Fueling innovation in science and technology could move the state's economy away from land-based development, Gov. Linda Lingle declared yesterday, challenging state lawmakers to help her "dramatically reshape our destiny."

In her State of the State address, Lingle, as she did in her inauguration speech in December, called for a fundamental change away from land development that will require a shared vision among the state, the counties, schools and businesses.

But while the governor has proposed a two-year $30 million innovation package as a catalyst, several Democratic lawmakers say she has so far been unable to articulate how this change would happen.

"I believe there is a broad public consensus about where we should be heading, and I believe this consensus has grown stronger over time," Lingle told a joint session of the state House and Senate. "We all want a higher standard of living for ourselves and our children, and we want to preserve everything that makes Hawai'i unique, especially our cultural and natural resources, and our sense of 'ohana."

Lingle has acknowledged that many of the components of her innovation package have been tried in the Islands or other places, but she believes, taken together, they could have meaningful impact.

The package includes new school academies for science and technology, college scholarships for science education, state money for research into the life sciences, digital media and music, and incentives for workers to update their job skills as technology changes.

Lingle said the state may purchase about 500 acres in Kalaeloa for new opportunities for innovative technologies and workforce housing.

The governor also used her speech to outline $346 million in tax relief she previewed last week and $150 million in spending to help the homeless that was part of her budget announcement in December.

"It's a little bit like Rip Van Winkle politics to me. It's as if we woke up and we found out that the governor no longer supports the buying and selling of land in our state," said state House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), who noted that Lingle initially ran for governor as a pro-growth Republican.

"For us, we're going to have to see, can she do the follow-through? Is there really the will to restructure our economy?"

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), said she had hoped Lingle would be more specific yesterday about shifting the economy away from land development than she was during her inauguration speech.

"I'm still unclear as to what exactly the governor meant and what she intends to do," Hanabusa said.

REPUBLICAN RESPONSE

Some Republicans said Lingle should not be faulted when Democrats are struggling to translate broad themes such as sustainability into legislation.

"The majority party has had 40 years to deliberate and come up with ways to diversify our economy," said state Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai). "What Lingle has done is bold."

Lingle has said she wants to work more collaboratively with Democrats this session, and the administration is trying to avoid unnecessary fights that would distract from her priorities. For example, the administration will not propose eliminating binding arbitration in public-worker union negotiations as it has in the past. She will, however, suggest that wages for similar jobs in state government and private industry be compared as part of future arbitration.

Union pay raises could help determine how much money state lawmakers have available for tax relief and other new spending.

While there were no significant new initiatives unveiled yesterday, Lingle did take the opportunity to remind lawmakers of her focus on housing and healthcare.

Lingle said she felt shame after reading front-page stories in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal about the growing number of homeless in the Islands, unwanted national attention to a problem that was documented last year in a series by The Advertiser.

The governor said she wanted an immediate deposit of $50 million in cash into the Rental Housing Trust Fund, $50 million into the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund and $50 million to repair and renovate public-housing projects.

"These are bold steps and represent a significant commitment of our state's resources," Lingle said. "But they are steps that we must take if we wish to erase the stain of homelessness from our community."

PRIORITIES QUESTIONED

State Rep. Maile Shima-bukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha, Makua), chairwoman of the House Human Services and Housing Committee, asked afterward how the administration would balance the proposed spending on the homeless with tax relief.

Lingle has recommended a one-time rebate of either $100 or $25 per person, depending on household income, along with six permanent changes to the tax code to ease inflation, the price of food and ethanol-blended gas, caring for children or elderly parents, and helping National Guard and Reserve soldiers with vehicle tax and registration fees.

State lawmakers are required by the Constitution to provide some form of tax rebate this session because of two straight years in which the budget surplus exceeded expected revenue by 5 percent.

"I hope that we can afford it," Shimabukuro said. "It's going to be interesting to weigh all the tax cuts that she's proposing versus $150 million to fund the homeless.

"We're going to need to hear from the public to find out from the public what's more important, that you have $100 in your pocket or that we put this type of money that's been so desperately needed for those that have nothing."

"We can't afford to wait any longer," Lingle said. "We must not let anyone hold up this bill."

State Rep. Tommy Waters, D-51st (Lanikai, Waimanalo), the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he would hear a malpractice reform bill but said he has questions about the appropriate dollar figure in sensitive cases, such as when a parent loses a child to a negligent doctor.

"The question for me is, 'What is reasonable?' " he said.