District 25 News

MAKIKI, TANTALUS, MCCULLY, PAPAKOLEA APRIL 2012

Dear Neighbor,
Conference & Adjournment Sine Die. The 2012 legislative is scheduled to end or adjourn sine die (without appointing a day on which to appear or assemble again) on Thursday May 3rd. As described in this District 25 News, theres still a great deal of work to be done in conference committees. If you would like to track measure moving through conference or find out the fate of other proposed bills, please visit the Legislatures website at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Going Green. This year, communities across the world celebrated Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, 2012. But everyday of the year can be Earth Day! Please consider visiting the City and County of Honolulus Department of Environmental Services at http://www.opala.org for information about community collection schedules, bulky item collection, curbside recycling, condo recycling assistance, and other valuable services. Also, mark your calendars for the Annual McKinley High School Going Green Day on Saturday, August 25th, 9:00am-1:00pm. This recycling event will accept different items including scrap metal, green waste, computers, batteries, and lots more. For more information about items that can be recycled, call (808) 291-6151. For curbside pick-up, please call Neal Takamori at (808) 864-5207. As the 2012 session comes to a close, please feel free to contact me at (808) 586-9425 or at repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov with your suggestions, questions or concerns. With aloha,

Della Au Belatti State Representative, District 25

The Shortlist
MANOA NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEETING Wednesday, May 2, 2012 @ 7:00 pm Noelani Elementary School Rescheduled to: MANOA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAFETERIA 3155 Manoa Road
This months meeting will include a public comment period on the proposed Bus No. 5 reduction in service. (See article at p.4.) If youd like to provide testimony, please attend this important meeting!

MAKIKI NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEETING Thursday, May 17, 2012 @ 7:00 pm Makiki Park, Arts & Craft Bldg. 1527 Keeaumoku Street
Keep up with issues and events in the Makiki District by attending this monthly Neighborhood Board Meeting held on the third Thursday of every month.

MAKIKI TOWN HALL MEETING Wednesday, May 23, 2012 @ 6:00-7:30 pm Makiki Park, Arts & Craft Bldg. 1527 Keeaumoku Street
What passed? What failed? Join Representative Belatti to discuss the 2012 Legislative Session. Light refreshments to be served. Questions/RSVP, call (808) 586-9425 or e-mail repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov.

Conference Time is Here Again

The convening of Conference Committees are a very important part of the State legislative process. Conference, which takes place over the last two weeks of session, can mean life or death for a bill.
How does a bill get to Conference? If a bill is referred to a conference committee, it has already gone through the main legislative process and passed every important deadline. Upon introduction to the Senate or the House of Representatives, a bill is referred to various committees within each chamber according to its subject matter. Once a bill has been heard and passed by a committee, a committee report is submitted to either the Senate President or Speaker of the House recommending the bill be presented (as originally presented or as amended by the committee) to its next committee or to the floor for 2nd reading. All bills must pass, on three separate dates, three readings or votes of the committee as a whole in each chamber. Once a bill has passed third reading in the chamber of origin, it crosses over to the other chamber for consideration (the Senate sends their bills to the House and vice versa). If a measure has been amended by the non-originating chamber (a House Bill has been amended by the Senate, or a Senate Bill has been amended by the House), and the originating chamber disagrees with the amendments made, a conference committee is formed. But what exactly happens in Conference Committee? A conference committees function is to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. New material cannot be added to the measure. Senate and House leadership each appoint a lead chair, co-chairs and others Senators or Representatives to the conference committee. If the conference committee fails to meet or fails to come to an agreement on a final version for the bill, the bill dies. If the conference committee amends the bill, the resulting conference draft (CD) must be voted on and passed by both chambers. Members from the originating chamber can also agree to the previously amended version of the bill and the bill moves to the originating chamber for a final vote. If either of these things happen, the bill is then sent to the Governor for his consideration. Can the public participate in conference committees? Yes (& no)! Conference committee meetings are open to the public with 24 hours notice given. Although public testimony is not officially accepted, members of the public can contact the offices of conference committee members if they wish to give input on a specific measure. (Continued on page 3.)

How a House Bill Becomes a Law:

(1) Bill Introduced in the House of Representatives (5a) House disagrees with Senate amendments (4a) Bill passes Senate with amendments (5b) House agrees with Senate amendments (3) Bill is considered by Senate committees, passes 3rd reading in Senate, and is returned to the House (6) Referred to Conference Committee

(2) Bill is considered by House committees, passes 3rd reading in the House and is sent to the Senate

(7) Amended Conference Bill passes final reading in both House & Senate

(4b) Bill passes Senate unamended

Bill Certified & Sent to Governor

(Continued from page 2.) The best way to track measures to see whether they have been referred to a conference committee is to use the Hawaii State Legislature's website: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/. Bills can be searched by bill number or by keyword. Once you find the bill you are looking for, clicking on the link to that bill will bring you to the Bill Status page where you can find a record of all actions taken on that bill. This includes committee action, floor vote records, Conference Committee assignments and Conference Committee meetings.

