Excerpts of Rep. Lynn Finnegan's address to the Legislature yesterday:

Your Hawai'i House Republicans want to give every opportunity for our families to remain in Hawai'i. This session is about creating a sustainable and affordable Hawai'i. We all agree that equipping our keiki for their futures is imperative for a sustainable Hawai'i.

Your House Republicans are dedicated to public education and educational choice. Our focus is to concentrate on efforts that empower teachers and principals at the school level, untying their hands and supporting the learning that takes place at the schools. Most teachers and principals are not afraid to be held accountable. For example, public charter school principals and teachers are motivated by an accountability system of annual performance. What this means is that if they don't do a good job, the parents won't send their children back to their public charter school the next year.

Your House Republicans will continue to strongly support public charter schools as a means of empowering school communities. We want more public charter schools to be allowed to exist, we want at least one more authority other than the Board of Education to authorize charter schools, and we want to ensure that when parents choose a charter school that those schools receive the same financial support and facilities support as other public schools.

The combination of our renewable energy sources and innovative technology will give Hawai'i the opportunity to be energy independent. We want to support that goal. Extending the ethanol-blended gasoline general excise tax exemption and continuing to support a renewable energy portfolio will help to achieve the goal of energy independence.

Lack of shelter — whether it is homelessness or the need for transitional and affordable housing — remains a challenge that we must overcome. The good news is that there are people in our communities who give their time and creativity to figure out solutions. Through public-private partnerships, we are seeing changes that not only heal, but provide a path to self-sufficiency.

We want to invest in more opportunities that provide a better tomorrow, today. For instance, the experience of O'ne Lau Ena in Kalaeloa incorporates shelter with programs focused on promoting self-sufficiency in a caring atmosphere.

We believe that lowering taxes provides people with the opportunity for empowerment. By keeping more of their earnings, we can prevent families from being swallowed up by our high "cost of paradise."

Of course, we have our preferred methods of tax relief, whether it be the constitutionally-mandated tax rebate, eliminating the tax on food and medicine, or increasing the standard deduction. But let's face it: Tax relief is tax relief; we want it to be real and we want it to be now.

Last Friday, I attended our governor's press conference on innovation. I was excited to learn of what Hawai'i's future could look like moving forward. It is a comprehensive package of ideas including public-private partnerships for innovative education, workforce development, follow-through on the promise of economic diversity, with an overall goal of a sustainable Hawai'i. I am very optimistic about this well-thought out, deliverable plan that brings in conscientious and resourceful Republican and Democrat ideas.

Hawai'i Republicans have been successful working on many issues of importance like renewable energy, three strikes, electronic surveillance, tax relief, the gas cap suspension, identity theft protection and Megan's Law.

We want to redefine what we consider bipartisanship. Like in a marriage, conflict can be productive and rewarding. The result of tension can be unity in diversity. We are not only the party of opposition.

So what's in it for Hawai'i? These packages of ideas will strategically place Hawai'i in the lineup to catch the waves of the future while preserving that unique lifestyle and blended cultural past. We can teach our keiki life's lessons in our own unique way, like: