State lawmakers found ways to make it rain, pushing through some high-impact measures as the session winds down, including using $100 million in general funds to cool public school classrooms and putting $150 million into the state’s “rainy day fund.” The two bills are among dozens advancing to final floor votes today, ahead of Thursday’s adjournment.
Measures that didn’t make a key deadline Friday — including one that would have imposed limits on the Hawaii Medical Service Association’s controversial pre-authorization requirement for patients’ imaging tests, and Gov. David Ige’s expedited plan to move the Oahu Community Correctional Center to Halawa — are dead for the session. But with concerns persisting about “undue delays” over an onerous pre-authorization process, HMSA and its network of doctors need to hammer out improvements that mitigate those concerns.
Thankfully, it looks as though lawmakers will fund Ige’s ambitious plan outlined in his State of the State address to cool at least 1,000 sweltering public school classrooms by year’s end.
Although legislators rightly rejected Ige’s proposal to borrow $100 million in Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) funds to pay for the project, conferees agreed to carve out the full amount from general funds. GEMS funds would have required paying back interest, and the plan would have raided a fund intended to provide low-interest loans to nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters to purchase green technology such as photovoltaic systems.
Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Jill Tokuda said there was an “alignment of stars” when lawmakers learned of $170 million in Medicaid reimbursements, now being tapped to cool the schools.
“Cash is king,” said Tokuda, who noted utilizing general funds was the most expeditious route to cooler classrooms.
The state Department of Education said it is poised to make good on Ige’s ambitious goal, and under a revised schedule expects to solicit bids from mid-May to mid-June. Awarding of contracts would extend through June 28, and contract execution would be done by July 25. Construction would run from July 25 to Jan. 11, 2017, with final inspections from Jan. 11 to Feb. 8.
Rightfully so, the onus and much scrutiny will fall on school administrators to get results soon for long-suffering students and teachers. The hefty cost includes upgrading aging electrical infrastructure and ensuring classrooms that receive air condition- ing are airtight by replacing windows and doors so classes can cool properly, DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said. DOE also will be using technologies that ensure energy efficiency to help recover costs over time.
Other notable measures agreed upon by committee conferees and headed for final floor votes include:
>> A $13.7 billion state budget for fiscal 2017 that includes a much-needed $160 million allocation to rebuild a good portion of the Hawaii State Hospital for the mentally ill — a project that is long overdue — and a $2.5 million one-time bailout of Wahiawa General Hospital, which is in dire need of a revamped business model. Conferees also agreed to spend $31.5 million to buy prime agricultural lands between Wahiawa and Waialua from Dole Food Co., which is a more practical approach to land banking than spending $107 million to buy 8,000 acres, as was originally proposed.
>> A bill that authorizes the state Department of Taxation to enter into agreements with online travel companies such as Airbnb to have the company act as a tax collection agent for the state. Not only would the bill ensure that the state receives hotel room taxes and general excise taxes, it also would require that online brokers make sure lodging operators are in compliance with state and county land-use laws prior to placing an ad.
>> A bill that underwent several iterations, but now requires all new rape kits to be tested beginning July 1, 2017, and proposes that by July 1, 2018, all the stored kits that fit certain criteria would be tested, which victim advocates said would help solve crimes and catch serial rapists.
