Joe Souki, A&B And Coffee
The House speaker insists that a bill聽allowing Alexander & Baldwin to continue to divert East Maui streams is not special legislation.
As House Speaker Joe Souki welcomed the media to his fourth floor office at the Hawaii State Capitol Thursday, he asked if anyone cared for a cup of聽coffee.
A聽wise-ass reporter (me) asked him if the coffee was paid for by .
Souki, the longtime Maui representative, didn’t miss a beat.
“No, they didn’t buy the coffee,” he said. “But there’s some sugar that might be from A&B.”
Cue laughter, from the speaker and reporters.
It was a light moment over聽a difficult issue.
Earlier in the week the Legislature approved , water-rights legislation widely seen as being crafted for A&B in particular.
At the press availability Thursday, Souki was asked whether HB 2501 was special聽legislation.
“Of course not,” he said chuckling. “Why do you ask that question?”
The speaker explained that the bill went “way beyond” A&B in that it聽involved other companies, communities in Upcountry Maui and agricultural land in Central Maui. He called the measure “a fair allocation of water for all parties … That’s all it is.”
Souki said he would run for re-election but would not “presume” that his House colleagues would select him for another term as speaker.
