Resolutions

Whereas, the proliferation of short-term rental units (less than 30 days) in residential areas for tourists in competition with local residents adds to the scarcity of rental housing; and

Whereas, short-term rentals to tourists at a premium has significantly raised the cost of rental housing; and

Whereas, income producing properties in residential areas, such as bed and breakfast operations, sell at premium prices causing higher assessments, and higher property taxes for neighboring homes, and

Whereas, short-term rentals are already permitted in resort and certain apartment zoned areas where tourists can be accommodated; and

Whereas, the Honolulu City Planning Commission voted unanimously against increasing the number of short-term tourist rentals in residential neighborhoods; and

Whereas, current methods of enforcement of the existing regulations on short-term rentals has been ineffective at stopping abuse of the regulations; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge the Mayor and City Council of the City and County of Honolulu to continue the current prohibition of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats work with the Mayor and City Council of Honolulu to improve enforcement of existing zoning laws that prohibit short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Mayor and City Council of the City and County of Honolulu.

Whereas, the right to vote is a primary duty and right of citizens; and

Whereas, registering to vote signifies a commitment to the duties of citizenship and community; and

Whereas, Neighborhood Board elections and votes taken at Neighborhood Board meetings can have long-term impacts on communities, public budgets, and the environment of O‘ahu and the entire State of Hawai‘i; and

Whereas, transients residents who have no intention to reside long-term, to register to vote, or to live with the consequences of elections, can nevertheless vote on neighborhood board matters, and

Whereas, allowing non-registered residents to vote makes it possible for special interests to game the democratic system by inducing transients and non-citizens to vote on neighborhood matters; and

Whereas, such gaming of the voting system can encumber the public treasury for private gain, work against the long-term good of the citizens of O'ahu, and effectively disenfranchise citizens of O'ahu; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support Neighborhood Plan requiring that voters in NeighBorhood board elections be registered to vote in the State of Hawai‘i; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support legislation requiring that those voting in Neighborhood Board meetings must also be registered to vote in the State of Hawai‘i.

Whereas, the State of Hawai‘i and the City and County of Honolulu have made a commitment to reduce dependence on the use of fossil fuels; and

Whereas, Hawai'i has a growing need to keep up with clean energy demands; and

Whereas, many alternative energy projects will therefore be put on the table in the coming year and many new and emerging technologies may be utilized now and far into the future; and

Whereas, some past projects have not thoughtfully incorporated responsible stewardship of the lands that put to this important use and have in some cases such as, at Big Island's, South Point Ka Lae some windmills still spin but most stand broken and rusted; and

Whereas, technologies are in a constant state of change; and

Whereas, Our state motto is, Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka ‘Āina I Ka Pono, "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness"; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge that every new alternative energy utility project must incorporate a plan to fund implementation of best management practices during project construction, restoration of the impacted land environment, following construction, to its condition at acquisition, and restoration of land following decommissioning, demobilizing, or demolition, to its condition at acquisition; and therefore let it be further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each O‘ahu legislator in the State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council, to the Hawai‘i Governor and the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, to the State Office of Planning, the Public Utilities Commission, and appropriate divisions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Whereas, the O‘ahu County Democrats recognize that the introduction of alien species continues to be a serious threat to our public health, our native ecosystems, and our State's economy; and

Whereas, inadequate facilities and cuts in staff have severely limited our State's ability to intercept dangerous alien species at the locations where they are most likely to enter our State, namely our seaports and airports; and

Whereas, the cost of eradicating an invasive species once it has been introduced and taken hold in the State is far more expensive than paying for a front line offence led by well trained inspectors; and

Whereas, the Department of Agriculture's current Invasive Species Inspection staff continues to work diligently, protecting Hawai‘i from this threat even thought they are being asked to accomplish their goals with less than one fourth of their pre-20010 budget, and after having lost over one-third of their inspectors and nearly all of their administrative staff to layoffs and early retirement; and

Whereas, once established in Hawai‘i, dangerous alien species are often impossible to control since they have no natural predators; and

Whereas, preventing the introduction of dangerous species is vital and takes continuous around the clock effort; and

Whereas, preventing the introduction of dangerous species requires that our State provide adequate facilities for inspection on all Islands; and

Whereas, we must keep our guard up to prevent establishment of dangerous alien species in Hawai‘i; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats recognize the serious nature of the alien species threat; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support full State refunding of our current Invasive Species Prevention and Inspection programs; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each O'ahu legislator in the State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council, to the Hawaii Governor and the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu.

