TODAY IN ISLAND BEAT: Navigating the onslaught of streaming TV entertainment options PAGE A10
‘It’s a tremendous gift’
Recalculation shows county would receive $50M from GET surcharge, not $25M
CONTROVERSIAL MAUNAKEA BILL
KAHELE
KIM
Lawmakers discuss sexual harassment complaint reforms
Index
Big Isle History B4
Classified B6
Comics B5
Commentary A6
Issue No. 102
20 Pages in
2 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Community A8
Crossword B4
Cryptoquote B4
Dear Abby B4
Horoscope B4
Island Beat A10
Letters A6
Nation A4
Obituaries A2
Sports B1
State A4
Surf Report A2
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Internet
Visit us on the Web at:
www.hawaiitribune-herald.com
State House
Majority Leader
Rep. Della Au
Belatti speaks
to reporters as
House Speaker
Scott Saiki, left,
and Vice Speaker
Mark Nakashima
listen Jan. 17
in Honolulu.
Associated Press
file photo
By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Women
lawmakers at the state Capitol
want the House and Senate
to update rules for handling
sexual harassment complaints
— a push that comes
amid high-profile misconduct
allegations nationwide
and after a former state
House speaker resigned after
acknowledging inappropriate
behavior toward women.
Under current rules, leaders
of each chamber or the leader’s
designee must evaluate
complaints or assign people
to investigate them. If a
speaker or Senate president is
accused of harassment, there’s
a possibility he or she could
have a conflict of interest in
assessing the complaint.
“We have to look at that
issue of who people have
to report to, and whether or
not they feel comfortable
reporting to that person,
and whether or not there
is a need for some kind of
independent reporting procedure,”
said Democratic Rep.
Della Au Belatti, the House
majority leader and one of
the leaders of the Hawaii
Women’s Legislative Caucus.
Former House Speaker Joe
Souki, 86, resigned from the
See REFORMS Page A9
Lawmaker
says Senate
sidestepped
its own rules
By TOM CALLIS
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
A controversial bill
that has the astronomy
community on edge
might have violated
the state Senate’s
own rules since it was
crafted without time
for a public hearing.
But that might have
little consequence since
legislators say the chamber
can bend or ignore
them essentially at will.
“It’s self-policing,”
said Sen. Donna
Mercado Kim, who
raised concerns about
House Bill 1585
on the Senate floor
Tuesday. “We have
the rules there for a
purpose,” she added.
The bill has been a
lightning rod for criticism
because it was
rewritten without notice
through a legislative process
known as “gut and
replace” and would set a
construction moratorium
on Maunakea. Thirty
Meter Telescope supporters
say it would kill
the $1.4 billion project.
After
Sen. Kai
Kahele,
who is
promoting
the
measure,
proposed
a minor
floor
amendment
Tuesday,
Kim
pointed
to Senate
Rule 23 that says a committee
must schedule
a bill for a hearing if
it contains significant
or substantial amendments.
She said she
was not objecting to
See RULES Page A9
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
Bolstered by a state recalculation
that shows a half-cent
general excise tax surcharge
would give the county twice
what was originally thought,
Mayor Harry Kim resumed
lobbying the County Council
to pass it.
Kim
announced
Wednesday the
surcharge would
bring in $50
million annually,
rather than the
previously forecast $25 million.
The difference is because
of more accurate calculations
by the state Department of
Taxation stemming from new
software that better tracks the
source of the taxes, said county
Finance Director Deanna Sako.
Kim wrote a letter to the
council asking it to support
the surcharge. He pledged the
administration “commits to
the County Council a fully
cooperative approach in setting
priorities on the expenditures
of these additional revenues.”
“I consider this a gift to
the people of Hawaii Island,”
Kim said during an interview.
“It’s a tremendous
gift to help us catch up.”
A half-cent GET surcharge
would add 54 cents in tax to a
$100 expenditure. Currently,
all the GET collected, 4
cents on the dollar, goes to
state, not county, coffers.
Kim said the $515.7 million
budget currently proposed
allows only the bare minimum
KIM
See GET Page A5
Ultimate Warriors
Waiakea’s Kala‘i Rosario eyes a pitch Wednesday at Wong Stadium in Hilo during the
Warriors’ 8-1 victory against Kamehameha in a battle of BIIF unbeatens. Looking in
peak postseason form, Waiakea will be back at Wong at 3 p.m. today to face Hilo.
Find the story from Wednesday’s matchup plus more from the East Hawaii sports
scene, including news that Hilo Vikings football coach Kaeo Drummondo will return,
in today’s sports section beginning on page B1.
Photo by TIM WRIGHT
/www.hawaiitribune-herald.com