GOP Reps Still Steamed Over Enviro Waiver

By /
Only in Hawaii: Democrats push development, Republicans hug trees! 

hawaii-politics:

Remarks made Tuesday (March 27) on the House floor by Reps. Cynthia Thielen and Gil Riviere about Senate Bill 755 can be viewed on YouTube.

SB 755, as Civil Beat has reported, gives the governor authority to exempt state development projects from environmental review.

Supporters say the bill is about job creation while opponents fear it will do great damage to the aina. 

To the contrary, Riviere cites 3-year-old environmental approvals worth $30+ million at Maui’s airport that have yet to be acted on.

“To hear the proponents of these bills say ‘Gosh if we could just get the environment out of the way, we could really move some concrete.’ I just disagree. It’s a scapegoat situation,” he says.

Watch the full clip: 

What it means to support Civil Beat.

Supporting Civil Beat means you’re investing in a newsroom that can devote months to investigate corruption. It means we can cover vulnerable, overlooked communities because those stories matter. And, it means we serve you. And only you.

Donate today and help sustain the kind of journalism Hawaiʻi cannot afford to lose.

Donate

About the Author