Karin Stanton/Hawaii247.com Contributing Editor

This legislative session is likely to be full of tough decisions and unpopular cuts, but need not be unproductive.

That was the prediction from West Hawaii’s three legislators Tuesday evening at the Community Enterprises town hall meeting in Kona.

Rep. Cindy Evans, starting her seventh year in office, was joined by freshman Rep. Denny Coffman and Sen. Josh Green, who is gave up the seat Coffman won to run for the Senate seat vacated by Paul Whalen.

“What’s happening now is we’re talking about survival for the next two years, so that we can ride out this lull until things come back,” she said. “Everything’s being looked at right now.”

About 80 percent of the state’s budget typically is dedicated to mandatory spending, Evans said, including salaries and benefits.

With only a one-fifth slice of the budget pie left to divvy up for education, health care, transportation and a slew of other departments and programs, Evans said, lawmakers are mulling suspending tax credits, raising fees and/or raiding special funds.

Those are standard ways to cut spending, she said, but lawmakers and Hawaii residents need to get creative.

“There’s a lot of great ideas out there. There’s a lot of collective wisdom in this state,” Evans said.

Green said he is ready to pounce on any opportunity.

“I think ideas are going to matter again,” he said. “Not a lot of focus is going to be on nickel-and-diming the next legislator over.”

So much focus on the budget and economy, Green said, could lead to positive changes.

“This year a lot of people are looking at it as a catastrophe,”
he said. “It’s not going to be just about money. It’s big ideas, restructuring how we do things. These are the years to be fighting for it.”

He mentioned two ways to get attention for issues of importance to the Big Island, including assess to health care for children and mental health care.

“The traditional way is to rain down a shower of terror,” he said, on elected officials. “Tell them, ‘if this program is cut I will never, ever support you or your programs again.’ That really is quite effective. You have to be super pro-active and direct.”

He also said he may resort to playing ‘hardball politics.’

“I really want to support the governor and my colleagues but if they support those kind of cuts, it’s just not going to happen,” he said.

Looking beyond this legislative session, Green said, “We could face considerably worse budgets the next two years.”

PRIORITIES

Evans said one of her focuses is recruiting a new generation of farmers and promoting the Big Island’s agriculture sector. She noted many of her farming constituents are nearing or past retirement age, with no younger family members willing to step into the field.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if we don’t have up and coming farmers,” she said. “There’s more to farming than the physical work. You have to be a business person, a marketer. It’s hard work, but I think rewarding.”

Evans said she will use her position on the House Agriculture Committee to explore options to educate young people interested in farming and to preserve and diversify the Big Island’s agricultural lands.

Coffman said education and protecting the ‘Made in Hawaii’ label will be his top priorities.

In addition to continuing to push for a new community college campus in West Hawaii, Coffman said he will tackle funding for charter schools.

“There’s a discrepancy in the amount of funds charter schools get per student,” he said “I’m researching that and hope to make some changes there.”

Coffman said he would like to ensure Hawaii’s geographic and historical names are protected. He envisions a sticker depicting the state flower – hibiscus – certifying a product is made in Hawaii.

Green, an emergency room physician, again is focused on access to health care, but also wants to ensure people have a job and can afford a place to live.

“If there are going to be cuts, I think children and safety have to be the top priority,” he said. “I want to make sure people are not utterly victimized.

“I really think you should only buy local and hire local for at least the next two years,” Green said. “That’s a personal opinion, but it’ll come back to you.”