HILO, HAWAIʻI - State Senator Lorraine R. Inouye (District 1 – Hilo, Paukaʻa, Papaikou, Pepeʻekeo) today announced that Governor Josh Green has released $500,000 in general obligation bond funds for a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Grant-in-Aid (GIA) project supporting improvements to Goodwill Industries of Hawaiʻi’s Hilo campus. The funding will support construction and refurbishment efforts for Goodwill’s newly acquired Hilo campus to bring the facility up to code and expand its operational capacity to better serve the East Hawaiʻi community. Mahalo Governor Green for recognizing the importance of investing in organizations that directly support Hawaiʻi’s families and workforce,” said Senator Inouye. “Goodwill Industries of Hawaiʻi provides valuable job training, educational opportunities, and community services that help empower individuals across East Hawaiʻi. These improvements will strengthen their ability to expand programs and continue making a positive impact in our community.” The project qualifies as a grant pursuant to Chapter 42F, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, and reflects the state’s continued commitment to supporting nonprofit organizations that provide meaningful community services and resources throughout Hawaiʻi. ###

HILO, HAWAIʻI - Senator Lorraine R. Inouye (District 1 – Hilo, Paukaʻa, Papaikou, Pepeʻekeo) announced the release of $200,000 in general obligation bond funds from Governor Josh Green for a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Grant-in-Aid (GIA) project supporting the restoration of the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center. The funding will support plans and construction for restoration improvements to the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center, a longstanding community space dedicated to arts, culture, education, and public programming in Hilo. “I want to thank Governor Green and his administration for recognizing the importance of investing in community and cultural spaces that serve East Hawaiʻi,” said Senator Inouye. “The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center has played a meaningful role in supporting local artists, preserving culture, and bringing our community together for generations. These funds will help ensure the center can continue serving residents and visitors for years to come.” The project qualifies as a grant pursuant to Chapter 42F, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, and reflects the state’s continued investment in preserving community resources and strengthening Hawaiʻi’s cultural infrastructure.

HONOLULU - Governor Josh Green today signed Senate Bill 2471 SD2 HD2 CD2 now Act 011 into law, establishing new restrictions on political spending activities by corporations and other “artificial persons” organized under Hawai’i law by redefining and limiting the powers granted to those entities. Act 011 clarifies that artificial entities created under state law possess only those powers necessary or convenient to carry out their lawful business or organizational purposes. The law specifies that those powers do not include spending money or contributing anything of value to influence elections or ballot measures. “The foundation of our democracy is that political power belongs to the people,” said Senator Jarrett Keohokalole (District 24 – Kāneʻohe, Kailua), Chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. “Corporations and other artificial entities exist because the State grants them legal privileges, including limited liability and lucrative tax benefits that individuals cannot claim. Act 011 clarifies that those privileges do not include the power to spend corporate money to influence our elections.” Political action committees will remain governed by existing campaign finance laws within the state, but they will not be able to spend any money received from corporations as a result of this Act. This new law is intended to strengthen transparency, reduce the influence of corporate money in elections, and help restore public trust in Hawaiʻi’s democratic process. Act 011 applies to a range of entities organized or authorized to do business under Hawaiʻi law, including corporations, nonprofit corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and certain associations. It also authorizes the Attorney General and the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to impose penalties or bring enforcement actions for violations. “This bill does not regulate the rights of natural persons to speak, petition, or associate,” Keohokalole added. “It simply defines the powers that the State grants to artificial entities and makes clear that participation in election activity and ballot-issue activity is not among them.” Act 011 takes effect July 1, 2027. ###

