July 17, 2012

Justice Reinvestment

By Rep. George Fontaine (R HD-11), Kihei, Wailea, Makena , The Maui Weekly July 12, 2012

This month, I want to discuss two bills that passed this year and became law last month. Much of the driving force behind SB 2776 and HB 2515 comes from the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), which is part of the Council of State Governments - Justice Center.

Initially, there was some misinformation about what these bills were addressing and how the criminal justice system in Hawai'i would be affected. Some people feared that these bills would cause early release for prisoners. Others thought these bills were just about bringing more prisoners back from incarceration on the Mainland. View full article

June 5, 2012

CYBER CRIME PACKAGE PASSES STATE LEGISLATURE

The State Legislature has passed three groundbreaking bills to curb the growing cyber crime trend in Hawaii. The bills were the result of the cyber crime informational briefing co-chaired by Representatives George Fontaine and Kymberly Marcos

Under these bills, law enforcement and prosecutors will have increased ability to charge cyber criminals with new or increased penalties.View full article

January 27, 2012

Rep. George Fontaine - Not Your Standard Hawaii Politician

MauiNow.com By Susan Halas January 23, 2012

As the 2012 Hawaii State Legislature opens for business, now is a good time to take a look at George Fontaine.

This Maui legislator is definitely a departure from the norm. In a body full of Democrats he's one of only eight Republicans serving in the House. In a group dominated members with high seniority, he's a freshman. In a political scenario often orchestrated by Oahu, he represents South Maui. And, in a roomful of former lawyers, he was a cop before he entered politics.

George Fontaine (51) is not your standard-issue Hawaii politician. He represents South Maui's 11th State House District including Kihei, Wailea and Makena. To him Republican means "less government, more economic opportunity for business." View full article

January 19, 2012

Rep. Fontaine Briefs Rotary on Maui Issues

January 17, 2012 Maui News Now By Susan Halas

"Money and lack of it" will be the main issue in the Hawaii Legislature this year, according to state Rep. George Fontaine.

Last week the Kihei Republican briefed members of the Valley Isle Sunset Rotary Club on issues of interest to Maui voters. The club met at Denny's in Kahului on Thursday, January 12. Members heard Fontaine review past legislative activities and preview things to come in the 2012 session opening January 18.

Fontaine, who represents South Maui's 11th House District (Kihei, Wailea, Makena), is a self-described "fiscal conservative." In rapid succession he told the Rotarians: "You'll have to give more and expect less; our emergency funds are gone and both Moody's and Fitch's have downgraded Hawaii's bond rating.

View full article

September 19, 2011

Fontaine: Day an experience that 'changed my life'

Awakened from his slumber by an early-morning phone call, current South Maui Rep. George Fontaine, a former Maui police captain, thought he was "dreaming" when he saw the attack on the World Trade Center on television.
"I got this early-morning phone call from my assistant chief, my boss, I think it was 4 o'clock in the morning," said the Wailea resident who at the time was commander of the Wailuku Patrol District. View full article

July 28, 2011

Viewpoint: Cyberwars at full throttle in Hawaii By George Fontaine, for The Maui News July 24, 2011

Within 24 hours of the March 11 tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Internet thieves posted fake donation websites to aid the victims. Search engines, like Google and Yahoo, picked up these sites and included them in lists with legitimate donation addresses. Unsuspecting and generous citizens gave money, never realizing that invisible crooks were pocketing the donations. This is but one example of more than 31,000 Internet-based crimes that occur every day here in Hawaii, according to expert witnesses who testified at a special Cybercrime Informational Briefing at the state Capitol. View full article

July 7, 2011

INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING ON CYBERCRIME

Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives will host an Informational Briefing on Cybercrime on Tuesday, July 12 at 10:00 a.m. at the Hawaii State Capitol, Conference Room 309. The purpose of the briefing will be to discuss the scope of Internet crime, its growing sophistication, and ways that existing state statutes should be strengthened.
The briefing will be chaired by retired Police Captain George Fontaine, who now serves as a representative from Maui. The Vice Chair of the event will be Rep. Kymberly Pine of Ewa Beach. View full article

April 21, 2011

Alternative Budget, Pension Tax, Higher GE Tax, Production Studio Credits by Rep. George Fontaine

Maui News April 21, 2011: The most critical issue facing the state is the budget deficit. Hawai'i is looking at a current deficit of $1.2 billion dollars over the next two years. At the same time, the state constitution requires that the legislature balance the budget. This means lawmakers are facing difficult decisions regarding cutting expenses and raising revenues in order to balance the state budget.
Alternative Budget - The minority caucus in the House has worked hard this year to create and propose an alternative budget that does not raise taxes. This budget can be viewed and downloaded at www.hawaiistatebudgetonline.com. The public is invited to download the minority caucus budget and interactively work with it. View full article

April 18, 2011

Sentencing reform creates liability issue

In a recent editorial there was discussion regarding Senate Bill 106 SD1 HD1, which would require the state Judiciary to change all multiple sentences to be served simultaneously ("Legislature steps over judicial line," Our View, Star-Advertiser, April 14).
This means that a person with two or more sentences would remain incarcerated only for the amount of time of the longest sentence.
This bill is seriously flawed. For example, if a prisoner is currently serving two consecutive 10-year sentences and has completed 14 years (of a 20-year sentence), the prisoner will now be released. Will the state then be liable for the four years that this person was incarcerated beyond the term? How will the state manage hundreds or thousands of potential lawsuits? View full article

March 24, 2011

Halfway Point: Pension Tax, Gambling, Government Ferry System

We are almost at the halfway point of this year's legislative session. I have been encouraged by hearing from a number of my constituents and others. Our state is facing a deficit of over $700 million dollars. The Hawai'i State Constitution mandates a balanced budget. In the midst of this crisis, Gov. Neil Abercrombie has proposed almost $500 million in additional spending. This translates to about $800 of additional taxes for each taxpayer during fiscal year 2012.View full article