THE BUDGET CRISIS
Linda Lingle, Colleen Hanabusa, and the state budget crisis- Howard Dicus on Sunrise Colleen Hanabusa has written a letter to Linda Lingle which questions the arithmetic of the furlough plan, enumerates some unintended consequences, and suggests another way to close the budget gap. The tone of the letter is low-key, even respectful. >Read more

Rethink furloughs, Hawaii state Senate president urges. Honolulu Advertiser, July 2, 2009. State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa has urged Gov. Linda Lingle to consider alternatives to her furlough plans, including a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut for state workers or one furlough day a month for the next two years, instead of three days. >Read more

Senator Hanabusa's letter on furloughs to Governor Linda Lingle >Read More

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa has joined Chief Justice Ronald Moon in suggesting that one way for state courts to deal with budget problems is to delay the appointment of new judges. >Read more

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa received the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award at a ceremony at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts on February 14, 2009. The Spirit of Excellence Awards celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of lawyers who work to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession. >Watch the ABA presentation online: go to "recent clips" on Feb 14 and select Colleen Hanabusa.

Senator Hanabusa is the first woman to preside over either chamber of the Hawai‘i State Legislature, and the first Asian-American woman in the nation to preside over a state legislative body.

“Senator Hanabusa is a role model for women and for Asian-Americans,” said Fred Alvarez, chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. “She has used her visibility to encourage young minority women to see law as a viable career, and a way to advance both their own success and their goals for improving society. She has supported other minority women’s professional careers across the state of Hawai‘i.”