Governor's farewell address a 'good swan song'

The Maui News
January 26, 2010

By BRIAN PERRY, City Editor

Maui lawmakers gave Gov. Linda Lingle generally high marks for her last State of the State address, as a speech.

But they reserved judgment on the content of her remarks to see how her policy initiatives play out.

"It was a good swan song," said South Maui Rep. Joe Bertram III.

Central Maui Rep. Joe Souki said the speech "was kind of a farewell to arms . . . rather poignant in a way."

The speech was "graceful, but no surprises," said Sen. J. Kalani English, who represents East Maui, Upcountry, Molokai and Lanai. "Certainly the rhetorical words were nice, but substance and the meat need to follow."

Central Maui Rep. Gil Keith-Agaran also gave the governor credit for her speaking ability.

"I think as always she gives a good speech," he said. "But the devil is going to be in the details.

. . . I'm looking forward to seeing her actual proposals to help the business community. Because that's what's going to matter, are the actual bills."

Maui business and visitor industry leaders said they liked the substance of Lingle's speech.

"We appreciate the governor's planned initiatives to stimulate the economy, provide tax relief for businesses who are struggling to survive, improve our educational system, better prepare our work force and improve the quality of life for all residents, including programs to spur job creation," said Pamela Tumpap, Maui Chamber of Commerce president.

Tumpap said the chamber looks forward to legislation from the governor to mitigate a pending unemployment insurance tax increase. And she said the chamber was pleased with Lingle's proposal to provide income tax credits equal to the wages withheld by the employer for each new, full-time permanent position filled by a resident receiving unemployment benefits.

Carol Reimann, executive director of the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association, said the governor's proposal for renovation tax credits for hotels and resorts "sounds like a good concept."

"On a broad and general level, renovation tax credits could help to spur projects that are currently on the fence because of the uncertain economy, and it could push hotels and resorts to expedite projects that have been on hold for whatever reasons," she said. "From a marketing perspective, new and upgraded properties are always an advantage to entice consumers to book their vacations. There is a lot of stiff competition out there with new resort areas."

West and South Maui Sen. Roz Baker said she understands the governor's desire to spur construction in the private sector, but "there might be other things you could look at to provide some stimulus."

She urged the governor to "just release money already authorized for important public works" projects.

The flaw with relying on private construction activity to stimulate the economy is that "banks are not necessarily lending at the moment," Baker said, adding that Lingle pointed out that Hawaii retains a good bond rating to borrow money to finance public works projects.

With the budget as tight as it is, Baker said, she would want to be judicious about giving out tax credits and look closely at how such credits would work and how much they'd cost.

West Maui Rep. Angus McKelvey said the governor did not say how she is going to make up revenues lost through tax credits.

"I agree they are needed. (But) bottom line is as of here and now, it will create an added deficit to the general fund," McKelvey said.

He said there needs to be a "frank and honest" discussion between the administration and Legislature on what the tradeoffs would be.

Baker said she'd like to see the governor release money to spur economic activity and not continue to make cuts in government spending, often "shredding the safety net for Hawaii's most vulnerable citizens."

Keith-Agaran said he was "intrigued" and "generally" liked the idea of Lingle's proposal to give income tax credits to the businesses that create new jobs. But he said he would like Lingle's proposal to not only cover new businesses but also existing businesses "that are going through the economic downturn."

On the other hand, Agaran was less enthusiastic of Lingle's other speech highlights.

He was surprised to hear Lingle's proposal for a vote on a constitutional amendment to allow people to know who is responsible for education in Hawaii.

"Everyone who is part of our community and our government is responsible for the education of our children. We don't need a vote on a constitutional amendment to tell us that," Agaran said.

In her speech, Lingle said she would like to make the Department of Education a Cabinet department with a superintendent hired by the next governor. Now, she said, responsibility for education is shared by the governor, Legislature and Board of Education, Department of Education and superintendent, and the public doesn't know who to hold accountable for "consistently mediocre performance."

Souki said he would prefer to retain the current Board of Education, but he would like to see it be more accountable by having more members elected by smaller districts.

Bertram said he liked Lingle's idea to rename and revise the state's rainy day fund to create a fiscal-stabilization fund.

"Take away the dumb title," he said. "We have to save money. We have to be like any household."

Lingle said the fund would shield the state in future years from the need to raise taxes during periods when the economy is contracting and citizens can least afford to pay more.

McKelvey agreed creating a fiscal-stabilization fund was a "good idea."

A similar idea was proposed in the House last session, but it failed, he said.

English said he's heard a number of Lingle's proposals before when they were initiatives from state lawmakers. For example, the governor has become a convert to the Legislature's lead in making Hawaii less dependent on imported oil.

He said the governor's power as governor is waning as she has less than a year to serve as the state's chief executive.

"We're at the end," he said, indicating that the Legislature was ready to move forward. "We have to set policy for the long term."

Brian Perry can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com. Staff Writer Melissa Tanji contributed to this report.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/528025.html

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