Offenders of minor crimes face revolving door at overcrowded state hospital Hawaii News Now Daryl Huff October 21, 2025 Original Article HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii State Hospital is operating at 30% over capacity, creating a revolving door for homeless people with mental illness who commit minor crimes, officials told state senators Monday. The overcrowded facility has become overwhelmed by non-violent mentally ill people arrested for minor offenses like sleeping in parks or trespassing. A law enacted five years ago set time limits on how long individuals can be held for evaluation, forcing early releases before treatment is complete. “They are expedited and they need to be released after seven days,” said hospital administrator Mark Lindscott. Admissions surge strains system Hospital admissions have increased to over 600 per year, with two-thirds of patients having been hospitalized previously and at least 22% experiencing homelessness. People being evaluated make up 18% of the patient population. “We try to connect them with IHS (The Institute for Human Services), other places so that they actually have a good discharge plan and a safe one. They often self-sabotage,” Lindscott said. The overcrowding prevents people who need commitment but haven’t committed crimes from being admitted. Prison facilities cannot accommodate the overflow due to inadequate mental health resources. “We can’t provide a level of care that they need to have them in an incarceral setting when they need to be in a therapeutic setting only damages them more, I believe,” said Tommy Johnson, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation director. Johnson reported having an alarming number of mentally ill people at Halawa Prison. “We cannot now take more bodies in when the experts are already telling us that we have 40-something people that need to go somewhere,” he said. Limited solutions explored The Hawaii Department of Health has moved about 100 patients to other facilities, but senators say the measure is insufficient. “I wanted the public to know how dire it was at the Hawaii State Hospital. We are trying to find solutions to decompress what is going on,” said Sen. Joy San Buenaventura. Senators plan to push for more supportive housing in the community and new health department facilities for evaluating people, hoping to open beds for individuals who need commitment but haven’t committed crimes.

Major Reform Bills Are Still On The Table. Will This Be The Year They Pass? Honolulu Civil Beat By Patti Epler, Richard Wiens, Chad Blair January 26, 2025 Original Article On Election Day, voters on Oʻahu waited hours in line to cast their ballots in person at one of the only two voter centers operating that day. The centers had to stay open well beyond the mandatory 7 p.m. deadline, delaying the first election results until after midnight . It wasn’t the first time. Since transitioning to all-mail voting in 2020, state and county officials have routinely short-changed the system for those who want to vote in person. The painful process of standing in line to cast a ballot has repeated itself for at least three election cycles. Now, state lawmakers have responded to the public frustration and introduced at least five bills this legislative session to require counties, particularly Honolulu, to open more centers on Election Day. More than 200 of the 3,000-plus bills filed this session — the deadline was Thursday — are again seeking ways to make government more accountable and transparent, or at least work more efficiently. As with the push for more voter centers, lawmakers are responding to public outcries on a number of headline-grabbing issues — from problems with allowing money to influence state contracts to government seizure of assets before being convicted of a crime to cracking down on allowing kids to bring cell phones to school. This year we are continuing our effort to track measures that work to improve — or in some cases back away from — government accountability, transparency and ethical leadership. “Let The Sunshine In ” started two years ago when a special House Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct proposed more than two dozen improvements to laws relating to ethics, campaign finance, elections and other government practices. Much has been accomplished, but, as this year’s raft of proposed legislation shows, there is still a lot left to be done. The Foley commission, as it came to be known because it was headed by retired Judge Dan Foley, was appointed after two veteran state lawmakers and a couple of Maui County officials were convicted in federal court of charges related to accepting bribes from a Honolulu businessman. For years, he had been paying them to sway legislation and, in Maui County’s case, steer lucrative contracts for wastewater management to his company. Then the FBI got wise to it, setting off a political drive to put in place the kinds of accountability measures other states have had for decades. In 2023, lawmakers passed many of the Foley commission recommendations, including strengthening the investigation of and penalties for government fraud, reforming key areas of the political process like lobbying practices and campaign financing and generally reducing the power of money in politics. But a number of the toughest reform measures — stopping pay-to-play practices by government contractors, full public financing of elections, prohibiting campaign contributions during legislative sessions, more transparency of political relationships, among others — were left on the table . The same proposals surfaced again in the 2024 session and again failed to pass. Rep. David Tarnas, who chairs the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee which has jurisdiction over most of the political and government reform measures, said in a recent interview that lawmakers have made significant progress in the last two years. He ticked off the list of Foley commission measures that got through the first year and called that “a very useful guide.” He pointed to a handful of recommendations that have been a tougher sell politically, such as applying the state’s open meetings law, called the Sunshine Law, to the Legislature, which exempted itself years ago. Reducing the cost of providing public records, eliminating campaign contributions during session and using public money to help candidates run for office are other measures he hopes to revisit this year. Tarnas said he has been eyeing a Connecticut law that regulates political donations, especially campaign contributions from companies that are seeking to do business with the state — the classic pay-to-play situation. He planned to introduce a bill that builds on the Connecticut model. Several other measures also have been introduced that seek to control influence by contractors and nonprofits that rely on the state for grants and business. The problem gained new urgency after an investigative report by Civil Beat and The New York Times detailed tens of millions of dollars that have flowed from contractors to candidates over the past decade, and the blatant soliciting of political money through late-night parties and other fundraising efforts. Other issues that got no traction in the last couple years are coming back this year not only as bills but also as proposed constitutional amendments, which would give the public the ability to vote directly on an issue. Lawmakers generally have refused to allow any significant public policy measure to go to the ballot and Hawaiʻi is the only Western state without a statewide citizens initiative process. A Special Commentary Project Yet numerous legislators have signed on to ask voters to weigh in on term limits, legalizing marijuana, a year-round Legislature, the retirement age of judges, abortion rights and even the right to a clean environment, among other issues. When it comes to good government bills, Democrats and Republicans are often on the same side. And the list of accountability measures this year includes many that are co-sponsored by members of both parties. In the House, a new bipartisan Good Government Caucus has been organized and members have teamed up to push for improvement in legislative and political practices including paying to hire an investigator for the Campaign Spending Commission and tightening restrictions on money flowing into candidates and campaign committees. We’ve pulled together a list of the 200-plus bills and their sponsors that we’ll be tracking this session, organized here by subject matter so it’s easier to follow. The brief descriptions are just that — shorthand for what the bill is basically about. Please use the highlighted link to go to the bill for the details. We plan to update this list periodically so save this story and check back to see what progress, if any, has been made. Some are already set for hearings in the coming week so check the committee hearing schedule for both the House and the Senate for times. Civil Beat’s List Of Sunshine Bills ELECTIONS Increasing the number of voter service centers HB 259 – Requires each county council district to have one voter service center and have it open on election day. —Alcos, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Reyes Oda, Ward HB 297 – Requires each county council district to have one voter center and the center is open on election day. —Pierick, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward HB 601 – Increases the number of voter centers and funds them. —Garcia, Pierick, Ward SB134 – Counties with populations of more than 500,000 to get three more voter service centers. —Kim, Aquino, Chang, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Kidani, McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura SB 1240 – Increase the number of voter service centers. —Awa, Chang, DeCorte Voter registration HB 408 – Office of Elections package: extends time to register for voting by mail to 10 days before primary rather than 30 days. —Nakamura SB 275 – Elections Commission package: Extends time to register for vote by mail to 10 days before primary rather than 30 days. —Kouchi HB 473 – Creates voter registration program to automatically preregister or register youths 16 and older in public, charter and private schools. —Lee, Amato, Belatti, Hashem, Holt, Hussey, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Kusch, La Chica, Marten, Miyake, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Sayama, Takatama, Takenouchi, Tam, Tarnas, Todd SB 78 – Makes an application for voter registration part of certain state agency application processes. —Rhoads, Chang SB 81 – Requires the Department of Human Services’ Med-QUEST division to automatically transmit applicants’ voter registration information to the Office of Elections and clerk of the county of the applicant’s residence. —Chang, Rhoads, Moriwaki HB 322 – Requires the Department of Human Services to automatically transmit voter registration information for any Med-Quest applicant. —Kapela, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kusch, Miyake, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas, Todd Elections and election practices SB 114 – Establishes presidential preference primary elections for the 2028 election cycle. —Rhoads, Chang, Lee, Fukunaga SB 335 – Requires a political party’s objection to a candidate nomination to be determined by the Office of Elections. —Chang HB 104 – Challenges to election nominating papers by party officials to be determined by the Office of Elections. —Tam, Iawamoto, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Takayama SB 176 – Changes the criteria for mandatory recounts. —Rhoads SB 780 – Requirements for disqualifying candidates from the ballot and challenging them. —Rhoads, Chang, Richards HB 134 – Requires elections officials to provide an electronic system for filing nominating papers. —Quinlan, Chun, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Kitagawa, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, Marten, Matayoshi, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza Voter issues SB 435 – Voter guide: Requires Elections Office to notify voters about voter guide and make it available 21 days before primary and 50 days before general. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard SB 1030 – Specifies that voter fraud and intimidation includes carrying a gun at a voter center or polling place. —Lee, Chang, Rhoads, Wakai, Ihara HB 767 – Expands ballot curing period from five to 13 days. —Souza, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Poepoe, Reyes Oda Legislative vacancies HB 1078 – Provides governor with discretion to not fill a vacant legislative position if the vacancy occurs 120 days or less from an upcoming primary. —Nakamura SB 5 – Governor can fill a legislative vacancy by appointment for the rest of term and the next term. —Inouye, Chang, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, McKelvey, Fevella SB 300 – Governor has to fill legislative vacancies by a certain deadline or Senate president or House speaker can do it. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Fevella, Moriwaki SB 1397 – Provides governor with discretion to not fill a vacant legislative position if the vacancy occurs 120 days or less from an upcoming primary. —Kouchi Elections Commission and oversight HB 141 – Elections Commission members to be confirmed by Senate. —Tam, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Marten SB 948 – Would make members of the Elections Commission subject to Senate approval. —Chang SB 1515 – Replaces the boards of registration with on-call circuit judges to hear elections disputes. —Kouchi HB 1435 – Replaces the boards of registration with on-call circuit judges to hear elections disputes. —Nakamura SB 1555 – Adopts the Code of Fair Campaign Practices that candidates may use as a guide for their election campaigns. —Ihara HB 23 – Elect the Insurance Commissioner. —Ilagan CAMPAIGN FINANCE State contractor donations HB 371 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Restrictions on donations from contractors and grantees, company and organization officials and their family members. —Nakamura SB 257 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Restrictions on donations from contractors and grantees, company and organization officials and their family members. —Kouchi SB 809 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Contractor and grantee donations restrictions. —Rhoads, Fukunaga, Gabbard, Moriwaki, Richards HB 765 – Prohibits contributions from contractors, officers, consultants and family members. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Reyes Oda HB 1336 – Amends the prohibition against contributions to a candidate committee or noncandidate committee by state and county contractors to include state and county grantees and the owners, officers, consultants, and joint account holders of a state or county contractor or state or county grantee. —Iwamoto, Amatto, Belatti, Cochran, Perruso, Souza, Matsumoto HB 894 – Prohibits state contractors from donating to or soliciting donations for noncandiate committees and political party committees. —Tarnas, Amato, Evslin, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kapela, Kusch, La Chica, M. Lee, Lowen, Marten, Olds, Perruso, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama, Tam, Todd Other campaign contributions HB 372 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Prohibits campaign contributions to elected officials during session. —Nakamura SB 258 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Prohibits campaign contributions to elected officials during session. —Kouchi HB 149 – Requires corporations to provide shareholders with a report of independent expenditures and political contributions. —Tarnas, Belatti, Iwamoto, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Quinlan, Souza, Tam HB 369 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Return excess campaign funds or they go to the state. —Nakamura SB 255 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Excess campaign contributions to go to state if not returned within 30 days. —Kouchi SB 1593 – Unused campaign funds couldn’t carry over to subsequent election and would go to the state after a certain period of time if not used. —Awa, DeCorte HB 769 – Creates a Democracy Dollars program to provide vouchers for voters to be able to spend on candidates. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Perruso, Souza HB 662 – Repeals exemption for use of the candidates own funds, makes contributions by family members subject to limits, amends loan amount from candidate or family. —Kila, Evslin, Lamosao, Takenouchi HB 772 – Disallows use of campaign funds to buy two tickets for fundraisers. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Souza HB 1190 – Repeals the authority for campaign funds to carry over to subsequent elections. —Iwamoto, Perruso, Pierick HB 1478 – Establishes new requirements for identifying certain top contributors for election campaign purposes. – Belatti, Cochran, Grandinetti, Marten, Muraoka, Perruso, Souza, Amato SB 1202 – Allows candidates to spend campaign funds for child care. —Kim, Aquino, Chang, Fevella, Hashimoto, Kidani, McKelvey, Rhoads, San Buenaventura, Dela Cruz, Richards Public financing of elections HB 370 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Revises partial public financing with increased amounts for each office. —Nakamura SB 345 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Partial public financing increases cap on matching funds and amount that can be spent. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Kidani SB 256 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Revises partial public financing with increased amounts for each office. —Kouchi HB 308 – Increases partial public financing of elections. —Poepoe, Amato, Belatti, Evslin, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kila, Perruso, Tarnas SB 51 – Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State of Hawaiʻi, to begin with the 2026 general election year. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, McKelvey, San Buenaventura, Fevella, Ihara, Moriwaki HB 766 – Full public financing of campaigns beginning in 2026. —Belatti, Amato, Grandinetti, Hussey, Perruso, Souza PACs HB 771 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Establishes new requirements on super PACs including fees and fact-checking of messaging. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Reyes Oda, Souza SB 1032 – Requires business entities contributing or spending money in an election to disclose their foreign influence and requires independent expenditure committee donors to disclose their interests. —Lee, Kidani, Moriwaki, Rhoads, Fevella, Fukunaga SB 1173 – Imposes a fee on noncandidate committees based on amount of money spent. —McKelvey, Rhoads Campaign Spending Commission HB 691 – Appropriates money to Campaign Spending Commission for new positions. —Kapela, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas HB 768 – Good Government Caucus – Funds more investigators for Campaign Spending Commission. