Monthly Archives: March 2008

Recently, I have been dreaming about the land use bills I have been working on.  The dreams are very detailed on the language I am trying to use in regards to the important agricultural lands bills. 

Aloha,
 
I will be having a fundraiser for my fourth two-year term in the Hawaii State House of Representatives.  It has been an honor serving you in the House for the past six years.  The last five months have been challenging for me in my career as well in my personal life.  After stepping down from Vice Speaker of the House after my DUI incident, I was appointed by Speaker Calvin K.Y. Say for leadership positions as a Majority Whip and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs.  I am really enjoying working on land use bills, especially the important agricultural lands bills.  I am also serving on the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection and the Committee on Finance.
 
Make the most of life and have fun!  Thank you for all your support!  Below is the information on my fundraiser.
 
With Warmest Aloha,
Jon Riki Karamatsu
 
Fundraiser for Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Bishop Museum
Hawaiian Courtyard & Atrium Court
(Next to the Polynesian Hall)
1525 Bernice Street
Honolulu, Hawaii

Thursday, April 3, 2008

5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.

Suggested Donation $50
Checks payable to Friends of Jon Riki Karamatsu
P.O. Box 970146
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797

Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu Lawmakers Listen Community Meeting

Monday, March 24, 2008
Waipahu Intermediate School Cafeteria
94-455 Farrington  Highway
6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu and other lawmakers will be there to give a short presentation on the legislative session and for you to express your concerns on any issue.

If you have any questions, please call my office at (808) 586-8490.  I hope to see you there.

I try my best to work with everyone as best as I can.  Policy debates are good because we are fighting on what we believe is best for Hawai'i.  I am just tired of opponents within our party and in the opposite party attacking at a personal level.  They pick on individuals and spin things in a way to make the person look bad.  They leak things to the media.  They try to get certain individuals out of office as best as they can.  Some politicians act all nice in public, but are mean to others in the political world.  Others are just waiting for you to be vulnerable.  You can try to be nice to others, and then they give it you.  You take the hits and move forward.  This all gets very tiring.  I know who my friends are in this political world.  A close colleague of mine always says, “It (politics) is a ninja world.”

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 266, House Draft 2

Public trust; Conveyance of real property and cash to OHA ($)

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The purpose of this bill is to most effectively and responsibly meet the State's constitutional obligations to native Hawaiians with regard to the benefits from the lands in the public trust referred to in Article XII, Sections 4 and 6, of the Hawaii Constitution (public trust lands).  Among other things, this bill:

1.         Conveys certain parcels of land in Kakaako Makai and Kalaeloa Makai on Oahu and on Hilo Banyan Drive on the island of Hawaii, and pays $13,189,860 to the    Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for the period from November 7, 1978, to July 1, 2008, as a result of a re-examination of the State's constitutional obligation to native Hawaiians;

2.         Establishes a method for determining for each fiscal biennium, beginning in fiscal biennium 2009-2011, the amount of income and proceeds that OHA is to receive from the public trust lands;

3.         Finds that the amount of income and proceeds OHA is to receive from the public trust lands for fiscal year 2008-2009 is $15,100,000 and mandating the disbursement of the sum to OHA;

4.         Authorizes the chairperson of OHA to appoint an additional member to the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA); and

5.         Exempts the Kakaako Makai lands conveyed to OHA from certain powers that HCDA has over those lands.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2429, House Draft 2

Creates the University of Hawaii Stadium Corporation and transfers the duties of maintenance, operation, management, and improvement of Aloha Stadium from the Stadium Authority to the Stadium Corporation.

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

            The legislature finds that Aloha stadium is a public asset with major structural deficiencies yet untapped potential.  The legislature further finds that transferring jurisdiction over Aloha stadium to a public body with corporate powers is in the public interest.  The legislature believes that such a corporation would be better able to maximize the use and, consequently, income of Aloha stadium and generate support for the capital improvement of Aloha stadium to substantially extend its useful life.  The legislature also believes that placing Aloha stadium under a corporation may result in the generation of net income transferable to the University of Hawaii's intercollegiate athletics program.

