SB 2316 MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A PERIMETER FENCE TO PROTECT THE MAUNA KEA FOREST RESERVE.
The bill is being heard by the Senate Committee on Water and Land, Senator Clayton Hee, Chair, Monday, Feb 11 2:30 pm Room 414.
Please testify in person too if you can. This one’s important. Mahalo nui loa!
Talking Points/Background:
* $5-6 million are needed for the DLNR to build a new Mauna Kea perimeter fence to protect the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve, mämane-naio dry forest, the endangered palila bird’s critical habitat, and unfenced endangered Mauna Kea silverswords higher up the mountain.
* The old forest reserve fence is down in many areas. The federal government is building new sections of fence here and there, but we need state funding to rebuild the remaining sections of the fence and to maintain it.
* Feral sheep and mouflon in large numbers are present in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and palila critical habitat, in violation of the palila federal court orders in the 1970s and 1980s. Apparently, herds of goats are back in the forest as well, which hasn’t been the case for many years.
* Public hunters and the state can only do so much to remove the sheep, mouflon, and goats from the forest reserve and critical habitat. As long as miles of fence are down or in disrepair, controlling ungulates will be a constant uphill battle.
* Palila are being released on the mountain, and recovery is possible. But we have to protect the habitat from browsing and grazing ungulates. The palila depends on the mämane-naio forest on Mauna Kea for survival.
Bill: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/SB2316_.htm
Hearing Notice:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/hearingnotices/WTL-TIA-ENE-JDL-IGM_02-11-08_.htm
Email testimony to: testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Ha'iku Valley cultural park
Posted on: Thursday, February 7, 2008
Bills call for Ha'iku Valley cultural park
• Legislature 2008
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
The future of Ha'iku Valley, with its Hawaiian and military historical sites, is before the state Legislature this week with lawmakers considering a bill to create a cultural preserve and education center there.
The House Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee voted 8-0 yesterday to advance House Bill 2704. Three Senate committees will discuss the companion Senate Bill 2727 at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow in Conference Room 414.
The bills call for establishing a commission that would set policy for and have oversight of a Ha'iku Valley Cultural Preserve.
The measures have widespread community support, said Rep. Ken Ito, D-48th (Kane'ohe), who heads the Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
"This cultural preserve will really enhance Kane'ohe and protect traditional cultural landscapes," Ito said, adding that the area has a high potential for educational purposes. "It's going to be a treasure for the Windward side."
The valley has cultural and historic importance to Native Hawaiians and is renowned for its archaeological sites, according to the bills. But the valley's ownership is split among several entities, which places the resources at high risk.
"Preserving the valley's cultural and historic resources and educating the public about these resources are of paramount importance," the bills say.
Tucked up against the slopes of the Ko'olau Range in Kane'ohe, the site was home to a military radio station from 1942 until 1997 and is known to have taro lo'i, a heiau and burial sites. Native and endangered species are also present.
Recent history there has been tied up in controversy over the Ha'iku Stairs, a 3,922-foot metal stepladder to the top of the Ko'olau Range. The ladder was repaired in 2003 by the city for public use.
Before the city could open it, as many as 200 trespassers a day would reach the area through neighboring properties, clogging streets with parked cars, littering, and arguing with residents.
Some residents think the city, which has jurisdiction over the stairs, will dismantle the bottom segments of the stairs.
City spokesman Bill Brennan was unable to verify that, but said the city has security at the stairs to keep people from climbing it.
Mahealani Cypher, a member of the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club and the Ko'olau Foundation, said if the stairs are dismantled, neighbors would be less likely to oppose the reserve. A charter school has leased some of the old facilities and a farmer is growing crops there, Cypher said. The community, civic club and the foundation have created a plan calling for a passive park and education center that would offer programs, she said.
The bills are part of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs legislative package and the agency has agreed to work with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns much of the land in the valley, and Kamehameha Schools to secure an access that would be acceptable to neighbors, Cypher said.
