On February 17, Rep. Ward again spoke against HB 2103, which would establish a state bank.

Rep. Gene Ward, Ph.D. talks with Andrew Wertheimer, Ph.D., associate professor and LIS program chair, Library & Information Science Program; and Scott Robertson, associate professor of ICS, HICHI lab director.

Rep. Gene Ward addresses fee increses for birth certificates, marriage licenses and other vital records.

Rep. Gene Ward addresses H.B. No. 1699, which requires employers to provide meal breaks for employees who work more than a total of five hours a day and imposes penalties for failure to provide meal breaks.

Representative Ward talks about the best bill of the week and the worst bill of the week.

Representative Ward presenting arguments against establishing a state bank, including the findings of a Massachusetts study, opposition by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, politicization, and the over $3 billion the bank would need.

“Though collectively we represent over a quarter million people in our various districts, we speak for the people in the entire state who want a more viable alternative to single-party rule, back-door politics and opaque policies that have caused every man, woman, and child to be indebted for $25,000 to their state government for pension and health benefit liabilities. Put simply, Hawaii has not lived up to the economic and educational expectations of its citizens and needs to be put on a recovery program.”

For the entire article by Representative Ward, please visit http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2012/02/09/14819-a-better-day-coming-for-hawaii/.

Representative Ward speaks out against an Internet sales tax.

Representative Ward talks about why he opposes the idea of a state bank. Rep. Karl Rhoads defends the idea of a state bank, saying “Basically, everything in China is run by the government,” then adding that if China can figure out a way to use a state bank to grow the economy, then Hawaii probably can, too.

Representative Ward responds to Representative Rhoads in regards to China and “state capitalism.”

 

Representative Gene Ward
District 17: Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley
State Capitol – Honolulu, Hawaii

 

NEWS STATEMENT

WARD INTRODUCES A BILL TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO RELOCATE THEIR HEADQUARTERS TO HAWAII

Rep. Gene Ward (R-Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley) introduced HB 2240, which would offer a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the costs for a qualifying company to relocate its headquarters to Hawaii.

“Each headquarters that gets relocated to Hawaii means more high-paying, high-skill jobs for locals to apply for and more business for local companies to engage in to provide the products and services needed by those headquarters,” Ward said.

Nonprofits may also benefit from such a move with an increase in charitable donations that can be attributed to the increased presence of highly-paid employees.

An increased presence of company headquarters would also help to establish Hawaii as a world-class destination for business.

The bill has been referred to the Committees on Economic Revitalization & Business, International Affairs, and Finance. Other states with a similar tax credit include Indiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Representative Gene Ward is the House Minority Leader, who specializes in state budgeting, small business support and job creation.