            The purpose of this Act is to create the University of Hawaii stadium corporation and transfer jurisdiction over Aloha stadium to the corporation.  The primary duty of the stadium corporation is to operate, maintain, manage, and improve Aloha stadium with the University of Hawaii as the major tenant.  The secondary duty is to generate net income from Aloha stadium that may be transferred to the intercollegiate athletics program of the University of Hawaii.  The stadium corporation will be headed by a board of directors consisting of 11 members:  the University of Hawaii president, five members appointed by the university board of regents, and five other members appointed by the governor, subject to the confirmation of the senate.  All board members must have experience in business, marketing, accounting, economics, engineering, architecture, or sports administration.  This bill also provides the stadium corporation with a certain degree of autonomy and flexibility to perform its duties.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2323, House Draft 2

Resort Beach Restoration ($)

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

            This bill would establish within the beach restoration special fund a sub-account to be known as the resort beach restoration fund to be administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (department), into which shall be deposited general funds appropriated by the legislature and revenues from the tourism special fund, which receives moneys from the transient accommodations tax prescribed by section 237D-6.5(b)(2)(C) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes provided that:

1.         No funds shall be released for expenditure from the resort beach restoration fund unless matched by non-state funds on at least a one-to-one basis; and

2.         No funds shall be released for expenditure from the resort beach restoration fund unless at least fifty per cent of the funds released are funds transferred from the tourism special fund pursuant to section 237D-6.5(b)(2)(C).

            Moneys in the resort beach restoration fund shall be used to provide for the development and restoration of visitor area resort beaches, including maintenance of any improvements placed on the visitor area resort beach or in the nearshore waters, as determined by the department, including debt service on any capital expenditures projects and the contracting for services for those purposes.

            The resort beach restoration fund is a creative way to get matching funds from the private sector that have a vested interest in restoring beaches fronting or near their resort hotels or tourist destinations.  Importantly, the residents of the State of Hawai'i will also get to enjoy restored beaches with their family and friends.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2807, House Draft 2

Incentives; Affordable Housing; Reclassification; Important Agricultural Lands

March 4, 2008

            I rise in support.

            The purpose of this bill is to provide incentives for landowners to designate their lands as important agricultural lands (IALs).  First, we are allowing a landowner, who has been granted a declaratory order from the Land Use Commission to designate all or some of the landowner's land as important agricultural land, to fulfill a state or county affordable housing assessment by providing affordable housing in lands zoned as rural in lieu of satisfying the assessment in the urban district.  “Rural districts” was amended to include agribusiness activities, including horticulture, apiculture, aquaculture, plant nurseries, and the raising and keeping of livestock; Farm worker housing; and affordable housing.

            Second, we are revising the landowner petition process for important agricultural land designation by specifying that a farmer or landowner may petition the Land Use Commission for declaratory order to designate lands as important agricultural lands in perpetuity.  Farmers or landowners that petition the Land Use Commission for declaratory order to designate lands as important agricultural lands in perpetuity are allowed to seek, in the same petition, a reclassification of land from the agricultural district to the rural district, urban district, or a combination of both, under certain conditions.

            Specifically, under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-45(b), the petitioner may seek a reclassification of land in the agricultural district to the rural district, urban district, or a combination of both; provided that the:

1.         Land sought to be reclassified to the rural or urban district is within the same county as the land sought to be designated as important agricultural lands;

2.         Reclassification of the land to the rural or urban district is consistent with the relevant county general, development, and community plans; and

3.         Total acreage of the land sought to be designated or reclassified in the petition complies with the following proportions:

            a.         At least eighty per cent of the total acreage is sought to be designated as important agricultural land; and

            b.         The remainder of the acreage is sought to be reclassified to the rural or urban district.

            In a petition for a declaratory order submitted under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-45 that seeks to both designate lands as important agricultural lands and reclassify lands in the agricultural district to the rural or urban district, the lands shall be deemed qualified for designation as important agricultural land if the Land Use Commission reasonably finds that the lands meet at least the criteria of subsection (c)(4), (6), and (8) of this section described below:

1.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(4): Land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating Class A or B; or Class C or D if the land is currently in agricultural production or could be put into productive agricultural use with the implementation of new technology or development of irrigation water;

2.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(6): Land with sufficient quantities of water to support viable agricultural production; and

3.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(8): Land that contributes to maintaining a critical land mass important to agricultural operating productivity.