"All of those different entities have to come together plus the Legislature has to support it, plus the governor has to agree to cut a couple million out of her North Shore acquisition to allow Kane'ohe to have a little piece of the action," she said. "It's a work in progress."
Residents, Naval Radio Station personnel and community leaders have called for the area's preservation for more than 20 years, said John Flanigan, a member of the Friends of Ha'iku Stairs. The Friends have not taken a stance on the bills but Flanigan said he supports them and so does former Navy radio operator, David Jessup, who has a Web site documenting his stay there at www.davewjessup.smugmug.com. "We're big on the military history and (Cypher's) people are big on the Hawaiian history, when you put those two things together, it's a no-brainer that it ought to be developed into a passive park," Flanigan said.
Bills call for Ha'iku Valley cultural park
• Legislature 2008
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
The future of Ha'iku Valley, with its Hawaiian and military historical sites, is before the state Legislature this week with lawmakers considering a bill to create a cultural preserve and education center there.
The House Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee voted 8-0 yesterday to advance House Bill 2704. Three Senate committees will discuss the companion Senate Bill 2727 at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow in Conference Room 414.
The bills call for establishing a commission that would set policy for and have oversight of a Ha'iku Valley Cultural Preserve.
The measures have widespread community support, said Rep. Ken Ito, D-48th (Kane'ohe), who heads the Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
"This cultural preserve will really enhance Kane'ohe and protect traditional cultural landscapes," Ito said, adding that the area has a high potential for educational purposes. "It's going to be a treasure for the Windward side."
The valley has cultural and historic importance to Native Hawaiians and is renowned for its archaeological sites, according to the bills. But the valley's ownership is split among several entities, which places the resources at high risk.
"Preserving the valley's cultural and historic resources and educating the public about these resources are of paramount importance," the bills say.
Tucked up against the slopes of the Ko'olau Range in Kane'ohe, the site was home to a military radio station from 1942 until 1997 and is known to have taro lo'i, a heiau and burial sites. Native and endangered species are also present.
Recent history there has been tied up in controversy over the Ha'iku Stairs, a 3,922-foot metal stepladder to the top of the Ko'olau Range. The ladder was repaired in 2003 by the city for public use.
Before the city could open it, as many as 200 trespassers a day would reach the area through neighboring properties, clogging streets with parked cars, littering, and arguing with residents.
Some residents think the city, which has jurisdiction over the stairs, will dismantle the bottom segments of the stairs.
City spokesman Bill Brennan was unable to verify that, but said the city has security at the stairs to keep people from climbing it.
Mahealani Cypher, a member of the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club and the Ko'olau Foundation, said if the stairs are dismantled, neighbors would be less likely to oppose the reserve. A charter school has leased some of the old facilities and a farmer is growing crops there, Cypher said. The community, civic club and the foundation have created a plan calling for a passive park and education center that would offer programs, she said.
The bills are part of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs legislative package and the agency has agreed to work with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns much of the land in the valley, and Kamehameha Schools to secure an access that would be acceptable to neighbors, Cypher said.
"All of those different entities have to come together plus the Legislature has to support it, plus the governor has to agree to cut a couple million out of her North Shore acquisition to allow Kane'ohe to have a little piece of the action," she said. "It's a work in progress."
Residents, Naval Radio Station personnel and community leaders have called for the area's preservation for more than 20 years, said John Flanigan, a member of the Friends of Ha'iku Stairs. The Friends have not taken a stance on the bills but Flanigan said he supports them and so does former Navy radio operator, David Jessup, who has a Web site documenting his stay there at www.davewjessup.smugmug.com. "We're big on the military history and (Cypher's) people are big on the Hawaiian history, when you put those two things together, it's a no-brainer that it ought to be developed into a passive park," Flanigan said.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
ban the use of plastic shopping bags
Bills before the city and state that would ban the use of
plastic shopping bags were met with opposition by city
administrators and retail industry advocates yesterday, leading
lawmakers to defer action on the issue.
Full article at:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/NEWS01/802060403/1001/
plastic shopping bags were met with opposition by city
administrators and retail industry advocates yesterday, leading
lawmakers to defer action on the issue.
