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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 1st, 2002
CONTACT: Jeff Mikulina 226-4987
SIERRA CLUB UNVEILS LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD
GROUP RANKS STATE LEGISLATORS ON ENVIRONTMENTAL ACTIONS
HONOLULU - The Sierra Club, Hawai`i Chapter unveiled its legislative scorecard
today that ranks Hawaii's lawmakers on how they voted for-and against-the
environment during the 2001 -2002 legislative sessions.
"This scorecard presents a clear picture of how our state lawmakers
voted on important issues impacting Hawaii's environment," said Jeff
Mikulina, Director of the Sierra Club, Hawai`i Chapter. "We want
to provide our members and other citizens a tool to use to hold their
elected officials accountable."
In the State House, Representative Hermina Morita (D- North Kauai, Hana)
was among eight representatives receiving the highest score of 100%. The
Sierra Club noted her relentless advocacy for clean energy reforms and
bottle deposit legislation.
"Representative Morita has proven herself-in the most trying of circumstances-to
be the strongest ally of Hawaii's natural resources," said Mikulina.
Representative Joe Gomes (R - Waimanalo, Kailua), on the other hand, received
the lowest score of 0%. Representative Gomes voted against all five environmental
measures recorded in the scorecard and took actions in opposition to other
green bills.
In the Senate, Senator Kalani English (D - Kahului, Upcountry) and Senator
Bob Nakata (D - Kaneohe, Kahuku), each received the highest score of 88%.
Both were advocates for fixing automatic permit approval, the creation
of the environmental workforce, and other environmental initiatives. Senator
Sam Slom received the lowest score of 13%, voting against the bottle bill,
a smart growth measure, and other green bills. The passage of such key
environmental measures as the bottle bill, parks funding, and net energy
metering prompted high scores for many legislators. "Some positive
measures have come out of the legislature the past two years. The key
advocates deserve praise for making them a reality."
The scores for the 76 legislators were based on a maximum of eight points.
The scorecard analyzed the floor votes of five House and Senate actions-ranging
from the bottle bill to renewable energy to a Water Commission appointment-that
either would help or hurt Hawaii's environment. The measures are detailed
in the scorecard. In addition to the five possible points for voting with
the Sierra Club's position on the five measures, an additional score between
0 - 3 was recorded based on each legislator's actions on other bills regarding
Hawaii's environment. This "other actions" score is represented
by the number of native birds shown on the chart by the legislator's name.
This method was selected in order to present the many votes and actions
that are taken in committee or outside of the formal floor votes.
"Residents are concerned with protection Hawaii's
environment, but to them what happens at the State Capitol is just too
confusing or too distant from their everyday lives. We hope this scorecard
will serve as a tool to judge how well their views are being represented
by their lawmakers," said Mikulina. "Constituents have a right
to know how their elected officials are voting on issues that impact Hawaii's
environment."
The 2001-2002 Legislative Scorecard is available online here
(60 kb).
Jeffrey Mikulina
Director, Sierra Club, Hawai'i Chapter
tel: 808.538.6616
fax: 808.537.9019
web: www.hi.sierraclub.org
email: mikulina@lava.net
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District 14, East & North Kauai
OTHER WORKS IN ARCHIVES SECTION
SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS
CA Hydrogen Business Council
Hanalei Rotary
Women In Business
Hydrogen Partnering Meeting
EDITORIALS
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Bottle Bill
Hawaiani Electric Company
NEWS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES
Legislator Doesn't Like P-Word
Surrounded by Aloha
Sierra Club Environmental Ranking
One Island District
Fueling
Hawaii's Future
LINKS
2001-2002
Legislative Scorecard is available online
Adobe's PDF Acrobat Reader is required to view the Legislative Scorecard.
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