            The criteria in identifying important agricultural lands was tightened up for this specific petition for a declaratory order because we wanted to make sure that the agricultural lands being petitioned to be designated as important agricultural lands are good for agricultural productivity in exchange for the agricultural lands being petitioned to be reclassified to the rural or urban district.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2357, House Draft 1

Agriculture; Important Agricultural Lands

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The purpose of this bill is to provide incentives to establish and sustain viable agricultural operations on important agricultural lands (IALs).  Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1.  Excludes from gross income, adjusted gross income, and taxable income, rental income, up to an unspecified maximum amount, derived from agricultural leases on lands designated as important agricultural lands (IALs) under certain conditions;

2.  Exempts rental income, up to an unspecified maximum amount, derived from agricultural leases on lands designated as IALs from the general excise tax;

3.  Allows landowners to develop, construct, and maintain residential dwelling units for farmers, employees, and their families on IALs under certain conditions;

4.  Establishes an IAL Qualified Agricultural Cost Tax Credit;

5.  Allows the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture to guarantee loans made by commercial lenders to agricultural producers for the development and implementation of agricultural projects located on land designated as IALs, under certain conditions;

 6.  Requires the master irrigation inventory plan of the State Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan to include the identification of sources of water used by agricultural operations, particularly those on lands designated as IALs; and identification of current and future water needs for agricultural operations on lands designated as IALs; and

7.  Requires certain agencies that issue permits to implement a procedure for priority processing of permit applications and renewals for agricultural processing facilities that process crops or livestock from certain agribusinesses.

The goal of the incentives and protections included in this bill is to establish and sustain viable agricultural operations on important agricultural lands.  The amount of tax credits is a work in progress as we await revenue updates from the Council of Revenues in order to balance our state budget.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2005, House Draft 1

Renewable Energy Technologies; Solar Electric Energy

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

This bill would expand the renewable energy technologies tax credit to include solar electric energy systems.  The reasoning is solar generated electricity can come from a broader range of technologies than just photovoltaic (PV), such as solar thermal systems that produce electricity.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2502, House Draft 2

Solar Energy Facility in Agricultural District

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The increased use of Hawaii's abundant renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, ocean thermal, wave, and biomass resources, is key to reducing Hawaii's green house gas emissions and contribution to global warming and creating new job opportunities and economic diversification.  In 2006, Hawaii's oil imports totaled $3,400,000,000 for the year, accounting for approximately 15 per cent of the total imports.  Over 93 per cent of Hawaii's energy is supplied by fossil fuel.  By allowing solar energy facilities to be built on marginal agricultural lands or agricultural lands with soil classified D or E, there will be more beneficial effects for Hawaii's economy, environment, and energy security than leaving such lands unused.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2503

Agricultural-Energy Facilities

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

This bill would allow agricultural-energy facilities on agricultural land use districts provided that the primary activity of the agricultural-energy enterprise is agricultural activity.  “Agricultural-energy facility” means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes renewable energy or renewable fuel including electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the state.

It is important that we increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources to increase Hawaii's energy self-sufficiency so that we can achieve broad societal benefits, including increased energy security, resistance to increases in oil prices, environmental sustainability, economic development, and job creation.  To shape Hawaii's energy and agricultural future and achieve the goal of energy and food self-sufficiency for the state, our efforts must continue on all fronts, integrating new and evolving technologies, seizing upon opportunities to become more economically diversified, and providing incentives and assistance to support agriculture and renewable energy.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2361, House Draft 1

Important Agricultural Lands; Designation of Public Lands

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land and Natural Resources shall collaborate to identify public lands that should be designated important agricultural lands and prepare maps delineating those lands.  The Department of Agriculture will manage, administer, and exercise control over any public lands that are designated important agricultural lands, including but not limited to establishing priorities for the leasing of these public lands within the department's jurisdiction.  By classifying public agricultural lands as important agricultural lands, we will protect agricultural lands for the production of agricultural produce and other agricultural activities, which helps Hawai'i to be more self-sustainable.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2138, House Draft 1

Establishes an annual Caregiver Recognition Day on the first Saturday of November.

