Conservative Organization Gives Low Marks to Hawai‘i Legislators

The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) based in Alexandria, Virginia, has just released its 2017 ratings for the Hawai‘i State Legislature.

These ratings, a portion of the comprehensive and nationwide ratings released by the ACUF, are designed to reflect how elected officials view the role of government and are helpful in illustrating how both chambers of the legislature as well as individual members’ prioritize a wide variety of issue areas that directly affect Hawai‘i residents.

The ACUF has reviewed each piece of legislation voted on in both the Senate and House of Representatives to produce average scores for each chamber as well as individual scores for each sitting member.

Hawai‘i legislators took pen to paper on various issues during the 2017 Legislative Session, including physician-assisted suicide, Obamacare implementation, income tax increases and corporate subsidies.

One or both chambers voted to:

• Allow doctors to prescribe medication that will end the life of a patient diagnosed with a terminal disease;
• Implement most of the elements of Obamacare, even if the law is repealed on the federal level;
• Dramatically increase the top rate of the state income tax from 8.25% to 11%;
• Allot a total of $63 million in taxpayer funds to go toward special interests and specific corporations.

“With a grand total of zero members of Hawai‘i’s House and Senate receiving an award from the ACUF this year, the state continues its downward spiral into government dependency, overregulation, high taxes, and a struggling economy and furthers its unfortunate reputation as one of the country’s most radically liberal states,” the ACUF press release stated.

“Legislation passed in Hawai‘i’s 2017 session sadly strengthens the role of big government in a state that continues to struggle against the negative effects of government overreach for many years,” the release continued. “Scores from both chambers decreased from last year’s ratings, suggesting that the legislative body has a lot of room for improvement.”

Hawai‘i’s Senate average score decreased by 2% this year—from 27% in 2016 to 25% in 2017—and the House’s score decreased by 3%—from 27% in 2016 to 24% this year.

The ACUF’s Hawai‘i complete 2017 report, including ratings of each House and Senate member, can be downloaded here.

About the American Conservative Union Foundation

The ACUF is conservative. It’s views on the role of government is one that supports protecting life, liberty and property. The ACUF organization scores legislation based on how elected officials view the role of government.

The ACUF reviews every state and federal legislator and every piece of legislation considered in all 50 states and strives to score a broad range of issues in order to standardizes ratings as much as possible.

Established in 1973, purpose of the ACUF is to educate voters, office-holders and opinion leaders as to why conservative principles work better to solve the myriad of complex and dynamic problems facing Americans today and to equip them to become better and more effective problem-solvers by implementing conservative values within their communities.

For more information, go online.