Full article at:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/NEWS01/802060403/1001/
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Federal Budget
WASHINGTON — President Bush yesterday submitted a $3.1 trillion budget for the next fiscal year that reflected his strategy for dealing with a costly war and a troubled economy: substantially boost military expenditures, rein in domestic spending - including for Medicare - and more than double the deficit.
Comment: It is the neo-con strategy is to bankrupt the country so the Federal Government can no longer pay for social programs they oppose. You are seeing their stratedgy pay off with the current cuts in medicare.
The budget proposal is a blue print for depression, inflation and a crashing dollar. How can you have depression and inflation at the same time? Wait and see.
Comment: It is the neo-con strategy is to bankrupt the country so the Federal Government can no longer pay for social programs they oppose. You are seeing their stratedgy pay off with the current cuts in medicare.
The budget proposal is a blue print for depression, inflation and a crashing dollar. How can you have depression and inflation at the same time? Wait and see.
HB2407 Haiku Valley Cultural Center
Monday, February 4, 2008
Testimony supporting HB2704, RELATING TO HA‘IKU VALLEY
To the members of the House Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources &
Hawaiian Affairs:
My name is Chris Anderson, and this testimony is sent in strong support
of the long-overdue reopening of Ha‘iku Valley— as a managed cultural
and natural preserve under the stewardship of appropriate government
agencies, and in cooperation with committed nonprofits such as The
Friends of Ha‘iku Stairs, the Ko‘olau Foundation, and the Ko‘olaupoko
Hawaiian Civic Club.
I have lived at the primary “entrance” to Ha‘iku Valley for the last 25
years; my home is across from the gate that was built a few years ago
to prevent access into the Valley (after the Omega Station was
decommissioned). As I write this testimony, that gate, once again, is a
puka-filled, torn-up mess that, at best, merely slows the flow of
people into the Valley. It injures the clumsy ones, who fall off of it
or get snagged on the barbwire, and it diverts the others through
nearby holes, or onto adjacent properties, including my neighbors', who
are understandably frustrated and angry about the situation.
This has gone on for years. The gate has never kept out anyone but the
most timid, and it never will, because it is not permanently staffed or
maintained. Also, it is not 50 feet high, reinforced with concrete,
electrified, and patrolled by packs of starving, vicious guard dogs.
Please believe me when I tell you, that is what it would take, and even
then enterprising hikers, pig hunters and tourists would just find a
way around it. They have for years already, day and night. The desire
to hike the Stairway to Heaven or provide food for their families is
too strong, and it will not go away. I have watched people go in and
out of our Valley for a quarter century now, and there was never a
problem until the Coast Guard base was decommissioned and the Valley
supposedly “closed” to the public.
Before that, when access was properly managed, people arranged with the
Coast Guard for entry, parked up on the base, signed the appropriate
waivers, and enjoyed their visits to the aptly named Stairway to
Heaven, or to the Omega Station itself. Then they left. They didn’t
park on our streets, tramp through our yards, drink water from our
hoses without asking, or leave their rubbish on our sidewalks. This
began to happen only in recent years, after the haphazard attempt was
made to close the valley to the public.
In the 1980s, I hiked the Stairway with brownie scouts, Bermuda-shorted
tourists, and 65-year-old mama-sans. It was not a life-threatening
hazard then, and it is in better shape now, since the $1 million spent
on its repair. All we need to make Ha‘iku Valley a recreational success
again is controlled access, dedicated parking on base, and thoughtful,
long-term management.
I served on the citizens’ visioning committee that collaborated with
Wil Chee Planners back in the 1990s to develop just such a plan. It’s
been sitting in mothballs for a decade now because of the inability of
the City & County and the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands to reach an
accommodation about exchange or sale of the land. Ever since, our
neighborhoods have paid the price for this governmental gridlock. But
our vision for Ha‘iku Valley was simple: you manage it basically like
you manage Hanauma Bay. Fix it up and maintain it, limit access,
provide security and parking, engage nonprofits to help with on-site
education and community activities, and charge reasonable fees for the
public to get in and use facilities like the Stairway.
