Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto

The Legislature convened to consider overriding vetoes of the Governor on 53 bills to which the Governor objected. In the end, the Legislature acted to disagree with the Governor on 35 bills that will now become law in spite of the Governor's veto.

Among these bills was HB 343 that establishes the Rural Primary Health Care Training Program to address the health care needs of rural and medically under served areas. This bill would authorize the John A. Burns School of Medicine to establish a residency program on the Big Island.

In vetoing this measure, the Governor stated "this bill is objectionable" citing funding costs. However, in spite of the costs, I believe that it is important to being investing now on our health infrastructure to insure that we will not face a catastrophic lack of health care providers in the very near future. This program is an important first step as it has been demonstrated that doctors are likely to set up their practices where they did their residency.