June 10, 1999
Report to the Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 28
As you know, the 1999 Legislative Session ended May 5, 1999. The next step in the process is whether the Governor approves, rejects, or does nothing with the bills passed by the House and Senate. The current news of interest from the State Capitol is . . .
Governor Vetoes Bills:
House Bill 310 would have required funding athletics for new schools.
Representative Moses Comment there is no reason a new school should not have an athletic program. All schools should have athletic programs.
Senate Bill 46 would have required DOE to report to the legislature how the school budget is to be spent, school by school.
Representative Moses Comment It is hard to believe that DOE will not let the community know how much will be spent at a particular school. The voters expect the legislature to keep an eye on how their money is spent.
New Laws of Note:
House Bill 1 Effective July 1, 1999, all children 4 years of age and younger in a motor vehicle must be in an approved child passenger safety restraint system (safety seat).
Representative Moses Comment lets protect our keiki one more year until they are big enough to be protected by seat belts.
Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO)
OMPO was created to satisfy requirements for federal highway funds. Basically no project can qualify for federal funding unless a metropolitan planning organization approves it. OMPO is that planning organization for Oahu. The purpose of OMPO is to get State and County officials together to do coordinated transportation planning.
The OMPO Policy Committee is final authority to approve projects. The Policy Committee has 13 members: 5 city council members, 3 state senators, 3 state representatives (Representative Mark Moses is one), the State DOT director, and the director of the City & County Department of Transportation Services.
OMPO has various other committees, all of which are involved in the process of proposing and reviewing transportation projects. The OMPO Citizens Advisory Committee provides a forum for community input and review of particular projects.
Recent OMPO Actions of Note:
June 10, 1999 OMPO Policy Committee included four projects for inclusion in the FY 2000-2002 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). Three of these projects are of interest to the Ewa community:
Bus Acquisition Program. Increase fleet to 715 vehicles by 2006.
North-South Road and Kapolei Parkway. Increased mobility for area residents to H-1, and between Ewa and Kapolei. See attached map.
Widen Fort Barette Road from H-1 to Barbers Point Entrance. Had been highest priority only from H-1 to Kapolei Parkway. Now highest priority all the way from H-1 to Barbers Point.