HONOLULU — Job creation and economic development remain key priorities as lawmakers near the midway point of the 2012 legislative session.
HONOLULU — Job creation and economic development remain key priorities as lawmakers near the midway point of the 2012 legislative session.
Earlier this session, lawmakers addressed urgent issues, such as providing funding for an organ transplant center in Hawaii and postponing an unemployment tax rate hike that would have cost employers about $500 more per employee.
Now, as the House and Senate prepare to trade bills by the Thursday crossover deadline, members are focused on long-term strategies to stimulate the economy.
House Majority Leader Pono Chong said some of the most promising bills are those that would attract more business.
“We’ve talked about the film tax credit. We’ve talked about some high-tech development. We’ve talked about broadband and trying to encourage more investment in Hawaii,” said Chong, D-Maunawili-Kaneohe.
In the Senate, the bipartisan “Invest in Hawaii Act of 2012” bill has already been approved by members and sent over for consideration in the House. That bill would address the repair and maintenance backlog at state facilities through a $500 million package that carries the added benefit of creating new construction jobs.
Notable bills up for vote in the Senate on Tuesday include a measure that would impose a fee on single-use paper and plastic shopping bags to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable totes.
Another bill would adjust the tobacco tax so that “roll-your-own” tobacco, “little cigars” and smokeless tobacco products are taxed at 70 percent of the wholesale price equivalent to the tax on regular cigarettes.