Maui Memorial Medical Center's Medevac Blessing

On July 27th, 2012, Senator Tsutsui attended the ceremonial blessing of Maui Memorial Medical Center's new Bell 430 helicopter. This helicopter replaces the smaller Bell 222 helicopter that had been in service since September 2004. Since operations began on June 1st, 6 patients have been successfully transported to the hospital from the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The Bell 222 will continue to be used as a backup, ensuring continuous emergency medical helicopter service for all Maui County Residents.

Support the Maui Food Bank

Support the Maui Food Bank by purchasing a delicious Boba Bake and Bubble Drink!

Annual Blood Drive

37 pints of blood were collected at this year's annual blood drive hosted by the Office of the Senate President. Mahalo to everyone who participated!

Current investments lead to future savings

If you had the option to shell out a dollar today, to help you save $10 tomorrow, would you do it? Would you spend money to save money?

Sound investments that spell big savings for the State are one of the numerous ways in which the Senate seeks to fulfill its vision of breathing new life into our economy, transforming the way we operate and building a better and more sustainable Hawaii.

As part of this vision, Senate Bill 2012, "The Invest in Hawaii Act of 2012," aims to help the Aloha State and its residents. We need to get people back to work, while generating savings now and in the future. SB2012 is an aggressive, $500 million general obligation bond-funded capital improvement measure that addresses repair and maintenance projects and is designed to create an estimated 5,000 jobs statewide.

By investing significant funds today, SB2012 allows the State to save money and generate revenue by fixing existing State buildings that are badly in need of repairs and are not being fully utilized. Instead of spending money to lease private properties elsewhere, addressing needed repairs would allow the State to use its vacant or underutilized buildings to house its own displaced employees. The projects contemplated include those that have been long deferred and must to be undertaken eventually. Maximizing the utilization and extending the useful life of existing state-owned facilities will, in the long run, prove to be a priceless investment for Hawaii.

Additionally, there's no better time to build. This bipartisan initiative takes advantage of today's historically low interest rates, which makes current conditions favorable for companies and governments to borrow. The current supply-demand imbalance helps keep costs down by encouraging competition among companies vying for projects. In fact, delaying much-needed repairs to public facilities would unnecessarily increase a project's price tag, since it would cost more to fix structures in the future when infrastructure damages worsen and drive up construction costs.

Another facet of the measure endeavors to decrease the long-term cost of government through the installation of energy efficient technology, which would allow the State to provide higher levels of services, all for a lesser cost. Understanding nature's valuable benefits, the State is already moving forward with efforts to reduce the cost of school operations. The Department of Education recently announced a contract for a pilot project for the installation of photovoltaic systems for 15 public schools. The agreement provides the State solar power without any up-front costs, and the third party providers will be afforded a mechanism to claim tax credits. It will ultimately save the State an estimated $30 million over the life of the project. If the State were to similarly install PV systems at all 255 of our public schools, the State could realize a savings of over $500 million over the next 20 years. Efforts like these result in cost savings and a lesser drain on the State's general fund resources - all while reducing our carbon footprint, which continues to be another priority of the Senate.

By investing in the types of projects included in SB2012, we'll immediately help get our economy back on track and realize big savings in various ways. But most importantly, we'll give our keiki a safer and better learning environment, provide our kupuna with better medical facilities, and improve state infrastructures for our residents and visitors.

Aloha Aina Earth Day Maui

The Hawaii State Senate Majority 2012 Legislative Priorities

"The Invest in Hawaii Act of 2012"

The primary objective of this measure is to cut into the State's multibillion dollar deferred repair and maintenance backlog to immediately stimulate direct and indirect job creation. "The purpose of this package is simple." Said Senate President Shan S. Tsutsui. "It will put more people back to work and stimulate the economy. The investment we make today will provide a better future for the people of Hawaii."

The Senate Majority proposes to aggressively fund G.O. Bond-funded CIP projects through an increased appropriation of approximately $500M. This will create shovel-ready jobs for all trades in the construction industry - from carpenters to consultants, putting money in workers' pockets and giving businesses confidence to begin hiring again.

The focus should remain on smaller repair and maintenance projects to address aging infrastructures and to extend the useful life of existing state-owned assets and facilities. Other projects should also include those that address health and safety code concerns. Funding will be provided throughout State departments. The permitting, approval and procurement processes in both the private and public sectors would be streamlined and/or simplified to facilitate expedient movement and to ensure that government is able to provide services to the public in the most efficient manner possible.

Along with this aggressive approach to stimulating our economy, the Senate Majority fully supports the following initiatives:

Sustainability and Renewable Energy
The Senate Majority will continue to participate in the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and reduce energy consumption throughout our State facilities, such as schools, hospitals, and office buildings with the intention of making Hawaii a model for the rest of the country. The Senate Majority will also continue to make developing sustainable and renewable energy strategies and initiatives a priority across the State of Hawaii.

Retooling Government
In the area of technology, the Senate Majority Caucus package seeks to further invest in the State's information technology infrastructure in order to improve government and to better serve the public. The investment in IT upgrades strives to increase productivity, making government more efficient.

People and Children
As a result of strengthening the economy and putting more people back to work, our State’s safety net would be secured and the basic needs of all citizens would be met. The Senate will also continue its strong support for education. From Hawaii's youngest keiki to wisest kupuna, ensuring access to the highest quality educational opportunities will remain a top priority, which will make Hawaii competitive in the global economy.

Hawaii and Fukuoka Celebrate 30 Years of Sisterhood

On January 18, 2012, delegates from Fukuoka, Japan visited our State Capitol to recognize 30 years of sisterhood with the State of Hawaii. A signing ceremony commemorating the long-standing economic and cultural relationship was held in conference room 329 with remarks from the Senate President, Speaker of the House Calvin K.Y. Say, and Chairperson of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly Kensai Haraguchi. Guest Ko Isayama translated and Entertainer Danny Kaleikini opened and closed the ceremony in both Japanese and Hawaiian.

In 1981, Hawaii established its first sister relationship with Fukuoka, Japan. At the time, relations were more culturally based, however, over the past three decades economy has played a steady role in strengthening ties with much of Hawaii's tourism industry being dominated by Japanese visitors. Our connection with Fukuoka is expected to grow even stronger in the future with Hawaiian Airlines resuming direct flights to Fukuoka. Senator Tsutsui stated that it was an honor to host the delegation and hoped that Fukuoka and Hawaii would serve as a model for successful sister relationships around the world. (Video courtesy of House Majority Communications)

Senate President Shan S. Tsutsui's Opening Day Remarks, Regular Session of 2012

"Last year we began with the assertion that better days were ahead. Today, we find ourselves in a position to reflect on the past year's accomplishments, and realize that there has been progress, and we have laid the foundation for even better days."

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Regular Session 2012 Opening Day

Opening Day for the Twenty-Sixth Legislative Session will convene on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10am. In response to our State's slow economic recovery, the Senate President and Speaker of the House have requested a "scaled back" session, free of entertainment and guests on the Chamber floors. Opening Day will be treated as a normal working day with limited speeches by presiding officers and caucus leaders. The gallery will be open to the public on a first come, first served basis.

Department of Transportation to Host Maui Meeting Regarding Kahului Airport

Last week, the Department of Transportation began holding a series of meetings with project stakeholders on Maui regarding a comprehensive plan to replace and/or rebuild Kahului Airport's 70-year old runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, current runway repairs are not eligible for federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding; however, cost of rebuilding could be financed by the Federal Government up to 75 percent. A number of options on how to proceed are currently being assessed by the Department, all of which may have a tremendous impact on Maui. The DOT will continue to meet with interested stakeholders throughout the rest of January. Additionally, to allow our community members the opportunity to weigh in on the matter, a public meeting will be held on January 23, 2012, at 6pm at Pomaika‘i Elementary School (4650 South Kamehameha Ave, Kahului). Interested parties are encouraged to attend.