Our Great Hawaii Senate Committee on Ways and Means, in apparent haste to pass a budget early enough to be in session should the Governor veto said budget, is finding that it may have made a few mistakes here and there. For example, deleting 23 vacant positions that are 100 percent federally funded. If you are looking to minimize costs to the state, you usually don't delete federally funded positions since no state funds are involved (and thus, you don't save any state money by deleting them). Further, the particular positions involved actually bring in to the state about $265 million in additional federal funds for vocational rehabilitation of the blind. Hence, rather than saving state taxes, you actually end up spending hundreds of millions more. This is called a lose-lose situation.
In a hearing in which the head of the department where the positions were cut asked the Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means why the positions were deleted, the Chair only responded by saying his "heart bleeds" for her problems. This is how our great legislative system, dominated by Democrats, seems to run now-a-days. His heart bleeds. Mr. Chair, forget about your bleeding heart and do a budget that makes sense and does what's right by the citizens of this state.
In other news, an attorney made famous by the hundreds of law suits he filed regarding alleged violations of the American with Disabilities Act, has been suspended from practicing law in Hawaii due to misappropriation of funds and several other violations of Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct. The suspension is to last a year and a day.
Aloha!
