November 2008
Stories:
Accomplishment of 2008 Legislature
Scholarship and Award Recipients
2008 Survey Results
Procurement Investigation
Sen. Hydrogen Investigation Final Report
Photos: Active and Involved
The Results Are In!
I want to thank all of you who took the time to answer my annual Community Survey. Your responses to the survey questions and thoughtful comments helped me throughout the session when it came time to vote on bills.
As is my custom, I am including the results from the survey so you can see how your neighbors feel about these important issues.
In your responses to prioritize the following issues you voted and ranked education as the #1 priority that the legislature should address. The issues are listed in order of their importance as you have voted.
1. Education K-12
2. Drugs and Crime
3. Affordable Housing
4. Traffic
5. Highway resurfacing
6. Homelessness
7. Gas Prices
8. UH Athletic Facilities
Affordable Housing
Should the legislature create and fund an "Infrastructure Capacity Building Revolving Fund" to help the counties with low or no interest loans to increase infrastructure capacity for more housing throughout the State?
Yes 53% No 35% No-Response 12%
Should Legislature mandate that the State lease more State owned land to private developers to build affordable rental housing?
Yes 55% No 33% No-Response 12%
Education
Should the general excise tax (GET) be increased by a ½ of a percent to fund more Higher and lower educational initiatives?
Yes 47% No 45% No-Response 8%
Should the State commit funds to provide for a pre-school program throughout the state for children who are at least 4 years old?
Yes 57% No 37% No-Response 6%
With the rising cost of a college education should the legislature provide an income tax deduction for families who contribute to a college savings program?
Yes 61% No 29% No-Response 10%
With many of our public schools experiencing shortages of hardcover textbooks should the legislature require the Department of Education to move towards converting hard-cover textbooks into digital electronic documents (e-books)?
Yes 41% No 45% No-Response 14%
Ethics
Should the legislature regulate non-profit organizations that solicit donations from the public by requiring them to register with the State's Attorney Generals Office, who would then be responsible to hold these charitable organizations accountable for their operating and spending practices?
Yes 69% No 22% No-Response 9%
Should the nominees who are appointed to office and their supporters be prohibited from using state time, equipment, or other state resources to solicit personal letters of support for a nominee in a senate confirmation proceeding?
Yes 86% No 8% No-Response 6%
Should the Governor be prohibited from using emergency powers to raid funds like the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund for non-related emergency initiatives?
Yes 71% No 18% No-Response 11%
Energy and Environment
Should the state require retail stores in excess of 75,000 square feet provide facilities for the acceptance of recyclable bottles and cans?
Yes 65% No 29% No-Response 6%
Should the state start a phase in banning of incandescent light bulbs and require replacement with compact fluorescent light bulbs?
Yes 37% No 55% No-Response 8%
Should the Department of Education be required to recycle food waste at our public schools?
Yes 65% No 16% No-Response 19%
Government
Should the State of Hawaii convene a constitutional convention to review and possibly update the Hawaii State Constitution?
Yes 65% No 24% No-Response 11%
Should the constitution of the State of Hawaii be amended to allow the gubernatorial candidates who win their parties nomination in the primary choose their running mate for Lieutenant Governor and run as a team on one ticket or ballot in the general election?
Yes 57% No 35% No-Response 8%
Should all the counties establish a process for illegal vacation rentals to become legal and regulated in each county?
Yes 57% No 31% No-Response 12%
Should the legislature create strict guidelines for non-profits who apply for Grant-in Aid funds?
Yes 86% No 4% No-Response 10%
Should Grant-in-Aid funds be used only for one time program cost rather than a funding mechanism for yearly operating cost for non-profit programs?
Yes 49% No 29% No-Response 22%
Should the state enact streamline sales tax laws to collect the state's sales tax on merchandise purchased on-line or from catalogs, and earmark 60% of the taxes collected for education?
Yes 41% No 45% No-Response 14%
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