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Casinos for you
Hawaii’s House Committee Strikes Down DHHL Casino Resort Construction Measure
By Jeff Osienya Feb 08, 2021 LegalityA familiar anti-gambling sentiment in Hawaii loomed on Friday after the House panel quashed a proposal that could have paved way for the construction of a casino resort. A companion measure in the Senate is scheduled for hearing this week.Unfortunately for Hawaiians, the hopes to build the state’s first casino resort near Kapolei have been shattered after a bill was snuffed out by the House Economic Development Committee on Friday in a public hearing for the measure. The bill in question, House Bill 359, had been waved on by the Hawaiian Homes Commission last December and this approval sparked criticism and support in equal measure depending on how one looked at it.
For supporters of the measure, constructing a casino was an excellent idea as it would generate revenue worth millions of dollars to assist in clearing the backlog of thousands of Hawaiians waiting for homes and lands. Opposers on the other hand do not think that legalizing gambling is the ‘right’ way to solve the burning issues as it would be a precursor for addictions, domestic violence, crime, and even sex trafficking.
HB 359 was indefinitely deferred by State Rep. Sean Quinlan, the chairperson of the Committee and as a result, this casino resort proposal tabled by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) will be put on hold for another year. Even though the bill still lives to fight another day, it is unlikely that it will win approval come 2022 given that both Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Scott Saiki don’t support it.
Hawaii’s Department of Home Lands is Cash Strapped
The DHHL was hoping to get the casino construction resort approved so that the cash-starved department can generate much-needed revenue for the construction of homes and infrastructure for native Hawaiians.
According to the department, it could take them nearly two centuries to meet the rapidly growing housing demand for 28,000 native Hawaiians as the waitlist gets longer month after month. In Friday’s hearing, the DHHL also mentioned that a casino resort would also bring in annual revenue of over $30 million and create employment opportunities for up to 7,000 Hawaiians.
It’s worth mentioning that in as much as Rep. Quinlan shot down the bill, he wasn’t too happy about the fact that the state legislature doesn’t offer the DHHL enough funding. During the Friday hearing, he even expressed his disappointment on the matter that hasn’t been solved for several years. In the Committee hearing, Rep. Quinlan said;
Quote“Every two years we swear an oath on the state constitution and every two years we fail to follow up on that oath with the money Hawaiians are owed.”
A Companion Measure Awaits in the Senate
While gambling bills are generally not a cup of tea for state legislators and Governor David Ige himself, there’s still a companion measure alive and kicking in the state Senate, labeled Senate Bill 1321. SB 1321 is listed for a similar hearing on Thursday, 11th February at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission which was the first to give DHHL’s proposal a thumbs-up last year now has its eyes on the Senate after the House deferred the casino resort construction measure. William J. Aila, Jr, the chair of the Commission voiced his opinion, reiterating his stand on the casino construction saying;
Quote“While the committee’s deferral of HB 359 was not an ideal outcome, we look forward to the future with hope. The accompanying Senate bill will be heard next week, and we thank the Legislature across the board for allowing this conversation to come to the table.
As we have previously commented, there are currently no other proposals to this scale that would close the gap of our funding shortfalls.”
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