Each week Editorial and Opinion Editor Jeanne Mariani-Belding hosts The Hot Seat, our opinion-page blog that brings in elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions during a live online chat.

On The Hot Seat last week were Sens. Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe) and Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u). They answered questions about priorities for this legislative session.

The following is an excerpt from that Hot Seat session. To see the full conversation, go to The Hot Seat blog at www.honoluluadvertiser.com/opinion and click on "The Hot Seat." (Names of questioners are screen names given during our online chat.)

Lisa: Everyone's talking about sustainability. What is your definition of the term, and what are your thoughts about sustainability and Hawai'i's future?

Sen. Jill Tokuda and Sen. Russell Kokubun: The Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Task Force has defined sustainability in the following manner.

1. Respects the culture, character, beauty and history of our state's island communities.

2. Strikes a balance between economic, social and community, and environmental priorities.

3. Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This was developed after collecting input from people statewide but it captures the commitment that people have for creating the brightest future for Hawai'i.

To create a sustainable Hawai'i will require all of us working together to ensure that our economy, our environment and our community will all thrive, in particular our young people, who need to be inspired and need to remain hopeful that Hawai'i will always be a special place.

Tina: What is the Senate's focus regarding education this legislative session? Is it infrastructure, NCLB test scores, etc.? And just wanted to see what your thoughts are on creating "local" level school boards: Is this a good or bad idea, and why?

Tokuda and Kokubun: The Senate maintains its commitment to improving the infrastructure and reducing the backlog of repair and maintenance for both higher and lower education. We have always been strongly committed to ensuring that our students and teachers have a safe and conducive environment in which to learn and work.

This year we will also focus on early childhood education and ensuring that our dollars reach the classroom.

At the same time we are concerned that the governor has not released over $50 million in funds that the Legislature appropriated for improving our public schools.

Michael Dwyer: The Hawai'i state income tax threshold starts at an income level that is below the poverty line. Citizens that are eligible to receive food stamps and other living assistance are above the threshold to pay state income tax. Yet adjusting the tax tables to give these citizens more income to allow them to survive is addressed with disdain by both houses of the Legislature. Why?

Tokuda and Kokubun: We are constantly looking for ways to improve living conditions for our residents and their families. Last year, this Legislature passed measures to broaden the tax brackets to provide relief for those in the lowest income brackets. We are committed to building upon these efforts, including our proposal for state earned income tax credit, and last year's rebate that offered the greatest help to those most in need. This session we are also working on targeted tax relief as we did last year.

Aaron: With there being more than five upscale/luxury condos going up in the past five years, and now one more breaking ground, why hasn't the state mandated that these developers provide affordable housing for the people of Hawai'i? All of these luxury condos are only 60 percent occupied by full-time residents and the rest are usually investors from Asia and the Mainland. Why not let the people of Hawai'i invest in our own land? How can we keep letting developers outprice our own community? How are the young people of Hawai'i to come back and contribute to Hawai'i if we can't even afford to live here even with a master's degree?

Tokuda and Kokubun: If you are referring to the Kaka'ako area, there is a bill proposed in the Senate this year that would require developers of residential units, including luxury condos to provide 40 percent of the total number of units to meet the median income levels of the state. In addition, we are continuing to complete the purchase of Kukui Gardens to maintain an inventory of affordable rentals. We will again provide, the same as last year, a significant percentage of the conveyance tax revenues to the rental housing trust fund. This will amount to tens of millions of dollars annually. Affordable housing for all of Hawai'i's residents is a major priority for us this year. And we will be looking at all sorts of efforts to address these issues, including workforce housing for educators and agricultural workers. We also will be seeking to strengthen self-help housing projects.

SusaninKailua: Since 1987 federal investment in infrastructure has been cut in half and it is estimated that, nationally, $1.6 trillion is needed to repair and maintain our sewers, drinking water systems, roads at an acceptable level. What is the Senate's plan for ensuring the sustainability of our infrastructure in Hawai'i?

