Posted on: Monday, January 24, 2005
Schools, housing high on agenda
Associated Press
Fixing Hawai'i's schools, making homes more affordable, getting tougher on illegal drugs and making it easier to do business in the Islands are among the issues Gov. Linda Lingle is likely to address when she delivers her third State of the State speech this morning at 10.
Lingle has already previewed some of what she wants to accomplish during her third year in office.
Reforming the state's public-education system topped last year's speech, and while Lingle has said education remains her administration's No. 1 priority, she has yet to outline what approach she'll take this year to fix Hawai'i's schools.
See it this morning at 10
The State of the State speech will be shown live at 10 a.m. today on television stations KGMB, KHNL, KITV, KHON and 'Olelo cable channel 53, as well as on the governor's Web site at www.hawaii.gov/gov and 'Olelo's Web site at www.olelo.org. It will be rebroadcast tonight on 'Olelo channel 53 at 9:30 and on KHET at 10:30. Fighting the battle against crystal methamphetamine, or ice, will again be a focus among Lingle's proposals this year.
Last week, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, Lingle's point man for the administration's anti-drug plan, unveiled 12 drug-related measures, including a plan to regulate the purchase of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine — key ingredients used in making crystal meth.
Other proposals include a mandatory jail sentence for anyone who buys alcohol for minors and suspending the drivers licenses of underage drinkers for 90 days
Democratic leaders already proposed tax relief for Hawai'i's middle class during opening-day speeches last week, trumping the Republican governor who has twice proposed increasing the state's standard deduction for taxpayers who don't itemize their income tax returns. Lingle has not said whether that would be one of her proposals again this year.
Earlier this month, she told a group of small-business leaders that her administration is backing six measures aimed at making Hawai'i's business climate friendlier.
Her proposals include a reduction in business fees, such as licensing and permits, and a workers' compensation reform package that Lingle said will look to enact higher penalties for those who cheat the workers' comp program. The Legislature failed to act on the sweeping workers' compensation reforms she presented in 2004.
A legislative committee looking into solutions for affordable housing held hearings around the Islands this month to hear firsthand the problems residents have had finding affordable places to live.
Both Lingle and lawmakers have said they share the common goal of putting more people in Hawai'i into houses and apartments they can afford, but neither side has offered any plans.
Lingle also already has announced proposals to help Hawai'i's military during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including a measure to make up the difference in pay for state employees whose active-duty pay with the National Guard is less than what they make in their civilian jobs.
Other proposals would exempt Guard members from vehicle taxes and registration fees, while another would grant Guard members grace periods if their auto registrations, driver's licenses or professional licenses expire while they are away on duty.
But Lingle's office has declined to give any specifics or hints of what else the Republican governor will propose in her annual address to a joint session of the House and Senate.
Linda Lingle
Her reform package last year, which included a proposed constitutional amendment to replace the elected state Board of Education with seven or more elected school district boards and to take school principals out of the state employees union, went down in defeat in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Lingle address