Whereas, Oahu County Democrats recognizes the importance of Small Family Food Farms in creating a sustainable future for our State, and

Whereas, the focus of the world food economy needs to shift from its current focus on global food supply to locally diverse sustainable food systems, and locally produced food staples whenever possible; and

Whereas, the cost of importing foods to Hawaii will continue to rise as fuel cost continue to grow; and

Whereas, the carbon footprint made by Hawaii's needing to import a majority of its food will continue to grow unless local food resources, food growers, and food distributors are supported; and

Whereas, local farmers have difficulty distributing their products to large retail establishments such as warehouse clubs, big box retail facilities, and other large public or private institutions that sell, distribute or consume produce, poultry, or other local meats; and

Whereas, small family produce farms and livestock farms/ranches currently have difficulty marketing their products to large institutions such as the Department of Education and the Department of Health; and

Whereas, local produce is usually more nutritional, fresher and more accommodating to the local diet and culture; and

Whereas, most early American cooperatives were founded to help farmers to market their products and improve their distribution power; and

Whereas, the increased cost of importing animal feed has driven many small local family farmers out of business; and

Whereas, our dependence on imported food makes us vulnerable to any shipping disruption; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support the establishment of a Agribusiness Cooperative Program, designed to assist local small food farmers compete with global imports by facilitating local animal feed resources, as well as locally grown food marketing and distribution systems; and be it forther

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each O‘ahu legislator in the State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council, to the Hawai‘i Governor and the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu.

Whereas, The State's Democratic Party Platform states, "Recognizing that education is a key component to our island's economic opportunities and successes, we pledge to pursue excellence in public education through a publicly funded school system. Our public educational system is one of our most valuable resources to prepare our children to become responsible citizens and to provide the means for them to succeed in their career choices"; and

Whereas, Preparing children to become responsible citizens and to succeed is often done through example as the State promotes the pursuit of excellence through a publicly funded school system; and

Whereas, Public schools serve as safety net in identifying among other things, child abuse, malnutrition, learning disorders, mental illness; and

Whereas, Government funds public education because an educated electorate is essential is to a thriving democracy; and

Whereas, The Department of Education (DOE) has failed to act on Chapter 19, a policy in place for decades; and

Whereas, The DOE leaves what we know to be a potentially life-threatening situation up to the discretion of the principal with no system-wide support, guidance, policies or procedures and no feedback as to whether the policy is being enforced; and

Whereas, Children cannot be expected to learn, a higher-order function, when they fear for their safety, a primal function; and

Whereas, DOE should bear the responsibility for enforcing its policy; and

Whereas, Studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that bullying is systemic throughout the DOE: students bully students, teachers bully students, students bully teachers, teachers bully other teachers; and

Whereas, For decades too many parents have felt forced to place their children in private schools or teach their children at home, because DOE fails to provide an environment conducive to learning; and

Whereas, DOE's failure to address bullying leaves the state wide open for suit, particularly since the public and the media have repeatedly brought bullying to DOE's attention; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats strongly urge the DOE to enforce Chapter 19 through system-wide education, reporting and monitoring; and urge that the DOE take corrective action as appropriate where bullying is reported; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the State Central Committee, the Governor, members of the Hawai‘i Senate and Hawai'i House of Representatives, and candidates for every elective office whose jurisdiction includes the City and County of Honolulu.

