.
• Among the 200-plus other bills that were passed this year are ones that ban smoking on school campuses, tighten controls on the chemicals used to manufacture crystal meth, allow judges to revoke the licenses of people caught driving more than 90 mph, and set the stage for a comprehensive gasoline price cap program in 2005.
Democrats can be proud of what was achieved this legislative session. Our work wasn't about sound bites and slogans. It wasn't about partisan politics or blind allegiance to an ideology. We didn't limit input to select groups of invited participants. We listened to the community, we did our homework and we got the job done.
State Rep. Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo, Wilhelmina Rise), is speaker of the House. State Sen. Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa) is president of the Senate.