Tokuda and Kokubun: In the Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Plan, infrastructure crisis points were recognized as needing immediate attention. The issues that you mention certainly are important to all of us and will require the counties, state and federal government working together to resolve this long-standing issue. The lesson also should be that future developments must be tied to infrastructure improvements. This is part and parcel aligned with smart growth principles that must be employed going forward.

Liz: Thank you for all your work on the 2050 sustainability plan. Just wanted to know if there would be any way to start educating our youth on sustainability, even something like recycling. Maybe have mandatory recycling in the schools?

Tokuda and Kokubun: Our task force has been very committed to engaging our youth in the plan, including hosting a youth sustainability summit last year and establishing an educational working group that will continue to engage young people in the process of building Hawai'i's future. The kids get it. They are going to be the true leaders for sustainability in Hawai'i and we need to allow them to fully participate to move toward that future. You'll be happy to know that some of the students that participated in the youth summit have introduced legislation this session that focus on sustainability goals such as recycling in schools and fighting invasive species.

KailuaGuy: Adjusting tax brackets and even mandating more affordable housing seems to have a Band-Aid effect to me. Bottom line is that a family with two working adults should only be buying a maximum $300,000 house. But as we know, condo medians are more than that. I think we need some major overhaul of the laws which affect home prices (and rental prices). Otherwise, we will continue to see people born and raised here forced to move. I often wondered if rent control would have a dragging effect on home prices, but I don't think it would be a significant drag.

Do you agree we need some drastic measures, and if so do you have any proposals you can share with us?

Tokuda and Kokubun: One of the cornerstones of the sustainability plan is to diversify our economy so that we can increase the number of high-paying jobs available to our residents. While our tried and true industries have provided steady employment, in the future industries such as technology will grow and provide such jobs. In this way, we can ensure a higher quality of life for our residents.

GB: In cost-of-living versus education spending Hawai'i ranks last in our nation. It is no heavy math to figure out why Hawai'i students test low against the rest of our country.

How and when is the state Legislature going to truly tackle this problem?

Tokuda and Kokubun: Over 50 percent of the state's general fund budget goes toward education. About $2.5 billion are allocated into Hawai'i classrooms for higher and lower education each year.

Test scores are improving. Charter schools are improving. This will be a long journey but we have the best goals in mind for our youth. We will continue to invest in the education of our children.

K. Nomura: What changes will there be for our state's public educators? Will salaries be talked about or actually changed to assist us with the cost of living in our state? Also, what will be done with drug testing for all teachers? If that's the case, why not drug test all state and city workers as well as those who receive state money, i.e. those on welfare! Let's start doing things right in this state!

Tokuda and Kokubun: Setting salaries and drug testing are collective bargaining issues negotiated between the governor and the teacher's union, which the Legislature is not involved in. Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee heard over a dozen bills that focus on recruiting and retaining the best and brightest educators into our classrooms. This included workforce housing, mortgage assistance, loan repayment and professional development opportunities. We recognize the critical role and the impact a good teacher makes on all of our students.

Kalei: The recently announced settlement on back payment for ceded land revenues to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs includes land. Since the land will still be considered "public" land and subject to state and federal land-use laws, why do people still worry that only Native Hawaiians will be allowed on the land?

Tokuda and Kokubun: The Senate recognizes the need for OHA and the administration to reach out not only to its beneficiaries but to the public and explain and clarify the provisions of the ceded land agreement. We will be considering a concurrent resolution tomorrow that will call upon OHA and the attorney general to hold public meetings statewide to explain the settlement and get feedback from their beneficiaries. We will expect feedback from these meetings to help us in our decision making regarding this agreement. We encourage everyone to participate in these meetings and ensure that your voice is heard.

Cynthia: The Superferry controversy revealed some very deep divisions within our community that many of us may not wish to acknowledge. Are you concerned about the divisiveness that surfaced during that controversy and how can we heal these divisions?

Tokuda and Kokubun: As the Senate president said in her opening day speech, we have seen deep divisions in our community. However, we also have seen how we can work together when we find common ground. Our goal as a community must be to keep our focus on what brings us together rather then what divides us. A sustainable Hawai'i is a Hawai'i that works together.