Senator Donna Mercado Kim

August 2010

Stories:
2010 Legislature: Highlights & Accomplishments
Senator Kim on the Hot Seat
Changes for 2010 Election
Commentary
2010 Award Recipients
Sen. Hydrogen Investigation Final Report
Response to DBEDT Investigation
Photos: Active and Involved

Senator Kim on the Hot Seat

Question: According to the media, there were many Senators in favor of raising the general excise tax from 4 percent to 5 percent - or to 5.5 percent on Oahu. Why did you oppose increasing the GET and not submit to all the pressure levied on you?

Answer: Not only did I get the sense that the majority of the district I represent oppose this increase, so did many businesses. After much research, I concluded that a broad-based tax increase could not be supported at this time. With other options at our disposal, I felt that such a policy would threaten businesses, especially small businesses, which would be forced to lay off the very people we are trying to help. Furthermore, the negative effect an increase in the GET could have on consumers may have a corresponding impact on dollars circulating in Hawaii's economy. I believe such an increase should only be considered once we have exhausted other viable alternatives. If our economy does not recover, we may have to look to a broad-based tax increase in 2011 as we search for options in the future.

Question: Why did the Legislature take $67 million from the Hurricane Relief Fund which was paid for by homeowners to end school furloughs? Couldn't they instead use general funds or take it from the Education budget which is around $2 billion?

Answer: The Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund was established by the State in 1993 after Hurrican Iniki's devastation resulted in a property insurance crisis. With the departure of private insurance companies, the State then provided insurance for many homeowners. After the crisis, private insurers returned to the market and the State no longer had to provide these policies. The Legislature has tried to preserve the $180 million within the fund in the event of another hurricane, even though money held by the fund was intended to revert to the general fund after the disbursement of claims.

With the current general fund tax deficit, the Legislature had to consider other revenues. And the Department of Education's operating budget had already suffered severe reductions and restrictions. At the end of the day, utilizing $67 million out of the $180 million in the Hurricane Fund to restore furlough days for the 2010-2011 school year was by far, the best option and passed near unanimously

Question: You were one of seven Senators voting against HB 444 which grants same sex and heterosexual partners who enter into civil unions the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married couples under state law. What is your position on giving same sex couples equal rights?

Answer: For the record, I support civil rights and I would support a bill that affords civil rights to same sex couples. However, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I agree with the Hawaii Supreme Court in the case of Baehr v. Levin, 74 Haw. 530, 557 (1993), which held that: “(W)e do not believe that a right to same-sex marriage is so rooted in the traditions and collective conscience of our people that failure to recognize it would violate the fundamental principles of liberty and justice…Accordingly, we hold that same-sex couples do not have a fundamental constitutional right to same-sex marriage…” While HB 444 was amended to reflect civil unions, there are still questions about the language in the bill, thus, I opposed it. I am also concerned with unknown tax implications and a retroactive effective date of January 1, 2010, with the potential for more questions or lawsuits.

Question: Why did you propose moving the film office from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)?

Answer: The film industry is important to Hawaii's economy. It generates $150 to $200 million annually which will aid in Hawaii's economic recovery. So I was surprised and dismayed that the Governor reduced the Film Branch and terminated four of the six Film Industry Branch employees with the reduction in force (RIF) implemented late last year.

This bill would have moved the Film Branch to the Hawaii Tourism Authority and restored the four terminated positions, bringing the Film Branch back to six. With access to HTA's resources and marketing expertise, the Film Industry Branch would be better able to draw film projects to Hawaii. However, the bill was held hostage by the House and died in Conference.