Local Democrats are urging the state House and Senate to pass resolutions asking Congress to change the definition of corporations in response to a U.S. Supreme Court case that loosened restrictions on corporate political spending.

The court’s January ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission has upset activists who want to contain corporate influence over politics because it basically found that corporations are like people when it comes to political speech.

The resolutions argue that corporations are not like people:

Corporations cannot by any reasonable definition be characterized as people, because corporations:

(1) Can reside in multiple states and countries simultaneously;

(2) Can conceivably exist for hundreds of years;

(3) Cannot be incarcerated;

(4) Cannot enter into a marriage contract or conceive a child;

(5) Cannot independently formulate political opinions separate and distinct from the board of directors, executives, shareholders, or employees;

(6) Cannot obtain citizenship or be issued a passport;

(7) Cannot enlist in the military; and

(8) Cannot vote

Interesting story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune today about how a potential Medicaid fix for Louisiana in the healthcare reform bill may also help Hawaii.

The extra money for the Islands may depend on how the federal government treats Hawaii’s fifth county -- Kalawao County, the Kalaupapa settlement on Moloka'i under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Health.

From the story:

When President George W. Bush issued a disaster declaration for Hawaii after the October 2006 earthquake, it authorized federal relief and recovery efforts in what Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, who requested the declaration, described as "all four counties." But what she and the president neglected was a fifth county so small and obscure that most Hawaiians don't know it exists as a separate political entity.

It's Kalawao County, the remote Kalaupapa outcropping on the northern coast of the island of Molokai that, beginning in 1866, was a place of exile and treatment for people with Hansen's disease, the malady commonly known as leprosy. This was the renowned site of the "leper colony" where Father Damien, who was sainted last year, ministered to the sick, contracted the disease and died. In 1905, Kalawao was made a county unto itself under the stewardship of the Hawaii Department of Public Health, and that it will remain, at least until the death of the last of the 19 surviving patients -- whose average age is 78, and the youngest of whom is 69.

The Hawaii Department of Human Services is well aware how Kalawao County complicates the state's claim for what Trinity Tomsic, a Medicaid analyst with Federal Funds Information for States, estimates would be about $58 million in Medicaid money in 2011.

"We're looking at the situation with that fifth county," said Toni Schwartz, spokeswoman for the department and its director, Lillian Koller, who Schwartz said remains "optimistic we will find a way to get the FMAP provision."

Resolutions have been introduced in the state House and Senate and at the Honolulu City Council urging Black Press to provide sufficient time for a new owner to be found for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Oahu Publications, controlled by Canadian investor David Black, is purchasing the Honolulu Advertiser and has put the Star-Bulletin up for sale. If no buyer is found, the two Honolulu dailies would merge, leading to layoffs.

The sale could close in April.

The resolutions focus on saving the Star-Bulletin and preserving two independent newspapers. (The reality of the situation is that Star-Bulletin employees have been told that they are in a better situation than Advertiser employees in the event of the merger. Advertiser employees received plant closing notices on Wednesday.)

“We’re working to get the community more involved,” said Richard Port, a Democratic activist involved in the Save our Star-Bulletin campaign a decade ago when the newspaper was threatened with closure.

From the resolutions:

WHEREAS, the closure of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin or the merger of the newspaper with The Honolulu Advertiser may mean the loss of approximately two hundred jobs; and

WHEREAS, the closure of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin or the merger of the newspaper with The Honolulu Advertiser will mean the residents of the city and State will no longer have two daily newspapers engaging in editorial and reportorial competition; and

WHEREAS, the community and the democratic process are better served by maintaining a newspaper press that is editorially and reportorially independent and competitive …

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday said it would deny lawmaker requests for earmarks that go to for-profit companies.

House lawmakers said that had the policy been in place last year, it would have led to 1,000 fewer earmarks.

Earmarks have come under increased scrutiny by President Obama and lawmakers after several embarrassing scandals.

But supporters, like U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, believe earmarks are a tool to help get projects for their home states.

Inouye, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, criticized the House decision, indicating that there may be a clash in conference committee over spending bills with earmarks.

Inouye said lawmakers should not cede authority to the White House on spending decisions. He also defended earmarks to for-profit companies.

From his statement:

I don’t believe this policy or ceding authority to the Executive Branch on any spending decision is in the best interests of the Congress or the American people. In my view, it does not make sense to discriminate against for-profit organizations. I am not sure why we should treat for-profit earmarks any differently than non-profit earmarks.

All of our for-profit earmarks are already subject to competition. What is the rationale to eliminate them? All earmarks are also subject to the strict transparency rules that were implemented at the beginning of last year, including a single location on the Committee website that links to a list of every Senator’s earmark requests. I would also note that all Senators file statements declaring that they and their immediate families have no financial stake in any earmark request.

By increasing the transparency and reporting requirements we have erased the impropriety that could have existed when these matters were done in private. If mistakes were made by House members in the past, the new transparency rules eliminate that potential.

Moreover, I am troubled by what this policy insinuates. It seems to suggest that for-profit entities are corrupt and non-profit entities are above reproach.

The truth of the matter is that many, if not most, for-profit and non-profit entities lobby for themselves or employ lobbyists. That is how most of them make the Congress aware of their products and services. It is no secret that these meetings take place. In addition, it is no secret that many of these individuals make political contributions. All lobbyists file disclosure reports. These contributions are all fully disclosed and available for all to see on the Internet.

I find the House Appropriations Committee’s recommendation quizzical. For example, I would note in the House’s Fact Sheet on earmarks it criticizes the explosion of earmarks in the Labor-HHS, Commerce, and Transportation bills, among others, but fails to point out that virtually all of this earmark growth came in the non-profit sector. Eliminating for-profit earmarks won’t address the growth areas that the House has criticized.

State lawmakers were briefed on Tuesday about the winter 2010 results of The People's Pulse, an OmniTrak Group survey sponsored by the Pacific Resource Partnership and the Hawaii Business Roundtable.

The survey was taken by telephone between Feb. 12 to Feb. 22 among 700 residents statewide. The margin of error is 3.7 percentage points.

Among the highlights:

*Asked whether the state should evaluate the Honolulu mass transit project based on the environmental impact statement, or whether the state should also conduct an independent analysis of the financial plan -- as Gov. Linda Lingle wants -- 67 percent wanted the decision made on the EIS, 22 percent wanted the independent study, and 11 percent did not know.

*94 percent believe that public schools should have the same amount of instructional time as the national average. Hawaii now has the lowest number of instructional days in the nation because of teacher furloughs.

*86 percent believe the state Department of Education should adopt a standard core curriculum.

*66 percent support an appointed state Board of Education, not the current elected school board. (This finding was undermined by the way the question was asked. Interviewers first informed respondents that eight out of 10 states that had high student achievement have appointed school boards.)

*Update: The governor's office pushed back today with a statement criticizing how the rail question was asked:

The vested interest shared by the People’s Pulse Survey co-sponsors Hawai‘i Business Roundtable and Pacific Resources Partnership resulted in a poorly worded and misleading survey question.

Also, the question failed to identify the Governor’s legal obligation to review and approve the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Under the law, the Governor must review the final EIS to ensure that it satisfactorily describes all impacts on the environment, economic and social welfare, and cultural practices; incorporates an objective review of opposing alternatives; and responds to each substantive comment received during the draft EIS review process.

As part of this review, the Governor will conduct a thorough independent analysis whenever the City submits its final financial plan to determine whether or not the plan is financially feasible and sustainable, especially given the current economic situation and the revenue outlook.