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Quinlan, Reyes, Oda SB 118 – Creating and funding an investigator for the Campaign Spending Commission. —Rhoads, Chang ETHICS HB 411 – Ethics Commission package: Uniform provisions for penalties under lobbying law. —Nakamura SB 289 – Ethics Commission package: Uniform provisions for penalties under lobbying law. —Kouchi HB 412 – Ethics Commission package: Expands definition of lobbying to include high government officials when involving procurement. —Nakamura SB 290 – Ethics Commission package: Expands definition of lobbying to include high government officials when involving procurement. —Kouchi HB 413 – Ethics Commission package: Clarifies restriction on lobbyist contributions. —Nakamura SB 291 – Ethics Commission package: Clarifies restriction on lobbyist contributions. —Kouchi HB 493 – Applies state ethics laws to legislators. —Iwamoto, Belatti, Perruso, Pierick, Ward SB 1583 – Authorizes legislators to use state equipment for community initiatives within their own districts. —Awa, DeCorte PUBLIC RECORDS HB 130 – Caps fees on public records and includes a public interest waiver. —Tarnas, Belatti, Chun, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kapela, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama, Ward SB 406 – Caps the cost of reproducing a public record at 5 cents per page. —Rhoads SB 863 – Cap on search and redaction costs for public records and a waiver when in the public interest. —Rhoads HB 131 – Allows records to be released for research purposes. —Tarnas, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kapela, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Souza, Tam SB 353 – Prohibits governor from suspending requests for public records during an emergency and allows Legislature and county councils to terminate governor or mayor’s state of emergency. —Rhoads, Elefante, McKelvey SB 786 – Requires public records be made available in a disability-accessible format. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga SB 571 – Designates all federal ICE records pertaining to detained individuals are public. —Aquino SB 1255 – Clarifies that public records subject to disclosure under UIPA includes information created and maintained by private contractors. —Kim, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Hashimoto, Kidani, Dela Cruz SUNSHINE LAW HB 724 – Brings the Legislature under the Sunshine Law. —Hussey, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Perruso HB 494 – Applies Sunshine Law to the Legislature by repealing exemption. —Iwamoto, Pierick HB 144 – Allows two or more members of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to meet together during transition period as long as no commitment to vote is made and no decision-making. —Tarnas, Garrett, Kahaloa, Kila, Matayoshi, Takayama SB 770 – Allows two or more members of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to meet together during transition period as long as no commitment to vote is made and no decision-making. —Richards, Aquino, Chang HB 403 – Kauaʻi County Council package: Allows any member of a board to attend an informational meeting as long as it’s not directed at that board. —Nakamura SB 270 – Kauaʻi County Council package: Allows any member of a board to attend an informational meeting as long as its not directed at that board. —Kouchi HB 1412 – Designates the neighborhood commission as the appropriate oversight authority for application of the Sunshine Law to neighborhood boards. Authorizes neighborhood boards to discuss official government reports without placing it on the agenda, provided that no decision-making can be made. —Reyes Oda, Alcos, Garcia, Kusch, Matsumoto, Pierick, Tam, Todd SB 405 – Allows neighborhood boards to discuss items not on the agenda if brought up by a government official. —Rhoads HB 686 – Defines community outreach boards and brings them under the Sunshine Law similar to neighborhood boards. —Kapela, Kahaloa, Perruso SB 869 – Defines community outreach boards and brings them under the Sunshine Law similar to neighborhood boards. —Kanuha, Chang, McKelvey, Gabbard, Ihara SB 381 – Requires that selecting heads of public agencies or divisions be done in open meetings through an open public process. —McKelvey, Chang, DeCorte, Gabbard, Fevella HB 50 – Authorizes boards and commissions to make decisions about employees without approval of the affiliated department. —Garrett SB 444 – Authorizes boards and commissions to make decisions about employees without approval of the affiliated department. —Dela Cruz, Chang, Hashimoto, Kidani, Kim, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura SB 1556 – Establishes a Trusted Public Representative Program within the Office of Information Practices under which the office assigns a volunteer Trusted Public Representative trained in the requirements of the Sunshine Law and observes public agency meetings closed to the public. —Ihara SB 1651 – Requires that board packets for public meetings be posted at least two full days in advance of meeting. —Rhoads HB 329 – Exempts the School Facilities Authority Board workgroups and subcommittees from the Sunshine Law. —La Chica, Amato, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kitiagawa, Marten, Olds, Poepoe, Quinlan, Reyes Oda, Souza, Todd SB 580 – Exempts the School Facilities Authority Board workgroups and subcommittees from the Sunshine Law. —Hashimoto, Aquino, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Gabbard, McKelvey, Ihara ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY Legislative procedures HB 296 – Require fiscal notes on all bills. —Matsumoto, Alcos, Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward