One of the bills. passed by lawmakers last session, would add requirements for professional employer organizations, companies that are hired to handle human resources needs. The governor says the bill is overly broad and does not address licensing procedures.
The governor also vetoed was a bill that extended the increased surcharge tax on rental cars until june of 2016.
The governor says the bill does not achieve its original intent.
Here’s the complete list of bills he vetoed.
House Bill 46 would have prohibited smoking in and around housing projects under the jurisdiction of the Hawai’i Public Housing Authority (HPHA), with an exception for designated smoking areas; and allowed for eviction upon a third violation of the smoking prohibition. HPHA currently has plans to gradually institute a smoking ban in public housing project.
House Bill 283 would have appropriate $196,000 from the agricultural loan revolving fund to a program to control and eradicate the coffee berry borer. Rather than use funds meant to help farmers who have trouble obtaining financing, the Department of Agriculture plans to use $200,000 of barrel tax funds in its commitment to eradicate the coffee berry borer and in order to meet the intent of this bill.
House Bill 1617 would have authorized the Board of Land and Natural Resources to extend commercial, hotel, resort and industrial leases for up to another 55 years when the lessee makes qualifying substantial improvements to the leased land. This would enable lessees to have exclusive control of a public property for up to 120 years.
House Bill 1671 would have amended the procurement process by imposing time limits on rendering administrative and judicial review decisions, limiting protests to those that are a minimum percentage of the contract value, and required posting of a protest bond. Another measure passed and enacted this session makes procurement reform.
House Bill 1984 would have required that all letterheads, documents, symbols and emblems of the State and other political subdivisions include accurate and appropriate Hawaiian names and language. Reason for veto: This bill is not implementable by the deadline as other statutory changes are necessary. Governor Abercrombie intends to make an effort to identify how best to make this language transition by bringing together a working group. In addition, he will declare February as Olelo Month, fulfilling another aspect of the bill.
House Bill 2436 would have established the chief information officer or that officer’s designee as the chair of the Information Privacy and Security Council. This measure is duplicative of Act 71.
Senate Bill 2101 (vetoed May 1, 2012) would have extended the general excise tax exclusion for amounts received by a managed care support contractor of the TRICARE program for the actual cost to third party health care providers.
Senate Bill 2158 would have required law enforcement agencies to accept cash bail, certified copies of pre-filed bail bonds, and original bail bonds when the court is closed, including nights, weekends and holidays. Practical realities render this bill impossible to implement.
Senate Bill 2214 would have allowed an arbitration panel, rather than the State Legislature, to have the final decision on contributions to the Hawai’i employer-union health benefits trust fund by the State and counties for a health benefits plan and group life insurance benefits for active public employees. As different arbitration panels produce their findings for different bargaining units, the distribution of EUTF ratios may be unequal, which has serious consequences for financial planning and implementation. Moreover, the State is committed to dealing with its unfunded liabilities.
Senate Bill 2424 would have added various requirements for the registration and regulation of professional employer organizations (PEOs) and authorized penalties for noncompliance. This bill is overly broad and will impose restrictions too difficult for all PEOs to comply with. In addition, the measure does not address licensing procedures.
Senate Bill 2536 would have established a temporary clean and sober home and halfway house task force that shall, among other things, establish a pilot clean and sober home and halfway house. There is a title problem with this bill which may violate the Hawai’i Constitution. This bill also requires the task force to establish clean and sober living facilities, which task forces do not have the ability to do. The intent of this measure can be accomplished through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. Moreover, the Department of Health has the ability to establish a task force.
Senate Bill 2640 would have allowed counties to permit the use of an otherwise authorized individual wastewater treatment system, except cesspools in a special management area, under certain circumstances. This measure presents public health concerns and does not move toward resolution of this issue.
Senate Bill 2946 would have extended until June 30, 2016, the increase in the rental motor vehicle surcharge tax to $7.50 per day. This measure does not achieve its original intent and will end up having a cost for residents who rent cars.
Senate Bill 3017 would have clarified that the daily $10 tax on transient accommodations furnished on a complimentary or gratuitous basis includes transient accommodations furnished as part of a travel package, but does not include transient accommodations furnished as part of a tourism industry promotional or marketing activity. This is duplicative of current practice in guidance issued by the Department of Taxation, TIR 2011-5.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