Ha‘iku Valley can be the natural, cultural, historical and recreational
resource that we imagined then, and that HB2704 begins to envision now
through establishment of the Ha‘iku Valley Cultural Preserve
Commission. It’s time, finally, to conclude the stalled deliberations
that have left the Valley and our community in limbo for years,
generating frustration and resentment in my neighbors, allowing the
valley to go to seed, and allowing its former military facilities to be
vandalized perhaps beyond repair. It's time, finally, to stop depriving
the public of a unique cultural, recreational and educational resource.
It’s time, finally, to open the Valley again, properly.
I ask respectfully that you support HB2704, and ask your colleagues in
the House and Senate to do so as well.
Mahalo,
Chris Anderson
Testimony supporting HB2704, RELATING TO HA‘IKU VALLEY
To the members of the House Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources &
Hawaiian Affairs:
My name is Chris Anderson, and this testimony is sent in strong support
of the long-overdue reopening of Ha‘iku Valley— as a managed cultural
and natural preserve under the stewardship of appropriate government
agencies, and in cooperation with committed nonprofits such as The
Friends of Ha‘iku Stairs, the Ko‘olau Foundation, and the Ko‘olaupoko
Hawaiian Civic Club.
I have lived at the primary “entrance” to Ha‘iku Valley for the last 25
years; my home is across from the gate that was built a few years ago
to prevent access into the Valley (after the Omega Station was
decommissioned). As I write this testimony, that gate, once again, is a
puka-filled, torn-up mess that, at best, merely slows the flow of
people into the Valley. It injures the clumsy ones, who fall off of it
or get snagged on the barbwire, and it diverts the others through
nearby holes, or onto adjacent properties, including my neighbors', who
are understandably frustrated and angry about the situation.
This has gone on for years. The gate has never kept out anyone but the
most timid, and it never will, because it is not permanently staffed or
maintained. Also, it is not 50 feet high, reinforced with concrete,
electrified, and patrolled by packs of starving, vicious guard dogs.
Please believe me when I tell you, that is what it would take, and even
then enterprising hikers, pig hunters and tourists would just find a
way around it. They have for years already, day and night. The desire
to hike the Stairway to Heaven or provide food for their families is
too strong, and it will not go away. I have watched people go in and
out of our Valley for a quarter century now, and there was never a
problem until the Coast Guard base was decommissioned and the Valley
supposedly “closed” to the public.
Before that, when access was properly managed, people arranged with the
Coast Guard for entry, parked up on the base, signed the appropriate
waivers, and enjoyed their visits to the aptly named Stairway to
Heaven, or to the Omega Station itself. Then they left. They didn’t
park on our streets, tramp through our yards, drink water from our
hoses without asking, or leave their rubbish on our sidewalks. This
began to happen only in recent years, after the haphazard attempt was
made to close the valley to the public.
In the 1980s, I hiked the Stairway with brownie scouts, Bermuda-shorted
tourists, and 65-year-old mama-sans. It was not a life-threatening
hazard then, and it is in better shape now, since the $1 million spent
on its repair. All we need to make Ha‘iku Valley a recreational success
again is controlled access, dedicated parking on base, and thoughtful,
long-term management.
I served on the citizens’ visioning committee that collaborated with
Wil Chee Planners back in the 1990s to develop just such a plan. It’s
been sitting in mothballs for a decade now because of the inability of
the City & County and the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands to reach an
accommodation about exchange or sale of the land. Ever since, our
neighborhoods have paid the price for this governmental gridlock. But
our vision for Ha‘iku Valley was simple: you manage it basically like
you manage Hanauma Bay. Fix it up and maintain it, limit access,
provide security and parking, engage nonprofits to help with on-site
education and community activities, and charge reasonable fees for the
public to get in and use facilities like the Stairway.
