February 2014 Newsletter

Aloha Friends,

Happy 2014! I hope that you and your families enjoyed a safe, happy holiday season, and that the new year is off to a wonderful start.

As we begin a new year, we also marked the start of a new legislative session on January 15th. While the outlook is generally positive, it appears that many of my colleagues have already forgotten the austere times we just returned from and are already proposing new ways to tax and spend instead of finding ways that government services can be offered more efficiently.

Last session, I remained optimistic when the Speaker of the House, Rep. Joe Souki promised to deliver tax relief to middle- and low-income families throughout the state. Rather than delivering on this promise, the House Committee on Finance (chaired by Rep. Sylvia Luke) changed a bill to instead offer a tax cut to only the top 2% of all earners. The 2013 session ended offering tax relief to no one. Unfortunately, this year the Speaker has made clear in his opening day remarks that there will be no tax relief this year either. I am left to believe the House of Representatives believes Hawaii’s residents do not need any respite from taxes.

Thank you to those of you who contacted me to suggest ideas for legislation. While I was not able to accommodate all of your requests, I hope you will find that the legislation I am introducing on behalf of Kapolei and Makakilo will reflect your input. I am a firm believer that government works for the people, not the other way around. As taxpayers, we are entitled to the services that are promised to us and are entitled to know that our money is being spent wisely. Government has failed when it asks for a tax increase (pension taxes, income taxes, general excise taxes, etc.) without first fixing wasteful spending and government inefficiency. For example, the state’s HI5 recycling program alone has paid out more than $6.2 million for recyclable materials that cannot be accounted for. To that end, I have introduced two bills (HB2068 and HB2655) that will correct the major deficiencies in the HI5 program.

There are many issues that are expected to crop up this legislative session, including: a minimum wage increase, marijuana legalization, and universal preschool education. While my guiding principle is to vote with the interests of ALL Kapolei and Makakilo residents in mind, I find it helpful to directly seek out your input on some of the most controversial issues. I hope you will take a few moments to fill out our 2014 Legislative Issues Survey, available for the first time online at http://tinyurl.com/kowrgf6.

I am honored and privileged to serve as your representative this year. Should you have any issues, questions or comments to share with my, please do not hesitate to contact my office using the contact information on this page.

Mahalo,

Sharon Har
State Representative
District 42–Kapolei and Makakilo