By Senator Mike Gabbard

Aloha. I hope you and your family are in good health.

Everything is going well, as I slip into my new role as state Senator representing the people of Senate District 19 (Waikele to Ko Olina). I’m a member of the Transportation and International Affairs Committee, Education Committee, and the Judiciary and Labor Committee. These committees match up nicely with what you told me were your most important issues: traffic, education and crime.

The legislative session kicked off Jan. 17. Since then, we’ve been busy considering the nearly 2,000 bills introduced in the Senate. I authored several bills I’m hoping to see move forward. Here’s a brief description of a few of them:

SB 699 - would give our veterans specialty license plates at no charge

SB 1618 - would require the state to give the county police departments the revenue raised from uncontested traffic fines so they would have more funding to fight crime

SB 1891 - would allow the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ enforcement officers to make arrests, confiscate vehicles and issue criminal citations for driving ATVs and other vehicles on our beaches

One bill of particular interest is SB 698, because its main purpose is to reduce traffic congestion. We all know we need to build more roads and we understand rail transit is coming to Oahu. However, roads and rail cost a lot of money and take time. SB 698 would help us reduce traffic congestion without having to wait for years and years.

The legislation would create a one-year work force flexibility project for state employees. Under this program, the state Department of Transportation would be required to select four agencies within the state government and have at least 10 percent of their work force choose one of three options: tele-work (working from home), compressed work weeks (working 4- to 10-hour days) or flextime (flexible start/end times).

States such as Arizona,Virginia, California and Oregon have been quite successful in implementing workplace flexibility for their state employees. The federal government has nearly 20 percent of its work force working from home. Many private companies also have work-place flexibility programs in place as an incentive to their employees. It’s time Hawaii learns from these models.

Studies have shown that work-place flexibility increases employee productivity and motivation, increases employee efficiency, reduces vehicular pollution, improves work/life balance and reduces energy consumption.

It doesn’t make sense to be living in Hawaii and yet spending so much time in our cars. I see this pilot as a first step. Eventually, I would like to see us give significant tax breaks to companies that allow and encourage employees to work at home. Government employees should also get bonuses for working from home.Workplace flexibility will decrease traffic, improve people’s health and well-being, increase productivity and allow people to spend more quality time with their families.

Please contact me if I can help you in any way, and mahalo for the privilege of serving you! Contact state Sen. Mike Gabbard, R-District 19 (Waikele-Ko Olina) at 586-6830 or email sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov