Special to Hawai`i's H4 | Volume 21, No. 5 | May 1996

The World Wide Web Edition
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Even though President Clinton changed Small Business Week from traditional May, to June 2 - 8, this year, Hawaii's U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and small business organizations, will honor Hawaii's top small business entrepreneurs at ceremonies, during the Ninth Annual Small Business Awards Luncheon, Thursday, May 23, 11:30 a.m., Ilikai Hotel Nikko.

The theme for Small Business Week 1996 is Championing America's Entrepreneurs.

Hawaii's 1996 "Small Business Person of the Year" is Richard A. Moody, president of Aloha Conferencing Service, Inc. Moody will compete in Washington, D.C. next month with 51 other awardees for the national title.

SBH's Cherylle A. Morrow, president of Innervation, Inc., of Kailua, was named "1996 Women in Business Advocate" , and Lucy Anne Jokiel, Editor of Island Business, was chosen 1996 Media Advocate, for both the State of Hawaii and Region IX. Another awardee, Jean Geer, "1996 Minority Small Business Advocate," also was a dual state-region winner.

Sponsored by SBA, the Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Hawaii, NFIB and the Hawaii Business league, the awards luncheon is a way of meeting and greeting other entrepreneurs and a way of saying "well done!" to our distinguished winners.

SBH urges you to make time and attend. Cost of the luncheon is $35 per person (or $320 for a table of 10). For reservations, contact the SBA at 541-2990 or 541-2971.

Small Business Hawaii invites you to join the hundreds of businesses in the 1996 "Small Business on the Move" expo, the "business event of the year," Wednesday, May 8. Presented by Bank of America Hawaii, and co-sponsored by the Small Business Council of the Chamber of Commerce, the expo is organized by Production Hawaii, Inc.

SBH will be one of more than 240 business and governmental exhibitors. Stop by and meet your directors and fellow members; we're in booth #129. Member James E. Fox Designs is donating the SBH booth design and set-up.

The all-day event (7 am Ü 7:30 pm) will be held in the newly renovated Blaisdell Center Exhibition Area. Exhibit booths, seminars, and special events will mark the annual trade show. Come by and say Aloha!

Editor's Note: At press time, it was unclear if the 1996 State Legislature would actually end on time, April 29 or face an extension Still undecided: the budget, workers' comp, no-fault auto, GET tax and TAT tax increases.

Up until the last week of the scheduled 60-day Session, the 1996 State Legislature had not distinguished itself for anything positive. Final action was in the hands of Conference Conferees (controlled by party and legislative leaders). Endless public hearings results from January were mostly unproductive.

Non-business issues dominated to the end - same sex marriage, gambling and certain personnel appointments. The troubled State Budget was behind schedule and the numbers didn't compute. Serious budget cutting did not occur. Games were played with vacant jobs and shadow program reductions.

Workers' compensation reform, the number one issue for business of all sizes for years, again was more talk than substance-blocked by union and special interest efforts who like the status quo just fine. SB 3178, SB 2578 and HB 3968 all offered potential reforms but conference wrangling threatened to dilute the most important reforms. The Lt. Governor's pet project, the "private" HEMIC (HB 3968) mutual fund to "rescue" business from the assigned risk pool, raised more questions as the Session dragged on and it became apparent than there would be no collateral reform (fraud, presumption clause) as was the case in every other state where this vehicle was tried. With growing union support, HEMIC, seemed to become more of a Trojan Horse, similar to the ill-fated former State Fund that all business fought and all unions wanted. The issue: how much state liability would there be in a HEMIC and why would the Governor get to appoint the "private" initial Trustees? Too many questions, not enough answers.

On April 22, HAKU, BIA, WIBC, SBH, NFIB, the Chamber and other business and trade groups made one final legislative push for meaningful work comp reform at the Capitol. Was anybody listening?

In Unemployment Compensation, the State DLIR pulled two fast ones: (1) stealing private UI reserve funds to pay off past striking public employees, and sneaking in an amendment to SB 3110 to extend for another 5 years the wasteful "employee payroll training tax" slated to sunset after 5 years this December.

Auto Insurance "no-fault" reform will not satisfy anyone - except lawyers or medical providers. It was not a win for business.

Privatization died early in the Session, as did real government downsizing. A "Blue Ribbon" Task Force (HB 3208) was still alive but what good is yet another task force?

No Tort reform of any kind during 1996 courtesy the Trial Lawyers and Senator Rey Graulty. No Independent Contractor either.

The Governor and Senate President Norman Mizuguchi were not reading from the same script: both submitted names for approval to the State Judiciary Selection Committee when only one vacancy occurred. The Chutzpah award goes to Mizuguchi for nominating the state's most powerful labor boss, and frequent threatener of business and public officials, UPW's Gary Rodrigues, for a spot on the august body that selects our judges. No conflict? Labor will remember Mizuguchi's gesture when he runs for Governor.

Mr. Cayetano may have been distracted a bit, since he declared all out war in April against an alien-the dreaded Myconia weed which could destroy much of our native flora and fauna. Uniforms have not yet been issued for Operation Dessert Myconia.

What did pass? Any improvement? Next month Small Business News details these answers, AND rates the Session and individual lawmakers.