September 18, 2023
Līhuʻe, Hawaiʻi – On Friday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee (WAM) continued visiting several sites on Kauaʻi to receive progress updates from Department heads on statewide initiatives. The purpose of the visits was to utilize information from community stakeholders and government officials to guide collective decisions on legislation and budget appropriations to bolster statewide implementation efforts. Friday’s visits covered the topics of local agriculture, wastewater management, language access, and alternative learning.
Strategic Direction for Agriculture
Friday’s first presentation came from Sharon Hurd, Chair of the Board of Agriculture. The presentation included broad ideas about current efforts at the Department of Agriculture. Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz (Senate District 17, Portion of Mililani, Mililani Mauka, portion of Waipi‘o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village) responded to the presentation during the meeting and expressed serious concern that the topics presented did not include updates on increasing local food production and exports, and other categories specifically requested by the Committee.
Furthermore, the information presented did not give the Committee any indication about what the Department’s legislative priorities or needs would be, or how the Committee could assist the Department in the upcoming legislative session. Chair Dela Cruz asked Hurd to consider offering proposals to restructure the Department if it is incapable of meeting its current statutory obligations. The Senate has requested the Department of Agriculture provide a follow-up presentation during the Committee's Hawaii Island site visits.
Wastewater Management - Cesspool Conversion
The second visit of the day was to the West Kauaʻi Enterprise Center, where Dr. Kenneth Fink, Director of Health, and Katie Ducatt, Deputy to the Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, led a discussion about efforts to convert all cesspools in the state by 2050. Fink detailed the history of cesspool conversion efforts in the state, and notably pointed out that the $5M worth of grants offered to help convert cesspools previously funded by the Legislature ran out in just three days. Fink also explained that the State's priority to convert cesspools is based on the likelihood that the cesspool will contaminate local groundwater. Ducatt shared DHHL’s efforts to convert the cesspools on DHHL land in particular. The discussion also included questions on how infrastructure for rural lands owned by DHHL will be installed without restricting homestead development. The Department of Hawaiian Homelands is planning for nearly five hundred lots statewide under their Kuleana Homestead Program, which does not include a centralized wastewater service. A focal point of the discussion revolved around alternatives to cesspool conversion, as conversion is cost-prohibitive for many landowners, especially for those living on DHHL property. The presenters highlighted the importance of Senate Bill No. 285 (2023), which would have addressed some shortcomings of the Cesspool Conversion Working Group and provided funding for a demonstration pilot program at UH to develop alternative wastewater technology systems that are affordable.
Language Access to Government Services
Next, the Committee met at Ke Kula Niʻihau o Kekaha Public Charter School to address a recent audit of the Office of Language Access (OLA) which found that the State has not ensured that limited English proficient individuals have meaningful access to services pursuant to chapter 321C, Hawaii Revised Statutes. OLA presented the Senators with the challenges it faces and its strategic vision to meet its statutory obligations.
The Committee then heard from the Department of Education, which emphasized an appropriation to increase the number of Bilingual/Bicultural School-Home Assistants. WAM members said that they understood the needs for more Bilingual/Bicultural School-Home Assistants, but that the Department of Education has needs for funding a plethora of positions other than teachers, including nurses and behavioral health specialists. The Committee asked the Department of Education to identify which positions are the highest priority for the Department.
The final component of the conversation surrounded on-going efforts to address access to core government services by community members whose primary language is ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, including Niʻihau dialect speakers.
Committee members heard from the Poʻo Kumu at Kula Aupuni Niihau a Kahelelani Aloha Public Charter School, and Ke Kula Niʻihau o Kekaha Public Charter School, who shared the history and vision for the future of their schools. The Director of Ke Kula Niʻihau o Kekaha, Tia Koerte, shared books written in ʻŌlelo Niʻihau by the school’s students which are generated annually as a part of their required curriculum.
Alternative Learning Programs
For its final stop, Committee members visited Kaulu I Ka Pono Academy, the only residential treatment and educational facility for youth suffering from substance abuse on Kauaʻi. The Committee received a tour of the premises, which included the history of the space, an explanation of the current efforts of the Academy, and a vision of the future of its recently completed residential quarters.
At this site, the Committee also heard from Kristy Nishimura, the Director of the Alternative Learning Programs at the Department of Education, who communicated the DOE’s plans to expand alternative learning programs for students across the state. Nishimura thanked the Senate for advocating for the on-going funding for Alternative Learning Programs Services and Supports (ALPSS) for the past three years. The Committee also invited an ALPSS student leader to share her story and experiences in the program. The student captivated the Senators with her story of coming from a background in which incarceration was prevalent, and how she was exposed to dangerous and illegal situations at an early age. With the support of teachers and the ALPSS program, the student leader has been able to find new direction in school and has made efforts to turn her life around.