In his inaugural address of Dec. 1, 2014, Gov. David Ige stated: “There should be no ‘special’ interest. The only interest that matters is the public’s interest.”
House Bill 1850 is a special-interest bill that hurts the public’s interest. It protects corporations at the expense of the public.
Our residential neighborhoods are places for our people to live and raise their families in a safe and wholesome environment. They are not marketplaces. For the sake of our social welfare and of our economic and cultural future, we should not be forced to sacrifice the quality of life in our residential neighborhoods and accept the decimation of our housing inventory for the gain of special interests.
Allowing vacation rental brokers, who represent many legally suspect operations, to become state tax collection agents without even requiring them to ascertain that their clients are in abidance of state and county laws makes a mockery of those very laws.
In consenting to shielding the identity of illegal operators, HB 1850 lends them the appearance of legitimacy and thereby encourages their further proliferation.
It undermines the City and County’s efforts, as well as the intent of state Act 204, to stop the circumvention of our zoning laws.
In his inaugural address, Ige also quoted a saying from his grandparents, “Kodomo no tame ni. For the sake of the children.”
HB 1850 does not care about the welfare of the island’s children. It will contribute to the disconcerting exodus of our bright young people to the mainland, as they no longer can compete for housing with a tourist industry that is invading their neighborhoods and robbing them of a safe, affordable and nurturing environment in which to bring up their children.
Furthermore, in his inaugural address, Ige found the low participation in elections to be not only alarming, but terrifying. He stated, “As leaders, our job is to engage people so that they will want to participate in the grand experience of self-governance. Our job is to help people take ownership of the process of electing government. As leaders, our job is to inspire others and not discourage them.”
What could be more discouraging than to witness the passage of HB 1850, a bill where the public’s interest, represented by many concerned citizens and public-interest organizations, is pitted against the efforts of professional lobbyists working successfully for the financial benefit of special interests?
How inspirational can it be to witness legislators collaborating in the creation of a law that defies our existing land-use laws? How morally uplifting can it be when legislators compromise their integrity and help establish a dangerous precedent-setting bill that will shield illegal operations?
Rather than being an inducement to further public participation in governance, the dismissal of the voices of the public’s interest contributes to further alienation from, rather than participation in, the political process. It helps confirm the perception held by many that special interests own our government.
The social costs of HB 1850 to our communities will far outweigh its purported benefits to the state. It is a bill that lacks vision and defies statesmanship.
Many of us put a lot of hope in the words of our new governor’s inaugural address. As he stated so well, the only interest that matters is the public’s interest. That is precisely what is at stake in HB 1850. We should all ask the governor to honor his expressed commitment to protecting the public’s interest and veto HB 1850.
Kodomo no tame ni.
