REP. GREGG TAKAYAMA – 2020 Priorities and Projects
Statewide issue: Paid Family Leave. I think it’s important that Hawaii join the nine other states and the rest of the industrialized world in providing paid time off to an employee who needs to care for a family member for reasons such as bonding with a new child or caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
Legislative priorities:
- As chair of the House Public Safety, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, I will re-introduce a bill to authorize the State to purchase the Honolulu Federal Detention Facility to serve as a replacement for the Oahu Community Correctional Center. This legislation would enable the Governor to negotiate with the federal government. This would be a quicker and more cost-efficient way of solving our Honolulu jail overcrowding crisis than constructing a new state facility.
- As co-chair of the Kupuna Caucus, I will introduce a measure to lower the age exemption for State jury duty from the current 80 years of age to age 75. The current age exemption poses hardships on elderly Pearl City residents who have to arrange for transportation to downtown courts. Currently, 27 other states have an age exemption of either 75 or 70 years of age.
- Currently funded PC capital improvement projects – see attached.
- Proposed CIP projects are not yet available. Prior to the 2020 legislative session, we will be soliciting district schools for their CIP requests.
- PCNB testimony or resolutions are most effective on measures related to neighborhood concerns or problems (as opposed to statewide or federal issues).
————————————————————————
2018 Pearl City CIP projects enacted into law
Pearl City High School
$3 million for design and construction of a baseball complex;
$3.3 million for renovation of existing classrooms and other facilities;
$1.6 million for parking lot and road improvements.
Momilani Elementary School
$2 million for design and construction of a new portable classroom;
$550,000 for concrete sidewalk extensions around the cafeteria and other improvements.
Waiau Elementary School
$2.2 million for retaining wall to prevent runoff onto sidewalks.
UH Family Medicine Training Center
Appropriation of $1 million for the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine to move its family
medicine office and training center to the Pali Momi Medical Center at Pearlridge.
————————————————————————
2019 Pearl City CIP projects enacted into law
Highlands Intermediate School
$5.5 million for design and construction of campus-wide electrical upgrades; and site
improvements.
Palisades Elementary School
$5.5 million for design and construction of covered playcourt with storage and restrooms.
Pearl City High School
$2.5 million for construction of a baseball and softball complex; grounds and site improvements;
and equipment.
$400,000 for parking lot resurfacing and road improvements.
Waiau Elementary School
$1.1 million for design and construction of campus-wide electrical upgrades and site improvements.