On Politics: Legislators OK ‘green’ tax, oust House Finance chair

Hawaii’s state Legislature ended the annual session by making history with a new tax and then making a scene by shuffling some of the jobs held by legislative leaders.

First, at the behest of Gov. Josh Green, legislators pushed up the hotel room tax from 10.25% to 11% starting in January.

Green wants this new money. He campaigned on the issue, saying he will use it for environmental protection and strengthening defenses against natural disasters fueled by the climate crisis.

Raising taxes is one big way that the people we elect define themselves. Taking your money is a sure way to get your attention.

As much as any politician wants a bigger budget, tacking on a good reason, like the environment, can make your reasoning unassailable. The tax increase is expected to bring in about $80 million to $100 million a year.

Then days after the Legislature adjourned, Big Island Democrat Chris Todd, who was appointed by Gov. David Ige back in 2017 to replace the late Clift Tsuji, was selected to run the Finance Committee.

Committee chairmanships don’t come with a neatly set list of rules, but there is an understood expectation that if you fumble the ball, everyone will notice.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Todd was picked by House Speaker Nadine Nakamura who in a statement, offered little detail on why Maui Rep. Kyle Yamashita was replaced as finance chairman.

“Leadership transitions are a part of any organization’s growth,” her statement read. “The House has decided to move in a new direction and appreciates Representative Chris Todd’s readiness to lead the Committee on Finance.”

At the same time, every day brings reports of new cuts caused by the unprecedented budget writing by the Trump administration. For example, now the Bishop Museum budget
has not only been cut, it
has been cleaved into tiny pieces. The museum has
an annual budget of about
$26 million a year from private and public sources, which includes funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

According to reports, the museum relies on 24 federal grants ranging from collections care to the digitization of the museum’s objects. Funding from the IMLS, NEH and National Endowment for the Arts have all been canceled, with another eight through the NSF no longer receiving funding.

Yamashita’s handling of the state budget was questionable from the beginning as his committee was repeatedly criticized for a chaotic operation. He helped push the state’s largest tax credit bill through the House last year but it was done in such a stumbling manner that few could develop a campaign theme around the tax break.

So far there is no rumor of replacing Nakamura, but the stability of the state House organization seems to change as the power lineup twitches. Without a cohesive organization, Nakamura will be left dangling just like Yamashita was.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at [email protected].