Ha‘iku Valley can be the natural, cultural, historical and recreational
resource that we imagined then, and that HB2704 begins to envision now
through establishment of the Ha‘iku Valley Cultural Preserve
Commission. It’s time, finally, to conclude the stalled deliberations
that have left the Valley and our community in limbo for years,
generating frustration and resentment in my neighbors, allowing the
valley to go to seed, and allowing its former military facilities to be
vandalized perhaps beyond repair. It's time, finally, to stop depriving
the public of a unique cultural, recreational and educational resource.
It’s time, finally, to open the Valley again, properly.
I ask respectfully that you support HB2704, and ask your colleagues in
the House and Senate to do so as well.
Mahalo,
Chris Anderson
Haiku Valley Cultural Park
The future of Haiku Valley hangs in the balance. The status quo is not likely.
Most of the valley is owned to by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The Department's mission is to provide home lots for Hawaiians and to generate income for them. It is reasonable to expect that they would develop the floor of the valley for homes and for light industrial purposes.
The Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club has a different vision for the valley. They want to provide a park that will celebrate the rich Hawaiian culture of the valley.
As part of the mitigation plan for disturbance caused by the construction of H3, There are several million dollars available to help create the park.
Two bills, HB 2704 and SB2727, will help implement the park.
Which vision for Haiku Valley, would you prefer? Should it be residential and light industrial development or a cultural park that would provide opportunities for education, recreation, and for the restoration of native ecosystems.
The Committee on Water Land and Hawaiian Affairs will hold a hearing on HB2704 on 02-06-08 at 8:30 am in House conference room 312. Your testimony is vital if a cultural park is to become a reality in Haiku Valley.
Submit testimony to: WLHtestimony@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Most of the valley is owned to by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The Department's mission is to provide home lots for Hawaiians and to generate income for them. It is reasonable to expect that they would develop the floor of the valley for homes and for light industrial purposes.
The Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club has a different vision for the valley. They want to provide a park that will celebrate the rich Hawaiian culture of the valley.
As part of the mitigation plan for disturbance caused by the construction of H3, There are several million dollars available to help create the park.
Two bills, HB 2704 and SB2727, will help implement the park.
Which vision for Haiku Valley, would you prefer? Should it be residential and light industrial development or a cultural park that would provide opportunities for education, recreation, and for the restoration of native ecosystems.
The Committee on Water Land and Hawaiian Affairs will hold a hearing on HB2704 on 02-06-08 at 8:30 am in House conference room 312. Your testimony is vital if a cultural park is to become a reality in Haiku Valley.
Submit testimony to: WLHtestimony@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Monday, February 4, 2008
Lifting of $1,000 Corporate Contribution Limit
You cannot have an honest legislature that works for your interests when members are obligated to big money contributors. Two bills, HB 2455 and SB 3141, lift the cap on Corporate contributions.
THESE BILLS WILL RESULT IN MORE LEGISLATORS BEING OBLIGATED TO BIG MONEY SPECIAL INTERESTS
Kaukanawai
****************
Posted by Voter Owned Hawaii = Kory 457-8622
Sample Email to Lists Re: Lifting of $1,000 Corporate
Contribution Limit
SUBJECT: URGENT ALERT – Oppose Bills That Would Open Floodgates
to Corporate Contributions
*Body of Email*
The Hawaii State legislature is fast-tracking two bills that
would create a thousand-fold increase the amount of money
corporations can contribute to political campaigns. Your help is
urgently needed to stop these bills!
CONTEXT
Corporations can donate to candidates running for political
office in several ways. They can donate to various different
kinds of non-candidate committees, and the board members or
employees of the corporation can also donate individually.
Even though corporations can donate indirectly in these ways, in
Hawaii they're also allowed to donate directly to the candidates
themselves. In 1907, the U.S. government banned these types of
direct donations from corporations.
Beginning in 2006, Hawaii limited those direct corporate
donations to $1,000.
Now, there are two pieces of legislation moving in the House and
in the Senate that would lift that $1,000 cap and allow
corporations to give anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 to as many
candidates as they see fit.
WE STOPPED SIMILAR LEGISLATION IN 2006 AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!