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The first Saturday of November shall be known and designated as “Caregiver Recognition Day”, in recognition of the very significant role that caregivers play in support of Hawaii's elderly and persons with disabilities.

As used in this section, “caregiver” means any person who has undertaken the care, custody, or physical assistance of an elderly or disabled person, including but not limited to compensated or uncompensated family members or other relatives, or any person who has the desire, or a legal, or contractual duty to care for the health, safety, and welfare of an elderly or disabled person, including owners, operators, employees, or staff of long-term care facilities and community home-based institutions.“

Thank you.

Unexpectedly, I was asked to conduct the invocation for the House of Representatives floor session on March 6, 2008.  I asked everyone to pray for our colleagues who are going through personal and medical challenges, and some who have recently lossed their parents.  Also, I asked everyone to pray for friends of the House of Representatives who are facing medical challenges.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Comments

House Bill 2825, House Draft 1

Issuance of Special Purpose Revenue Bonds to Assist Sopogy, Inc.

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The development of clean electricity from a renewable and abundant resource, the sun, at a price lower than the market price and independent from oil price fluctuations will help Hawai'i become more self-sustainable and less reliant on fossil fuels.  Sopogy, Inc., specializes in the development, manufacture, and distribution of its proprietary concentrated solar power systems that generate electricity.  This bill would allow the issuance of $35,000,000 in special purpose revenue bonds to assist Sopogy, Inc. in its planning, designing, construction, equipping, and operating of a solar farm power plant on the island of Oahu.  I am proud to see this Hawai'i company play a role in developing our renewable energy industry.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 509, House Draft 2

Prohibits a towing company from charging the owner of a vehicle hooked up for towing if the owner of the vehicle appears on the scene.

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

I want to thank Speaker Emeritus Joseph M. Souki for inserting the language for this bill in one of his short form bills that are available for chairpersons.  I made the request on behalf of a concerned citizen.  This bill would prohibit a towing company from charging the owner of a vehicle hooked up for towing if the owner of the vehicle appears on the scene.  Currently, a towing company can charge the owner of a vehicle if it is hooked up.  In the case of a difficult hookup, meaning an above or below ground hookup in a multilevel facility, a towing surcharge of $30 shall be applicable.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 784, House Draft 3

Philippine Language and Filipino-American Studies; Appropriation ($)

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

I believe we need to have curriculum offerings in the Philippine languages, as well as course offerings on Filipino-American ethnic and Philippine studies in the University of Hawaii system.  The three major Philippine languages that are prevalent in Hawaii are Filipino, Ilokano, and Cebuano.  There is an important need to increase the representation of Filipino students and professionals trained in the Philippine languages and cultures who can work in the area of education, health, legal services, and commerce.  Offering courses in the Philippine languages and cultures on University of Hawaii campuses will provide educational opportunities at the various campuses and support our state's needs.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 3343, House Draft 1
Filipino-American History Month

February 28, 2008

I rise in support.
 
I support House Bill 3343, House Draft 1, which would designate the month of October as Filipino-American History Month to commemorate the contributions of Filipino-Americans to Hawaii and the United States.  It is important that we recognize the economic, cultural, and social contributions by Filipino-Americans to the development of Hawaii and United States history.

Thank you.

The last 12 months have been difficult for many of my friends.  My very public DUI punishment has impacted my friends, but more so, personal and life threatening challenges for a number of my friends has brought a solemn air around us. 

Several of my friends have lost their parents.  Then there are those older than me or of my parents’ generation who have taken me under their wings and brought me in their circle of friends who are facing life threatening illnesses.  I know they will beat their medical challenges.  I am praying.

Also, Senator Najo Yoshinaga has told me he doesn’t know how much longer he can visit us at the capitol.  He feels his health is getting weaker quicker.  I told him to keep visiting us.

Finally, one night, Speaker told a number of us to remember him and other colleagues of his generation just as he did with the generation before him so that we can continue on when they are gone.  That is a promise I will keep.