Posted on: Sunday, February 10, 2008
Plastic-foam container vote is tomorrow
Compiled by Derrick DePledge and Treena Shapiro
The state Senate Energy and Environment Committee will vote tomorrow on bills that would eliminate Styrofoam takeout containers and incandescent light bulbs. The Styrofoam bill is aimed at reducing waste by prohibiting use of the non-biodegradable polystyrene by 2010. The bill would start phasing out the use of incandescent lights, which generate more than four times the amount of greenhouse gases than fluorescent bulbs and more than 10 times the amount from an LED bulb.
Tasers could be authorized for state Department of Land and Natural Resources conservation enforcement officers under a House bill that passed second reading Friday. The conservation officers would need to be accredited or credentialed before they could use the electric guns. Enforcement officers, who often patrol remote areas alone, say they sometimes run into people who are armed and in possession of stolen property or drugs.
The state House Human Services and Housing Committee on Thursday passed two bills targeting violent crime. One bill would create a petty misdemeanor offense for domestic violence, which means offenders could be convicted for abuse of family members even if they don't leave visible injuries.
The other bill is aimed at minors found guilty of sexual assault or murder. If this bill becomes law, minors committed to a youth facility for heinous crimes would be held until they turn 18, when they will be moved to an adult prison until age 26.
In a long House Health Committee hearing on Friday, lawmakers essentially killed a bill that would require patients to be informed of the potential effects of mercury-containing vaccines. The issue has come up during past several sessions, pushed by advocates for autistic children who believe there is a link between those particular vaccinations and the developmental disorder. Testimony from health experts did not support those claims.
The committee deferred until Wednesday a bill that would ban aspartame, the artificial sweetener commonly found in diet beverages and reduced-calorie foods. Lawmakers are unlikely to approve an outright ban of the sweetener, which some have linked to a variety of health problems but as recently as last year was deemed safe by national experts.
LEARN MORE
Check out The Advertiser's Legislative Web page.
Read Capitol Notebook, a blog by The Advertiser's government and politics reporters, at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/capitolnotebook2008.php.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I just can't fathom the fact that the City Council would go for an alternative at that point. So, therefore, I say, if the City Council should choose to go with another selection, you should consider very seriously rescinding the general-excise tax (surcharge)."
— Mayor Mufi Hannemann, in testimony before the state Senate regarding an expert panel that will select mass-transit technology
COMING UP
Today: State Senate and House leaders will unveil the Hawai'i 2050 sustainability plan, the end result of a long-range planning process started in August 2006. The plan, which will have to be adopted by the full Legislature, is intended to set the direction for the state's future.
Wednesday: The state House Health Committee will vote on medical marijuana bills intended to provide easier access for those permitted to use the drug.
Thursday: First lateral deadline, when all bills referred to more than one committee must reach the final committee in preparation for crossover.
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
