2006 Legislative Session Ends With Good, Bad, and Ugly Bills

Sen. Ron Menor

Negative equity language clarified

A HADA-initiated bill that added clarifying language to Hawaii’s Credit Sale Act passed this session. Sen. Ron Menor, sponsored the measure (SB2224). The governor has already signed the measure into law.  Ford Motor Credit requested that Hawaii update its language. Now, thanks to the help of Menor, the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing chair, and Representative Robert Herkes, the House Consumer Protection chair, Hawaii’s statutes mirror the updated language found in 38 other states’ statutes.

Gov. Linda Lingle

Parking ticket bill now signed into law.

HADA’s parking ticket bill now goes into effect. Governor Lingle signed SB2065 into law (now ACT 103) Wednesday, May 17th at 2 p.m. The new law has provisions to allow registrations that are currently prevented from transfer because of a judiciary stopper for unpaid parking tickets, to now have those stoppers lifted.

Parking ticket bill had some last-minute drama 

The HADA-initiated bill to eliminate the vexing problem of dealers paying unpaid parking tickets on trade-ins encountered some last-minute drama. SB2065 had moved smoothly until state judiciary officials, on the last day for hearings, proposed a conference draft.  It amazingly would have forced dealers to pay off any unpaid moving violations in addition to traffic tickets before a stopper could be removed on trade-in vehicles.  Even though verbal testimony is not allowed in conference committee, HADA verbally objected.  It turned out that the judiciary’s draft, however, had already been rejected.  The HADA language had not yet been reinserted in the draft. 

Sen. Will Espero

Sen. Lorraine Inouye

Dealer Day at the Capitol had a positive effect

Citing input received from dealers on Dealer Day, Sen. Lorraine Inouye said she thought that the traffic ticket stoppers were indeed a vexing problem for dealers and she noted that she had earlier rejected the judiciary’s amendment and had instructed that HADA’s original language be reinserted. Sen. Will Espero sponsored the bill.

If you’re inclined to send your thanks, you can call Sen. Espero’s office at 808 596-6360 or FAX 808 586-6361 or email: senespero@capitol.hawaii.gov

Sen. Inouye’s contact information is: Tel. 808 586-7335 FAX 808 586-7339 or email: seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov

Sen. Norman Sakamoto

The core curriculum bill was gutted, then passed

Bowing to pressure from the teachers’ union, Sen. Norman Sakamoto gutted the statewide core curriculum bill which had advanced with much HADA support.  SB3059 becomes a weakened version that now funds demonstration projects for the concept.

The daily newspaper editorial writers, Perry and Price and parents had been strong supporters of the HADA efforts. The story received national attention through a number of web news outlets.

An ugly amendment to the payroll tax bill may generate the need for a governor’s veto

A bill that reduces the amount that businesses have to pay into the unemployment insurance fund for two years was amended to include provisions allowing payment of unemployment benefits upon dismissal for cause – unless the cause is the employee’s “willful and wanton” disregard for the employer’s interests.  This legal bar, however, is considered so high, that virtually all dismissed employees will qualify for unemployment benefits.

HADA wrote Speaker Calvin Say: “The addition of the ‘willful and wanton’ language to SB2190 forces acceptance of all egregious misconduct which doesn’t rise to the high bar of this legal test.”  HADA will likely join other business organizations in requesting a governor’s veto.  The Honolulu Advertiser reported:  “The bill's close vote in the House — 28 to 21 — suggests that a Lingle veto would not be overridden.“
This bill, which started out as a measure to refund some of the excess millions of dollars in the unemployment fund back to the businesses that paid the money in, now with the “willful and wanton” amendment, has became truly ugly. 

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