Yes, times are tight over at the Capitol in Honolulu. The Legislature spent most of the last few months undertaking a massive spring cleaning that had them all but digging through the couch cushions looking for spare change. Programs were
Yes, times are tight over at the Capitol in Honolulu. The Legislature spent most of the last few months undertaking a massive spring cleaning that had them all but digging through the couch cushions looking for spare change.
Programs were cut, taxes were raised and the state is still trying to figure out how it’s going to balance its massive budget for the next couple of years as the global economic recession deepens and reaches Hawai‘i’s shores.
In the current climate, there’s not much loose money, but Democratic legislators looked the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, and then gave us all a kick in the teeth, when they opted to let Republican Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration’s proposed Recreational Renaissance fall by the wayside earlier this month.
At least in recent history, Republicans are usually the advocates of “small government” while Democrats can generally be categorized as “tax-and-spenders.” But in this case, roles seemed to be reversed.
Lingle and Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Laura Thielen were asking for the right to essentially take out a loan of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to finance much-needed infrastructure improvements to state parks and harbors, among other property.
You know… the work that volunteers have been doing because our government is so tight on cash.
But the lawmakers were so focused in the legislative session’s final days on balancing the budget — and, apparently, passing the Islam Day resolution — that they were unable to pass Senate Bill 636 (the legislation to fortify the Recreational Renaissance program), which would not have had a significant impact on the bottom line this year or next.
“A lot of the issues … took a back seat,” Senate Water, Land and Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Clayton Hee told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. “We simply ran out of time dealing with the budget.”
Our lone state senator, Gary Hooser, voiced similar sentiments.
“The focus on the legislative session is primarily on just balancing the budget,” Hooser told The Garden Island last week. “At the last minute it got pushed to the side.”
DLNR says they will find other ways to get the work done — we’re guessing you’ll be seeing a lot more “Government, volunteers team up” stories in the next 24 months — but we feel like our reps missed a golden opportunity.
Now is an ideal time to invest in the future. Construction and labor costs are low due to diminished demand, our people need the work in a desperate way (Kaua‘i’s unemployment rate is hovering above 10 percent) and the infrastructure certainly needs the attention (Have you driven up to the lookout at Koke‘e recently? Or tried to launch a boat out of Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor? The Kalalau Trail has seen better days too.)
Using the federal stimulus as an example, government is betting big on the future, taking out loans now in the hopes that investment in the short run will help the economy in the long run.
Those investments are being made in high-technology, clean energy and public infrastructure, things we need to put money into anyway. And the investments should help ease the unemployment crisis to boot. Maybe it’s just delaying the inevitable and leaving an incredible burden on our children, but the alternative is doing nothing and letting our people suffer today and that’s something we just cannot abide. It’s a risk we have to take.
In the case of Lingle’s Recreational Renaissance proposal, Hawai‘i’s people were going to get paid to fix our islands natural treasures. Now we might have to do that same work for free. That’s a crying shame.
Being hesitant about taking out a $250 million loan is understandable, but we’re not hearing those concerns from our lawmakers. If the only reason this money isn’t getting pumped into the economy right now is because our representatives were too busy to get the job done, then we need to remind them why we send them to Honolulu.
An important bill to move a critical plan forward should not be overshadowed by minor issues. We hope partisan politics did not play a role in the decision, inadvertant or not, to let this legislation “take a back seat.”
In the end, the people will relish the great condition of our state parks and harbors, not which party proposed the plan to get them back in shape.
