Senate Majority Caucus

By Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser 

In her Governor’s Message of October 24 (”Decisions made in special session will shape our future,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 10/24/07), Governor Linda Lingle attempts to make a case that the 2007 Special Session was not only about the Hawai‘i Superferry. She attempts to distract the public from the session’s obvious central purpose by impressing upon the community that the confirmations of three department heads and hundreds of boards and commissions will shape our future. (more…)

The State Senate approved Senate Bill 1 Senate Draft 1 during floor session today.  The House Finance and Transportation Committees will be hearing the proposal at 1:30 p.m. in the State Capitol Auditorium.

Senator Taniguchi’s Floor Speech

Senator Hooser’s Floor Remarks

Audio of Senator Hooser’s Floor Speech (17Mb) (MP3 File)

Senator Tsutsui’s Floor Remarks

Senator Gabbard’s Floor Speech

Senator Baker’s Floor Remarks

Senator Ihara’s Floor Speech

State Senate Passes Compromise Superferry Bill

The state Senate this morning voted 20 to 5 to pass a compromise bill that would allow Hawaii Superferry to resume operations while the state conducts an environmental impact statement. Continue Reading.

Honolulu Advertiser; Monday, October 29, 2007.

By Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser

The Lingle administration’s refusal to acknowledge the egregious errors of the Department of Transportation in its handling of the Hawaii Superferry EIS matter is troubling. The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled unequivocally that the D.O.T. erred, and that State-approved environmental impact studies should have been required and must be conducted. The response of the administration and Superferry management, in actually accelerating the Hawaii Superferry

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By The Garden Island Writer Lester Chang

Legislators visited Kauai Independent Day Services Center in Kapa‘a Friday and came away impressed by a program they said could help strengthen pre-school and special education programs in Hawai‘i’s public school system.

“For the young people being able to fully develop as a person, both analytical and creative skills, this program is apparently unique but is certainly successful,” said Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-District 15, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “The people are very, very fortunate to have a program like this.”

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HONOLULU – State Senator Gary Hooser (District 7 – Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau) today released the following statement on the current operation of the Hawai‘i Superferry:

“I am deeply concerned by what appears to be an imminent escalation of the conflict that was evident during last night’s actions on Kauai, protesting the operation of the Hawai‘i Superferry. In particular, we should all be concerned about the potential in these confrontations, for an increased risk of injury to those involved.

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Find links to the Honolulu Advertiser and Star Bulletin articles published on Friday, August 24, 2007, on the Hawaii Superferry decision. Also, listen to the oral arguments at the Hawaii State Supreme Court and read its ruling made just hours after the hearing.

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The Public Policy Center of the College of Social Sciences is delighted to announce the appointment of Senator Gary Hooser (D) and Senator Jill Tokuda (D) to the 2007 Legislator in Residence Program (LIR).

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By Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser

The recent special session of July 10 is being characterized by some, both in the media and on the street, as a political power play. To a certain extent, this is not an entirely untrue statement. What happened on that day was a perfect example of our democratic government at work and the ebb and flow of power being balanced between the executive and legislative branches. The drafters of our constitution, who were more concerned about the consolidation of power rather (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser 

During the day-to-day work of being a Hawaii State Senator, I am often asked my advice on public policy advocacy. The following “7 Rules (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator and Majority Leader Gary L. Hooser

Several groundbreaking accomplishments marked the 2007 Legislative Session. We can all be proud of Hawai‘i’s Keiki Care Bill, which assures (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser  

Our Constitution assigns the Hawaii State Senate the unique responsibility to “advise and consent” on a governor’s appointment to (more…)

by Hawaii State Senator Gary L. Hooser

Thirty-two people who are employed by or who serve on boards of Wilcox Health signed their names to a full-page advertisement that ran recently in The Garden Island newspaper. The ad, headlined “An Open Letter to the Citizens of Kauai,” alleges that Senate Concurrent Resolution 170 (SCR170) “calls for the State to consider revoking Wilcox Health’s license to operate.” It further accuses the Legislature of “jeopardizing your access to care and opening the door for the State of Hawai‘i to take over your hospital and clinic.” Such assertions can only be described as patently misleading, excessively inflammatory and an irresponsible overreaction to the proposed resolution. I suspect most people who signed the ad did so at the request of Hawaii Pacific Health management and had not actually read the proposed resolution. (more…)