Tax Department could use some tech support

The state Department of Taxation’s erroneous billing of some Hawaii residents who had paid their tax bills on time signals deeper problems in the department. The state spent $87.5 million over 12 years to modernize the department’s technology, then concluded that its computer system needed to be replaced outright.

That realization occurred in 2011, yet three years later no contractor has been selected to perform the critical work. The deadline to bid for that job has now been extended to the end of August. Let’s hope the long-delayed project is done right, once it finally gets off the ground.

U.S. immigration debate like a bad dream

Migrants who lack legal papers to remain in the U.S. find it stressful enough to navigate through the requirements of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that can stave off deportation.

These are the undocumented residents who were brought to the U.S. as children — the would-be beneficiaries of the DREAM Act that ran aground in Congress. They got a hand from a workshop sponsored last week by the Hawaii Coalition for Immigration Reform.

But the current crisis with Central American kids crossing illegally at the U.S. southern border, though unrelated to their plight, has reignited opposition to DACA from congressional Republicans.

Even if that pushback is more politics than policy, it can’t be too dreamy for applicants watching this brand of American theater.