Whereas, fifty-seven percent (57%) of drug-dependent women lose custody of at least one child; and

Whereas, fifty percent (50%) of drug-dependent women who lose custody of their infants are pregnant again within 9 months of having given birth; and

Whereas, the PATH Clinic that serves pregnant women on O'ahu who have a history of substance use; and

Whereas, women who received prenatal services at PATH were very high risk for preterm birth and low birth weight births; and

Whereas, the average cost of medical care for one very low weight infant in its first year of life is over $200,000; and

Whereas, the birth weights at PATH were consistent with state and national averages for all births; and

Whereas, ninety-six percent (96%) of the women served by the PATH Clinic maintained custody of their infants 8 weeks after delivery; and

Whereas, the PATH is not a substance abuse treatment program, yet over eighty percent (80+%) of the women stopped using drugs after participating in the PATH Clinic program ; and

Whereas, the PATH clinic is requesting ONLY $200,000 per year; and

Whereas, ninety-four percent (94%) of the women tested clean of substances at the time of birth; and

Whereas, over half of the women who tested positive for drug use at birth entered residential substance abuse treatment, often noting that their experience at PATH contributed to their readiness to accept treatment; and

Whereas, the PATH Clinic is clearly a path to breaking the addiction/pregnancy cycle, which is extremely costly to the government; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support the funding of the PATH Clinic; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the State Central Committee, the Governor, members of the Hawai‘i Senate and Hawai‘i House of Representatives, and candidates for every elective office whose jurisdiction includes the City and County of Honolulu.

Whereas, when a victim of violent crime that results in physical injury seeks medical attention, the health care system should do everything possible to respond and administer medically necessary care; and

Whereas, sexual assault, or rape, is a crime that is violent, traumatic, and the ultimate, intimate violation in which a woman loses all sense of personal control, decision making, and dignity, and in which she is physically and psychologically ripped apart; and

Whereas, healers are responsible for providing victims with information regarding procedures being followed to ease pain, information critical to decisions regarding injuries; and

Whereas, information regarding the risks of sexually transmitted disease, and honest information about the risks of pregnancy and emergency contraception; and

Whereas, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Emergency Physicians, the accepted standard of care for victims of sexual assault includes the provision of emergency contraception, if desired; and

Whereas, rape victims and victims of sexual assault deserve the fullest and best care available according to the standards set by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other professional medical groups; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats, in order to assure that victims of rape and sexual assault receive the fullest and best care available, urge all hospital emergency rooms in the State to adhere to the accepted standard of care for victims of rape and sexual assault, including the administration of emergency contraception without delay and without adding insult to injury by requiring patient transfer to another institution; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu Country Democrats urge all hospitals in the State to ensure that all hospital emergency personnel are properly trained in handling the special needs of rape victims including the education and provision of emergency contraceptive service; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each O‘ahu legislator in the State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council, to the Hawaii Governor and the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, to the State Office of Planning, the Public Utilities Commission, and appropriate divisions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Whereas, the State of Hawai‘i passed Hate Crimes Legislation nearly a decade ago; and

Whereas, there is anecdotal evidence that hate crimes are being committed as they are reported in the media; and

Whereas, the State of Hawai'i the City and County of Honolulu has yet to prosecute a crime and ask for the "hate crime" enhancement; and

Whereas, the prosecutors are inclined to negotiate a plea which does not involve the hate crimes enhancement; and

Whereas, the police department and the Prosecutor are not required to report "hate crimes"; and

Whereas, there is no mechanism in place to track all crimes including an indicator on the report form if alleged as hatecrime to determine why they are not being prosecuted as hate crimes; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats ask the Mayor to direct the Chief of Police to track all crimes reported as hate crimes and all crimes booked as hate crimes, and to ask the Prosecutor to track all crimes charged as hate crimes, all crimes prosecuted as hate crimes and the disposition of all crimes initially reported as hate crimes, so that citizens can determine why the hate crimes law is not being fully enforced; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i Democratic Party, the Governor, members of the Hawai‘i Senate and Hawai‘i House of Representatives, and candidates for every elective office whose jurisdiction includes the City and County of Honolulu.