Posted on: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Rail-tax backers, foes trade verbal jabs

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie warned yesterday that he would withdraw his federal support for light rail on O'ahu if the Legislature and the Honolulu City Council fail to approve a general excise tax surcharge to help pay for the project.

Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, told state lawmakers the rail project is included in a six-year federal transportation plan now before Congress. But he said he would ask that it be removed, which would likely end the possibility of the state receiving federal money, if there is no local revenue source in place.

The state Senate is considering a bill that would give Honolulu and the other counties the option of adding a 1-cent surcharge on the general excise tax to pay for transit projects. The Senate Transportation and Government Operations Committee and the Senate Intergovernmental Affairs Committee endorsed the bill yesterday. It will have to clear the Senate Ways and Means Committee before going to the full Senate for a vote.

In a testy exchange with state Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai), who opposes the tax surcharge, Abercrombie defended light rail to reduce O'ahu's growing traffic burden. "The Flat Earth Society maybe is against it, but everybody else that's got any brains is for it," Abercrombie said, drawing both jeers and claps from the audience.

"So you're saying that anybody that's opposed to this has no brains? Is that what you're saying, Congressman?" Slom said.

"I'm saying that if you put yourself out here to try and oppose it, what you're saying is that you're going to continue the gridlock. Of course, maybe you don't have to worry about it, maybe you don't care about it," Abercrombie said. "But what's happening here is that anybody who has had to deal with urban congestion, urban pollution, all of the concentration of difficulties in our urban setting here in Honolulu, understands completely.

"Now it's time for some relief for the people on the Leeward side of this island."

The state House of Representatives has approved the bill, and the Honolulu City Council has passed a resolution in support. But opposition to the tax surcharge appears to be building, and many of the people who spoke at a lively 3 1/2-hour Senate hearing yesterday were critical.

Talking to reporters after his testimony, Abercrombie said he wanted a local commitment to avoid a repeat of a similar transit debate in 1992, when the congressional delegation won federal money for a rail project but the City Council backed away from a tax increase to cover the local share. "Let's have it, up or down," the congressman said. "Let's not fool around anymore."

The tax surcharge could generate about $300 million a year on O'ahu, where leaders are exploring a $2.6 billion rail line between Kapolei and Iwilei. The rail line could take as many as 15 years to build.

"I think this is the only way to go," said state Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-1st (Hamakua, S. Hilo), chairwoman of the transportation committee. "The state certainly does not have the resources."

But a lack of specifics about a rail project and questions about whether it would reduce traffic congestion have caused opposition. Some people also oppose any tax increase that drives up Hawai'i's already high cost of living.

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i, the Retail Merchants of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Association of Realtors are among the groups against the surcharge.

Beau Springer, of the real-estate group, testified that the group is "fundamentally opposed to any tax increases, since increases would raise the cost of everything we buy and thereby increase the cost of living and doing business in Hawai'i."

State Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu), told Springer that real-estate people were making millions on new home sales in Central and West O'ahu and said residents might demand a building moratorium unless traffic and other quality-of-life issues were addressed soon.

Frank Genadio, a Makakilo retiree, said he believes any new transit or road project would help, but he prefers rail. "Residents are going to fight future development if they don't have the infrastructure they need," he said.

Joe Miller, who has a small construction firm, said the people he has spoken with do not want a tax increase, and he doubts that enough people would use a rail line to reduce traffic. "Please don't put this tax bill on us," he said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.