Leg.'06: Bring It!

Public schools repairs, affordable housing, a state lottery, longer meal breaks for hotel workers, public safety, combating the "ice" epidemic, reduced dependence on imported oil, more money for social service agencies, disaster preparedness, tax incentives, expanded dental and medical insurance--these are just a handful of the many initiatives vying for a piece of the $574 million state surplus.

One of the most hotly contested initiatives is one put forth by Governor Linda Lingle (R), who wants to take $300 million of the surplus and refund it back to individual Hawaii taxpayers (remember when Bush did this a few years back?). To this, Speaker of the House Calvin Say (D) said, "Three hundred million dollars is a lot of money, but when you add up your share of the refund, what do you get? Enough extra to buy another loco-moco or plate lunch every week? You add it up, you may."

Well, I'm sure this little spat is just the beginning of what will be a very interesting legislative session. Read about more spats and initiatives, plus get the full transcripts of speeches by the House and Senate leaders via the links below.

>> Surplus decision won't be easy for legislators [Hnl Advertiser, 1/19/06]
>> Politicians set stage for surplus debate [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 1/19/06]
>> Taxpayers pitch ideas outside Legislature [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 1/19/06]