Hawaii may conjure images of tranquil relaxation for tourists, but not for commuters. In 2008, Honolulu had the dubious distinction of being named the worst city in the nation for the rush-hour travel time by the National Traffic Scorecard, compiled by INRIX, a Seattle-based provider of real-time, predictive traffic information. Along one section of the H-1 Freeway near the Honolulu International Airport, motorists are stuck in traffic for nearly 40 hours each week.

Mike Gabbard, a Democratic state senator who has been pushing legislation for the past several years to encourage more telework among public and private sector employers, sums up his own experience commuting from his home in Kapolei in West Oahu to the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu as "just awful."

Ironically, Hawaii once was on the cutting edge of telework. In 1988, the state conducted a month-long staggered work-hours project that was aimed at reducing rush-hour traffic. One year later, the Hawaii Department of Transportation was the lead agency in the Telework Center Demonstration Project, a private/public partnership that encouraged state, county, and private sector employees to work remotely at a local telework center. The City and County of Honolulu established a telework policy in 1991.

Unfortunately, telework did not take off as expected, even as the state's population has grown and traffic congestion has worsened. According to Undress4Success.com, only 4.3 percent of Hawaii residents work from home; by contrast, an estimated 16 percent of U.S. residents worked at home at least one day a week in 2006, according to the International Telework Association and Council.

Recently, though, there have been efforts to revive telework, especially focused on the congestion in and around Honolulu. In late 2008, the State Department of Health and the Department of Human Development completed a four-day workweek pilot project, and a local resident is in the process of starting the West Oahu Telework Project, which would educate businesses on how to make the most of broadband and other 21st century technologies to enable telework.

Louis Darnell, president of ComTel, a local communications technology company, has been working to stimulate interest in telework among regional businesses by showcasing his impressive bottom-line results. His corporate sales staff, engineers, and executives all work remotely (one employee even lives in Utah). Darnell recently testified before the State Senate Committee Economic Development and Taxation that telework has enabled ComTel to reduce its rent expenses by 60 percent and parking costs by 90 percent. Those savings allowed the company to retain its core employees during a tough economy and increase its profitability.

Gabbard also is doing his part. This year, he introduced two bills to the State Senate: SB 255 which proposes $20,000 in tax credits for start-up costs associated with establishing a new telework program between 2009 and 2011 and up to $1,200 per teleworker; and SB 256, which would establish a temporary telework task force to develop a plan to encourage and expand telework opportunities in the public and private sectors and report its findings to the Hawaii state legislature by August 2010.

The latter passed the Senate by a unanimous vote, but unfortunately also joined SB 255 as the latest casualties of the economic downturn and state budget crisis. With an anticipated price tag of $2 million per year, SB 255 did not make it out of committee.

Still, Gabbard is undaunted and already is planning to re-introduce the tax credit legislation next year. The Teleworker spoke with him recently about his efforts to make Hawaii a more telework-friendly state.

Q: How did you become so interested in telework?
A: When I took office as a state senator in November 2006, I started researching whether we could improve our quality of life by encouraging government and businesses to allow employees to work from home. In 2007, my office consulted with experts from Arizona to craft Senate Bill 698. My bill would have directed the state Department of Transportation to coordinate and implement a one-year pilot workplace flexibility option, including telework, compressed work weeks (four ten-hour workweeks or nine days on, one day off) or adjusted work schedules (flextime). SB 698 did not pass primarily because of objections from the Hawaii Government Employees Association. At this point, I have become more interested in proceeding with the employer tax credit option.

Q: Besides the major congestion problems, why do you think Hawaii a prime candidate for telework?
A: In 2006, Sperling's Best Places ranked Honolulu 8th in the nation among medium-sized metropolitan areas for the potential benefits that teleworking could offer our residents. Undress4Success.com finds that another 36 percent of Hawaii residents have jobs conducive to working at home. They estimate that an average Hawaii worker could save 231 gallons of gas annually and have $1,009 more in his or her pocket.

Q: Hawaii was once a visionary on telework: Why hasn't the work arrangement taken off?
A: Our efforts have been inconsistent and short-lived. We have talked telework to death but have not followed through with what needs to be done to make telework more of an option for working people statewide. We should be giving significant tax breaks to companies to encourage them and allow telework where appropriate for their employees.

Q: Why do you think giving tax credits is the best approach?
A: Giving a tax credit to companies that implement telework programs will encourage more of them to make the initial investment to ensure long-term success. As our state grows, we are likely to see more traffic unless we look for creative ways to get more cars off our roads. That is why I also introduced SB 256 with the goal of identifying opportunities to encourage telework in our state.

Q: Bottom line: Why is telework such an important issue to you?
A: It doesn't make sense to be living in paradise but always stressed out because we are spending all of our time in our cars.