BILLS TO FOLLOW IN CONFERENCE

Here is a list of bills to keep your eye on that are currently assigned to Conference Committees:
ENVIRONMENT Single Use Plastic Bag Fees (SB2511 SD2 HD2 and HB2483 HD1 SD1). Require businesses in the State to collect a fee for singleuse checkout plastic bags provided to customers. Businesses will be allowed to keep twenty per cent of the fees for the first year of the program and ten per cent of the fees thereafter, subject to income and general excises taxes. Subsequently, all fees not retained by businesses will be collected and deposited in various state and county environmental funds. Despite widespread support, SB2511 crossed over from the Senate but failed to be heard by the House Finance committee in time for its deadline. Senators supporting the bill responded to this by gutting another bill, HB2483, and replacing it with text from the bag ban bill. HB2483 is now headed to Conference Committee. URBAN PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Kakaako Makai Development Exemptions (HB2819 HD1 SD2). Allows residential development on two lots on the makai side of Kakaako where residential development has previously been prohibited by law. In the past, community groups rallied and successfully blocked the development of these lands for a luxury residential waterfront development. This land is part of the 10-piece Kakaako waterfront parcel transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in order to settle past ceded land revenue claims. Regulatory Exemptions (SB755 SD2 HD3). Streamlines the State's environmental process by allowing the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation, with approval of the Governor, to exempt certain State construction pro3

jects from special management area permit and shoreline setback variance requirements. The bill also temporarily authorizes a more streamlined process by exempting state projects from the states Chapter 343 environmental review process. Exceptional Planning Districts (SB2927 SD2 HD2) Creates the transit-oriented or main-street redevelopment program in and around rail transit terminals. It establishes planning districts, creates a process for developers to apply for residential and commercial exceptional planning projects, and authorizes state and county incentives for exceptional planning projects. EDUCATION Charter School Omnibus Bill (SB2115 SD2 HD2). Overhauls Hawaiis charter school law to ensure greater accountability, consistency, and transparency to the governance of Hawaii public charter schools. The bill establishes a new chapter governing charter schools based on the recommendations of the Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority Task Force. Charter School Transition Bill (SB2116 SD2 HD1). Authorizes the hiring of an Implementation and Transition Coordinator by the Board of Education to assist with the implementation of the system-wide changes proposed by the Charter School Omnibus Bill (SB2115). Early Learning System (SB2545 SD2 HD2). Establishes the Executive Office on Early Learning. It also establishes the early learning advisory board to replace the early learning council. The measure also repeals junior kindergarten programs at the end of the 2013-14 school year and requires students to be at least five years of age on July 31 of the school year in order to attend kindergarten.

City Proposes Changes to Bus Routes

The City and County of Honolulus Short Range Transit Plan proposes multiple bus route changes in June and August of this year to enhance transit services throughout Honolulu, increase efficiency, and reduce operating costs.
Beginning in early 2010, the City & County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services (DTS), in conjunction with Oahu Transit Services, Inc. (OTS) launched a process to develop its Short Range Transit Plan for The Bus. This Plan is intended to map transits role to support enhanced mobility for Oahus residents and visitors, reduce traffic congestion, and provide a transit-based strategy to create livable communities. The Short Range Transit Plan is also focused on fixing near-term operational Current Bus Route 5: Ala MoanaManoa (effective since June 7, 2009). problems including improving system efficiency, increasing ridership, and reducing operating DTS and OTS have proposed a reduction in the Route 5 costs, and setting the stage for Honolulus fixed guidebus service to be implemented in June 2012, drastically way service. impacting ridership by increasing the frequency of the current Route 5 from every 30 minutes, during the DTS is now in the phase of planning where specific weekday peak period to every 55 minutes. This change changes have been identified and community members effectively reduces service and doubles the wait time across Oahu have been invited to comment on these probetween buses during peak workday hours. Many in posed changes. The following three route changes and the community feel that these proposed changes to the month they are planned for implementation will affect Route 5 do not take into account the needs of working services in Makiki: residents, students, and senior citizens in the community who depend on this bus to get to central areas inRoute 4 ends at McCully/Kalakaua (August); cluding downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana Center. Route 5 changes weekday peak frequency from every 30 to every 55 minutes (June); and On Wednesday, May 2nd, the Manoa Neighborhood Routes 18 and 24 join into a single route via Board has placed the Bus Route 5 proposed change on Kapahulu, with the Waikiki portion of Route 24 its agenda. This meeting will take place at the cafeteria eliminated (August). at Manoa Elementary School at 7:00pm. RepresentaBus Route 5, in particular, affects the Makiki community along the busy Punahou Street and Keeaumoku corridors leading to Ala Moana Center. During weekday peak hours, the Route 5 bus route is an important service for residents who live in Manoa Valley and in Makiki along the densely populated Punahou Street corridor. tives from DTS and OTS will be present to accept public comment. If you would like to provide input, you are encouraged to attend this meeting. The Makiki Neighborhood Board has also been asked to consider this matter at its May 17th monthly meeting. If you are unable to attend these meetings or have any questions or concerns, DTS can be reached at (808) 768-8365 or at thebusstop@honolulu.gov.
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