Here's how you can help
1. Send in Testimony – below are instructions and talking points
A. Write a quick testimony and file it away to use again. You
can begin your testimony simply by saying something like "I'm
testifying against HB 2455 (or SB 3141), which would lift a
$1,000 cap on corporate donations …" Remember, your testimony
doesn't need to be long, quantity is more important than
quality. Below are some talking points to write your own
testimony, or you can use the sample testimony.
SAMPLE TESTIMONY:
I'm writing in opposition to HB 2455. It's embarrassing that
we're lifting a $1,000 cap on corporate donations when event the
federal government banned these types of contributions in 1907,
101 years ago. Hawaii should be the leader in areas of
government ethics, sustainability, and other important subject
matters. This bill takes us in the wrong direction. It does not
perpetuate anything that is right or just.
Sincerely, ___________
TALKING POINTS (if you want to add to your own testimony)
I. Even the federal government banned direct corporate donation
all the way back in 1907. It's embarrassing that we even allow
them to give money at all. To lift the $1,000 cap would take us
backwards, not forwards.
II. The $1,000 cap on corporate donations is a proven way to
limit corporate interests, and make allows candidates choose
more grassroots style fundraising methods. Between 2004 – 2005,
Governor Lingle raised almost 1 million dollars, but in 2006,
with the $1,000 cap in place, that number dropped to only
$100,000, which is significant as well because 2006 was an
election year, when the fundraising amounts are usually higher.
III. According to a 2005 AARP survey, 86% of Hawaii's residents
of voting age "think campaign contributions moderately or
greatly influence policies supported by elected officials."
Given this fact, we should be working to limit corporate money
and encourage citizen participation. The current $1,000 cap does
both. If candidates can't go to corporations for money, they'll
resort to fundraising from their constituents instead. This is a
positive trend.
B. Email Your Testimony. Send the same email twice, and put a
different subject line in each email. One email is for the House
bill (SB 2455), and one email is for the Senate bill (SB 3141).
Your testimony does not need to be long. The most important
thing is to get something in. The more testimonies we have the
better!
1. Send on email to TO: JUDtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov (not
case sensitive), and reps@captiol.hawaii.gov
SUBJECT: Opposition of HB 2455
CONTENT: (Cut and Paste your testimony into the body of your
email)
2. Send another email to TO: testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov , and
sens@capitol.hawaii.gov
SUBJECT: Opposition of SB 3141
CONTENT: (Cut and Paste your testimony into the body of your
email)
2. The second thing you can do is call Rep Say and Sen Hanabusa
and ask them to oppose these bills
Rep Calvin Say – 586-6100 Sen Colleen Hanabusa – 586-7793
3. The third thing you can do is write a Letter –to-the-Editor
of the newspaper
A. Use the talking points or just use your testimony to write a
quick letter to the editor. You can begin your letter with
something like "Dear editor, I'm writing to voice my opposition
to house bill 2455 and senate bill 3141. These bills would lift
a $1,000 cap on corporate contributions to candidates running
for office …" or something like that.
B. Send your letters to
1. Honolulu Star Bulletin a. letters@starbulletin.com b. Use
Online Form http://starbulletin.com/forms/letterform.html
2. Honolulu Advertiser a. letters@honoluluadvertiser.com b.
Online Form: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/form/op/letter
C. If you want to, follow up your letter with a phone call to
ask if they'll print it.
IV. Forward this email to your friends!!
THESE BILLS WILL RESULT IN MORE LEGISLATORS BEING OBLIGATED TO BIG MONEY SPECIAL INTERESTS
Kaukanawai
****************
Posted by Voter Owned Hawaii = Kory 457-8622
Sample Email to Lists Re: Lifting of $1,000 Corporate
Contribution Limit
SUBJECT: URGENT ALERT – Oppose Bills That Would Open Floodgates
to Corporate Contributions
*Body of Email*
The Hawaii State legislature is fast-tracking two bills that
would create a thousand-fold increase the amount of money
corporations can contribute to political campaigns. Your help is
urgently needed to stop these bills!
