Editor’s Note: In September 2012, Civil Beat sent six questions to each of the candidates running in the Nov. 6 general election for Hawaii Legislature. The questions and answers are reproduced below in full. Click on each topic listed below to read Civil Beat’s question and the candidate’s response. We’ve also put together a complete list of who’s on the general election ballot.

• General Excise Tax
• Environmental Regulatory Review
• Gambling
• Sunshine Law
• Best and Worst Legislation
• Overlooked Issue

Preferred Candidate Name: Roz Baker

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Senate/House District Number: Senate District 6

Date of Birth: 09/20/46

Place of Birth/Hometown: El Campo, Texas

Current Profession/Employer: State Senator

Education/Alma Mater(s): a proud graduate of the public schools: El Campo High School (Texas) 1964; Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University at San Marcos) 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & Speech and a teaching certificate in secondary education; graduate studies in political science at University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana, Lafayette) 1968-69

1. With the exception for Honolulu rail, the state has not raised the general excise tax in decades. Would you consider increasing the GET to help the state meet its budget demands?

Yes. Over the years, the cost of basic government operations and the demand for services have increased significantly – but the revenue to pay for those services have not. I believe the Legislature should use the information provided by the recent study conducted by the Tax Review Commission and seriously consider increasing the GET. Much of the GET “burden” is exported to our visitors and some of its regressive impact on lower income earners can be mitigated with offsetting tax credits. ↩ back to top

2. Lawmakers proposed relaxing environmental regulatory review to spur development and job growth in the 2012 session, and the issue is expected to resurface next year. Where do you stand?

I don’t believe relaxing environmental regulatory review is necessary to spur economic development and job growth. The real issue may be lack of staffing or expertise to do the reviews efficiently. There may be opportunities to streamline processes or have concurrent reviews to reduce timeframes without compromising the opportunity for appropriate review. ↩ back to top

3. Gambling — are you for it or against it? If not, why not? If so, what type of gambling and with what kind of restrictions?

I oppose gambling as a means to generate revenue for the state. I do not believe the state should be in the business of promoting gaming of any sort, as has been the case in other jurisdictions that promote various forms of lottery. Gambling brings a variety of social ills that are not complementary to our visitor industry. In fact, I think it could hurt many small businesses and activity providers. Visitors generally have a fixed budget when they go on a vacation. If they are spending vacation dollars gambling, then they may not be enjoying other visitor attractions, making retail purchases or spending as much on food and beverage. ↩ back to top

4. The Sunshine Law is a hallmark of an open democracy accountable to its citizens. Yet, the Legislature exempts itself from this requirement. Do you support more transparency in government operations, or are there legitimate reasons to conduct some of the people’s business behind closed doors?

Although the Legislature is exempt from the Sunshine law due to our limited legislative timeframe – we are not in session year round — we operate with openness and transparency. Our decisions are made in public and our documents at all the various stages of the legislative process (introduction, hearings, amendment and conference) are available online. Individuals can submit testimony via e-mail. Many of our proceedings and hearings are broadcast via public access TV. The public can access the broadcasts from our website. The Legislature’s website, recently redesigned and upgraded, was recognized by the National Conference of State Legislatures as the nation’s best legislative website earning Hawaii NCSL’s Online Democracy Award for the wealth of information it contains and its user-friendly nature. As a whole, I believe the Legislature and especially the Senate through its rules and policies, seek to foster openness and transparency. ↩ back to top

5. What is the best legislation — and worst legislation — that the Legislature has approved in recent years? Please explain.

Although these have been tough times, there have been many exemplary pieces of good legislation. It is almost impossible for me to rank any one the best, but I would say the measures with the most far reaching impact include our clean indoor air act (to reduce exposure to 2nd hand smoke); the increase of cigarette and other tobacco product taxes to reduce smoking especially in young people and to fund the new UH Cancer Center; community health centers, trauma and emergency medical systems; the settlement with OHA for past claims; civil unions; workplace protections for victims of domestic violence and sex assault; the reform of our mortgage foreclosure laws.

In the “not so good legislation” category, the measure that put pyramiding back into the GET hurt small businesses and did not generate the tax revenue proponents anticipated. ↩ back to top

6. What is an issue that you would champion at the Legislature — one that perhaps has not received much attention, or an issue that is important to your district?

Our schools are rapidly exceeding their capacity. Therefore, educational facilities are a top priority of mine – expediting the construction of Kihei High School, as well as securing funding for additional classrooms, and ultimately, a new elementary school in West Maui to relieve overcrowding. I continue to champion support for STEM education programs and incentives to grow the innovation economy in Hawaii. ↩ back to top