“I played a role in passing the civil unions bill, which was the most historical legislation of 2010. Since our existence, we as a human race have been very judgmental of others, especially a minority sector of people because of their sex, color of skin, ethnicity, religious beliefs, culture, behavior and lifestyle. In my life I have experienced discrimination in certain parts of our country because I was of a minority ethnic race. Justice does not judge by what she sees, but rather applies the laws fairly to all.”

–Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu (D-41st District)

“The most disappointing bill is HB 2003 that gives corporations equal rights to participate in political elections. If the governor approves the bill, corporations will have the same rights as people to make campaign contributions to any and all candidates, except they can use company funds.”

–Sen. Les Ihara (D-9th District)

“Failure to establish a Natural Disaster Preparedness policy. The mindset of Civil Defense is to respond to a natural disaster, we should be prepared before the disaster hits. I will keep trying to get it passed.

–Rep. Robert Herkes (D-5th District)

“My perennial bill is to prohibit all ages from riding in pickup truck beds, but I can’t get a hearing until Transportation chairs have a change of heart.”

–Rep. Barbara Marumoto (R-19th District)

“We should have passed a better budget. One that is more responsible and didn’t defer so many items to the future.”

–Rep. Isaac Choy (D-24th District)

“I was disappointed with the last-minute decision to send 60 percent of the revenue from the increase on the tax per barrel of oil to the general fund, when that money had originally been allocated for the ultra-critical task of developing Hawaii’s renewable energy resources.”

–Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-50th District)

“My biggest disappointment this year was that my anti-prostitution bill, HB 1867, did not pass. HB 1867 would have upped the penalties for johns if they solicited prostitutes within 750 [feet] of a school or a park. As most Chinatown and Downtown residents know, Kukui Street is essentially a red light district. What many people do not realize is that the entire length of the street is in close proximity to a school or a park. I believe it is a legitimate question whether prostitution should be legalized in Hawaii, but if it were, in all likelihood official red light districts would be designated. Because of the schools and the park on Kukui Street, no rational decision-maker would designate Kukui Street as a red light district. I was disappointed that a bill that would be consistent with either legalizing prostitution or keeping it illegal did not make it all the way through the legislative process.”

–Rep. Karl Rhoads (D-28th District)

“I am not sure if I would call it a disappointment, but I feel that the amount of funds needed to support public education needs to be restored and increased.”

–Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D-13th District)

“I have concerns about the last-minute passing of HB 444 by the House of Representatives. We voted in January 2010 to indefinitely postpone this bill. The rule to bring back this bill required a two-thirds vote of the House members. I believe, regardless of whether you support or oppose the bill, to suspend the rules on the last day of session, in the final minutes, was not prudent.”

–Rep. John Mizuno (D-30th District)

“Among the disappointments of the session include the unwillingness of members of the Legislature to adopt viable revenue measures in an apparent effort to raise the general excise tax. These actions resulted in the need to adopt some of the governor’s financial plan assumptions, including the deferral of $275 million in tax refunds … There were also missed opportunities to restore the State Film Office, which suffered dramatic cuts under the governor, and align the agency with the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).”

–Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D-14th District)

“My biggest disappointment is experiencing threats and personal attacks by people addressing their side of the debate for the shark fin ban and civil unions issues. People must be respectful in order to improve the democratic process.”

–Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu (D-41st District)

“The ‘double-whammy’ of the civil unions vote: We took a vote to postpone the bill earlier this year, then we passed it on the last day of session–both times, people (i.e., various members of the public) were p’d off. Over the years, I have taken to heart, ‘You can’t please all the people all the time.’ I try to do what’s right and keep my votes consistent. This has been a learning experience.”

–Rep. Tom Brower (D-23rd District)

“I was disappointed that, as a Legislature, we continued to cut funding for critical social safety net programs.”

–Sen. Gary Hooser (D-7th District)

“Probably the biggest disappointment of the session is that we weren’t able to get HB 2643–the PACE bill–passed. This was a very good bill that would have set up a properly accessed clean energy program, an idea that has been implemented in 18 other states. In a nutshell, it would allow homeowners and small businesses to borrow in order to purchase renewable energy and energy efficiency systems and pay back the loan on their property tax bill. As you might know one of the impediments right now for people to put PV on their roofs or install improved insulation is the upfront costs. What’s great about this concept is that it takes the whole discussion of “renewable energy” out of the abstract and makes it real for people.”

–Sen. Mike Gabbard (D-19th District)

“The biggest disappointment this year was that the ‘status quo’ special interest/ government unions still dictate much of what the Legislature does.”

–Sen. Fred Hemmings (R-25th District)

“The biggest disappointment to me is the fact that the parties who entered into the public school furlough agreement, the governor, BOE, DOE, and HTA, could not bridge their differences earlier to ensure the children get back into the classrooms on Fridays.”

–Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (D-12th District)

“Even though we made progress in supporting charter schools, we did not go far enough to ensure adequate funding.”

–Rep. Cindy Evans (D-7th District)

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