Legislative (Archives)

SENATOR DONNA MERCADO KIM – Fiscal accountability or strategic targeting?

Targeted Faculty RIFs: Senator Donna Mercado Kim’s Modus Operandi The parti-pris decisions and actions made by Hawai‘i’s legislators this past session speak volumes about their views and support over Hawai‘i’s public higher education system - namely the University of Hawai‘i. It’s especially clear that those in the Senate who continue to chip away at the core foundation that makes the University of Hawai‘i a nationally respected research institution and demand justification for its existence - will better serve our community and its [...]

2021-05-17T06:28:05-10:00May 17, 2021|Frontpage, Legislative, Monday Report, Political, UH Funding|

One Senator builds. The other destroys. Which one did UH get?

A Study of Contrasts:Lower Education Advocate, Higher Education Antagonist Transparency and accountability. These are essential qualities we can demand and expect from our elected officials whom we vote into office and are given our trust that they individually will do the right thing for Hawai‘i’s people. Unfortunately, these essential qualities appear to be absent from legislators serving on the Senate’s Higher Education Committee. Navigating through the murkiness of their actions, though their shallow narratives and innuendos, may prove to be difficult to [...]

2022-01-28T18:05:54-10:00May 10, 2021|Academic, Budget, Frontpage, Legislative, Monday Report, UH Funding|

Our Senate’s punch to the gut of UH

It's deja vu all over again with budget cuts As a faculty member of the University of Hawaii system, you play a key and significant role in supporting our state’s economic recovery. Unfortunately, our legislators, particularly those in the Senate, do not see you in this way. After having to endure a tumultuous year of on-again/off-again threats of furloughs, layoffs and pay cuts from Gov. David Ige, we find ourselves back in a tenuous situation, only this time the  problem stems from [...]

Representing Your Interests at the Legislature

UHPA Legislative Update as of 4/5/2021 Monday, April 5, 2021, will be day 42 of the legislative session and next Thursday, April 15, 2021 is the 48th day and second cross-over.  On that day, there will be only seven (7) legislative session days left until Sine Die on April 29, 2021. UHPA has been working with legislators and lobbying on behalf of its membership in the new virtual world and environment as it has since last session when in March the State [...]

2021-04-04T18:37:42-10:00April 5, 2021|Frontpage, Legislative, Legislative News, Monday Report|

UHPA Defends Tenure at the Legislature

Legislative Bill to Eliminate Academic Tenure for Non-Instructional Faculty Thwarted  A legislative bill that would have adversely impacted the quality of education at the University of Hawai‘i — and affect the ability to attract and retain high quality faculty — has been put on hold. UH faculty can now breathe a sigh of relief — for now. SB 1328 proposed to eliminate academic tenure for all “non-instructional” faculty based on the premise that their primary duties and responsibilities do not involve instruction [...]

Legislative update on measures that matter

Legislative update February 12, 2021 Aloha,  We are in the midst of the 2021 Legislative Session, actively monitoring and testifying on a multitude of measures that impact our membership.  Two bills in particular, SB1328 Relating to Academic Tenure at the University of Hawai‘i and SB1394 Relating to the University of Hawai‘i were particularly concerning and were introduced by Senator Donna Mercado Kim. There is a Legislative Hearing taking place on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 3:05 PM in the Senate Higher Education [...]

2021-02-12T17:32:21-10:00February 15, 2021|Frontpage, Legislative, Monday Report|

New Legislative Protocols

The State Legislature has instituted new protocols for the 2021 Legislative Session.  Starting with their offices are officially closed to the public.  All meetings, hearings, floor sessions will be conducted virtually. All House and Senate Hearings can be easily located on our webpage, UHPA At The Legislature,  Hearings on Demand.  These hearings are broadcast via YouTube and show previously held hearings. The Legislative calendar has been modified by one week, reducing recess days from thirteen to nine. For full details of new [...]

2022-01-28T18:05:56-10:00January 15, 2021|Frontpage, Legislative, Monday Report|

UHPA Open Letter to Hawaii State Legislators and our Faculty Members

The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly is grateful and offers our thanks to  our Hawaii State Legislators who approved the scheduled salary increases for all public-sector employees at the State Capitol today. The previously negotiated 2% salary increase will go into effect on July 1, 2020 for 11-month faculty and August 1, 2020 for 9-month faculty.  In addition, the 1.2% salary increase for faculty pursuant to Article XXX, Duration of the 2017-2021 Unit 7 Agreement, which was to have gone into effect [...]

2020-06-26T17:05:33-10:00June 26, 2020|Commentary, Frontpage, Legislative|

2020 UHPA Legislative Agenda

Aloha, December has arrived and it is time to prepare for the 2020 Legislative Session.  Your legislative team will now include the members of the UHPA Board of Director's Political Endorsement Committee.  We are excited with the expansion of our legislative team.  The team prepared the Legislative Agenda for 2020 and presented it first at the October 19, 2019 Faculty Forum for their review and input. It then went before the Board of Directors at their November 2, 2019 BOD meeting and [...]

2023-04-04T08:04:32-10:00December 6, 2019|Frontpage, Legislative, Legislative News, Newsletter|

Legislative Update Newsletter Launches

Aloha UHPA Members, Starting this week, UHPA will be sending out up-to-date notices as often as every Thursday about legislation, testimony and hearing notices that directly impacts faculty.  We’ll only publish articles about issues that affects you and we’ll explain why. On “slow weeks”, we won’t be sending anything out, so when you see an email with “Legislative Update”, you’ll know it’s worth your time. Our seed list of subscribers are UHPA Board Members and UHPA Faculty Reps, but all UHPA members [...]

2019-02-11T12:17:09-10:00February 8, 2019|Frontpage, Legislative, Legislative News, Newsletter|
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