CONTEXT
Corporations can donate to candidates running for political
office in several ways. They can donate to various different
kinds of non-candidate committees, and the board members or
employees of the corporation can also donate individually.
Even though corporations can donate indirectly in these ways, in
Hawaii they're also allowed to donate directly to the candidates
themselves. In 1907, the U.S. government banned these types of
direct donations from corporations.
Beginning in 2006, Hawaii limited those direct corporate
donations to $1,000.
Now, there are two pieces of legislation moving in the House and
in the Senate that would lift that $1,000 cap and allow
corporations to give anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 to as many
candidates as they see fit.
WE STOPPED SIMILAR LEGISLATION IN 2006 AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!
Here's how you can help
1. Send in Testimony – below are instructions and talking points
A. Write a quick testimony and file it away to use again. You
can begin your testimony simply by saying something like "I'm
testifying against HB 2455 (or SB 3141), which would lift a
$1,000 cap on corporate donations …" Remember, your testimony
doesn't need to be long, quantity is more important than
quality. Below are some talking points to write your own
testimony, or you can use the sample testimony.
SAMPLE TESTIMONY:
I'm writing in opposition to HB 2455. It's embarrassing that
we're lifting a $1,000 cap on corporate donations when event the
federal government banned these types of contributions in 1907,
101 years ago. Hawaii should be the leader in areas of
government ethics, sustainability, and other important subject
matters. This bill takes us in the wrong direction. It does not
perpetuate anything that is right or just.
Sincerely, ___________
TALKING POINTS (if you want to add to your own testimony)
I. Even the federal government banned direct corporate donation
all the way back in 1907. It's embarrassing that we even allow
them to give money at all. To lift the $1,000 cap would take us
backwards, not forwards.
II. The $1,000 cap on corporate donations is a proven way to
limit corporate interests, and make allows candidates choose
more grassroots style fundraising methods. Between 2004 – 2005,
Governor Lingle raised almost 1 million dollars, but in 2006,
with the $1,000 cap in place, that number dropped to only
$100,000, which is significant as well because 2006 was an
election year, when the fundraising amounts are usually higher.
III. According to a 2005 AARP survey, 86% of Hawaii's residents
of voting age "think campaign contributions moderately or
greatly influence policies supported by elected officials."
Given this fact, we should be working to limit corporate money
and encourage citizen participation. The current $1,000 cap does
both. If candidates can't go to corporations for money, they'll
resort to fundraising from their constituents instead. This is a
positive trend.
B. Email Your Testimony. Send the same email twice, and put a
different subject line in each email. One email is for the House
bill (SB 2455), and one email is for the Senate bill (SB 3141).
Your testimony does not need to be long. The most important
thing is to get something in. The more testimonies we have the
better!
1. Send on email to TO: JUDtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov (not
case sensitive), and reps@captiol.hawaii.gov
SUBJECT: Opposition of HB 2455
CONTENT: (Cut and Paste your testimony into the body of your
email)
2. Send another email to TO: testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov , and
sens@capitol.hawaii.gov
SUBJECT: Opposition of SB 3141
CONTENT: (Cut and Paste your testimony into the body of your
email)
2. The second thing you can do is call Rep Say and Sen Hanabusa
and ask them to oppose these bills
Rep Calvin Say – 586-6100 Sen Colleen Hanabusa – 586-7793
3. The third thing you can do is write a Letter –to-the-Editor
of the newspaper
A. Use the talking points or just use your testimony to write a
quick letter to the editor. You can begin your letter with
something like "Dear editor, I'm writing to voice my opposition
to house bill 2455 and senate bill 3141. These bills would lift
a $1,000 cap on corporate contributions to candidates running
for office …" or something like that.
B. Send your letters to
1. Honolulu Star Bulletin a. letters@starbulletin.com b. Use
Online Form http://starbulletin.com/forms/letterform.html
2. Honolulu Advertiser a. letters@honoluluadvertiser.com b.
Online Form: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/form/op/letter
C. If you want to, follow up your letter with a phone call to
ask if they'll print it.
IV. Forward this email to your friends!!
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