2009 Bills Introduced By Senator Sakamoto

Education:

SB 1164 SD2 Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

This bill provides standards addressing issues such as enrollment, placement, and graduation of children whose parents are active duty service members or recent veterans of the military. Rather than suffering frustrations and delays, this Compact would allow military children to integrate quickly into and transition out of Hawaii's classrooms, and greatly improve their quality of life and access to education.

SB 496 SD2 Charter School Review Panel

This bill clarifies the functions, duties, and roles of the Charter School Review Panel in the administration and operation of charter schools, and to improve fiscal and budgetary accountability.

SB 497 Hawaii Teacher Standards Board Omnibus

• Establishes an advisory committee to provide oversight of the Hawaii teacher standards board (HTSB)
• Authorizes the HTSB to suspend its policies, rules, and standards when required by extenuating circumstances, and determine how it collects license fees
• Authorizes the HTSB to create a data network to promote the free interchange of information among public and private Hawaii teacher education institutions and the department of education

SB 746 SD1 Education Pilot Project in Complex Areas

In order to achieve greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness, a two-year pilot project authorizes the complex area superintendent to reallocate resources between schools located in the complex area.

SB 747 SD2 Workforce Development

In 2007, the Legislature established an Educational Workforce Working Group to look into workforce-related education issues. The Working Group's report included recommendations that will result in graduates who are ready and motivated to pursue additional training and education, or move seamlessly into the workforce. This bill implements these recommendations and extends the Educational Workforce Working group for another two years.

SB 1249 SD2 Teachers Omnibus

Hawaii public schools have difficulty retaining qualified teachers, particularly in geographically isolated areas.  This bill looks to address these problems by providing incentives for the recruitment and retention of public school teachers.  This bill includes the following:

• Establishes a teacher housing allowance program to provide a maximum of $300 per month for the first three years of employment
• Appropriates funds to repair and maintain teacher housing
• Requires the Department of Education to provide incentives to experienced teachers to relocate to Hawaii
• Establishing a Homeownership for Educators Program and a second mortgage revolving trust fund
• Requires the Department of Education to expand its existing induction and mentoring program to all schools, complex areas, and districts and include a peer review program for new teachers

SB 1278 SD2 Junior Kindergarten Curriculum

This bill includes the following:

• Prohibits movement of junior kindergarten and kindergarten students between tiers
• Prohibits a junior kindergartener from directly graduating to the first grade
• Establishes a separate curriculum for the junior kindergarten program
• Requires the department of education to staff junior kindergartens with qualified teachers and teacher aides

SB 1346 SD2 GET Tax Increase to Fund Education

A general excise tax increase, partnered with tax relief for low- and middle-income families, offers a long-term alternative to cutting vital education funding that has already been declared inadequate by approximately $2,000 per student.  To offset the effects of the tax increase, there will be no tax on food, medical expenses, and a portion of rental income.  This would provide over $380,000,000 in tax relief to Hawaii's families, especially to those with less than $100,000 in income per year.  This bill also establishes a tax credit for individuals who volunteer at public schools.

SB 1669 SD2 Public School Repair and Maintenance

The backlog of repair and maintenance at Department of Education schools has not been adequately addressed and in many cases, has a detrimental effect on student learning. This bill authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds to fund the repair and maintenance backlog.

Housing: In response to severe shortages of affordable housing in Hawaii, and concern that a long-term economic crisis will further worsen what is already a challenging housing market for Hawaii residents, Senator Sakamoto has introduced the following bills:

SB 1277 SD2 Increases incentives for the development of affordable housing in Hawaii

• Establishes a self-help housing trust fund from the conveyance tax
• Increases the conveyance tax incrementally, starting with properties with a value of at least $1,000,000
• Reduces the time period over which low income housing tax credits may be claimed; thus making investment in affordable housing more attractive
• Facilitates the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation's ability to collect excess proceeds in lieu of a buy back, on a shared appreciation equity lien, and on a deferred sales price lien
• Establishes an income tax credit of up to twenty per cent of the annual mortgage interest payment amount for low and moderate income homeowners.

SB 773 SD2 Appropriates funds for homeless and housing programs

• Allocate fifty per cent of conveyance taxes to the rental housing trust fund
• Authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for the planning, development, and construction of affordable housing
• Reduces the cost of affordable housing development by assisting and expediting the issuance of building permits
• Utilizes Hawaii's projected funds and benefits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

SB 442 SD2 Transit Oriented Development

The City and County of Honolulu's mass transit project offers exceptional opportunities for the development of affordable housing.  To encourage development of affordable housing projects in transit oriented development, developers are granted funds to contract third-party review.  The third party expedites the lengthy and costly issuance of building permits, thereby decreasing the total project cost.  The second part of this bill establishes a commission on transit oriented development.

SB 1118 SD2 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

This bill provides additional incentives for affordable housing development by shortening the period over which low-income housing tax credits can be taken from 10 years to 5 years.