24th Legislature to Convene 60-Day Session

The 24th State Legislature begins its 60-working day run on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 10 am, at the State Capitol amid flowers, food and festivity. The Session is scheduled to adjourn Thursday, May 3.

With Democrats firmly in control — 43-8 in the House, 20-5 in the Senate — more spending, more taxes and more pro-labor union legislation is anticipated.

Union pay raises are on the front burner again as are even more money for the Department of Education which now garners $2.2 billion annually. The state surplus, last pegged at $736 million will not find its way back into the pockets of the taxpayers that produced it; instead there will be shrill calls to allocate the money to the DOE, the homeless and various pet social programs.

Leadership changes in the House and Senate will change the face of this Session. Colleen Hanabusa, former Senate Judiciuary Chair, is now Senate President, triumphing over Robert Bunda. Hanabusa is the first woman head of the House or Senate. In the Senate, the combining of the labor Committee with Judiciary, now headed by pugilistic Clayton Hee, bodes ill for business and law enforcement.

The Governor’s cabinet appointees must be re-confirmed by the senate. Several key administration leaders were under assault by the Democrat Majority even before the Session begins. They include: Peter Young of DLNR, Ted Liu of DBED&T, Nelson Befitel, DLIR, and Lillian Koller, DHS.

Small business Hawaii will continue to monitor, update and alert the business community to important bills, hearings and legislative action. Check our website: www.smallbusinesshawaii.com.

"News Behind the News" Debuts on Olelo TV


Malia Zimmerman, founder of Hawaii Reporter.com and active SBH member, has a new weekly television interview series on O’lelo, Channel 54, Mondays at 6:00 pm.

News Behind the News, debuted in December and features top local government and business leaders on a wide range of community topics. The series is produced, directed and moderated by Zimmerman. Recently, the programs featured Attorney General Mark Bennett, “Broken Trust” Author Randy Roth, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, small business owners and others. Tune in and learn!

January 2007 SB News

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Copyright 2007 Small Business Hawaii. Last update: January 4, 2007