Nearly four dozen bills have received lifelines under an extended deadline at the state Legislature, including a bill that would provide money to preserve a safety net of health, human services and education programs.
Negotiators will meet this morning in conference committee and decide which of the bills will advance for final votes before the session ends Thursday. House and Senate leaders took the unusual step Friday of extending the internal procedural deadline for bills because of the delay in approving the state budget.
"Now that the economy is getting better, we’re trying to prioritize some of the programs that have been very effective in reducing bad things that have been happening to families and improving the quality of life," Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D, Kalihi-Pauoa), chairwoman of the Senate Human Services Committee, said of the social services bill. She estimates the bill would authorize about $9 million.
Another bill on the list would provide $1 million to help with ambulance service on the Leeward Coast in the wake of the closing of Hawaii Medical Center-West in Ewa Beach. A separate bill would authorize special-purpose revenue bonds for the St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, which controlled the bankrupt HMC hospitals in Ewa Beach and Liliha and is still looking for buyers.
"We wanted to get that extra money so that way they can continue the expanded service for Nanakuli and Ewa," Rep. Ryan Yamane (D, Waipahu-Mililani), chairman of the House Health Committee, said of the ambulance money.
Negotiators will discuss a bill to help the Hawaii Tourism Authority take advantage of expanded visa programs and other travel incentives to attract international tourists. The bill was identified Friday as one of the Senate’s priorities.
Lawmakers also might advance a bill involving pretrial risk assessment and parole that is part of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
Legislation to extend or expand a film tax credit and contain the costs of a solar tax credit were not on the list. Bills to extend a rental car surcharge to help with state finances and to replenish the state’s hurricane relief and rainy day funds were also not included.
House and Senate leaders said the bills eligible for the extended deadline could add no more than $50 million in state spending. Most of the work on the bills also had to have been completed by Friday pending approval of the budget.
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The bills posted for conference committee this morning under an extended deadline at the state Legislature can be found at www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