HB 1199 – Requires fiscal notes on all fiscal bills. Prohibits a committee from making a decision on a fiscal bill without a fiscal note. —Reyes Oda, Garcia, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Todd, Ward HB 568 – Requires fiscal notes for legislation. —Shimizu HB 792 – Clarifies the office of the legislative analyst. —Yamashita SB 1081 – Establishes the Legislative Budget Office to produce fiscal reports on bills and legislation. —Inouye HB 793 – Requires House Speaker and Senate President be notified within 10 days of the state receiving any federal monies available for spending. —Yamashita HB 875 – Appropriates funds for a State Capitol tour guide position within the Public Access Room. —Lee, Chun, Kahaloa, Kapela, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Lowen, Matsumoto, Morikawa, Olds, Perruso, Poe, Souza, Takayama, Tam, Tarnas, Ward, Kila, Reyes Oda HB 1465 – Establishes a housing allowance for legislators from neighbor islands who come to Oʻahu for session. —Amato, Iwamoto SB 1031 – Allows Legislature to put non-binding advisory questions and referendum on the ballot to ask voters their opinion on matters. —Lee, Chang SB 1545 – Repeals language in the State’s Code of Ethics that exempts the Legislative Branch from prohibitions against nepotism in public employment. —Kim, Chang, Fevella, Gabbard, Kidani, Richards, Wakai SB 1611 – Requires appointments to certain state agency jobs be approved by the Senate, including the governor’s homeless coordinator, the senior advisor for mental health and the deputy human services director. —San Buenaventura, McKelvey SB 711 – Requires Senate confirmation for state employees whose salary is larger than the governor’s if it’s an employee in the governor’s office or if larger than the head of the agency the person is working in. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Fevella, Hashimoto, McKelvey HB 1320 – Requires the University of Hawaiʻi system to collect, analyze, and publicly report certain graduate outcome data. —Garrett, Amato, Belatti, Iwamoto, Kila, Lamosao, Marten, Miyake, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas SB 741 – Establishes an external audit committee within the University of Hawaiʻi to audit the UH System and the Board of Regents and report annually to the Legislature. —Dela Cruz, Chang, Elefante, Hashimoto, Kidani, Richards SB 747 – Establishes an audit office within the Department of Education to audit the DOE and report to the Legislature. Creates six positions for the audit office and provides funding. —Dela Cruz, Hashimoto, Kidani, Richards SB 798 – Establishes a Child Welfare Oversight Commission to review practices of CWS and issues raised in the 2024 auditor’s report and make recommendations to reduce child harm and death and propose legislation for reform. —Rhoads SB 375 – Governor Package: Establishes a government restructuring commission. —McKelvey, Chang, Gabbard, Kidani, Fevella, Hashimoto HB 1425 – Establishes a temporary working group to study the feasibility of transitioning the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s regular session from one that meets for 3.5 months from mid-January to early May, to one that meets on a year-round basis. —Nakamura SB 1514 – Establishes a temporary working group to study the feasibility of transitioning the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s regular session from one that meets for 3.5 months from mid-January to early May, to one that meets on a year-round basis. —Kouchi SB 1618 – Establishes a Journalistic Ethics Commission overseen by state government including establishing a code of ethics and a board to hear complaints and levy penalties for violations. —Kim, DeCoite, Dela Cruz, Fevella, Hashimoto, Richards, San Buenaventura, Wakai Asset forfeiture and other policing issues HB 126 – Hawaiʻi Omnibus Criminal Forfeiture Act: Increases transparency and accountability around asset forfeiture. Clarifies what property can be forfeited. —Tarnas, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kitagawa, Lamosao, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Souza, Takayama HB 492 – Civil asset forfeiture occurs only after conviction. —Iwamoto, Grandinetti, Perruso SB 320 – Restricts asset forfeiture to after conviction of felony. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Lee, McKelvey, Rhoads SB 722 – Makes civil asset forfeiture only for felony convictions and other changes. —Rhoads, Aquino, Chang, Fevella, Gabbard, Inouye, Kidani, McKelvey, San Buenaventura, Wakai SB 1029 – Asset forfeiture applies to felony convictions. —Lee, Chang, McKelvey, Rhoads SB 1126 – Asset forfeiture upon conviction only. —Wakai SB 813 – Requires a law enforcement officer to report criminal misconduct by other officers and specifies the officer can be decertified if they don’t report. Also requires psychological screening before becoming a police officer and prohibits chokeholds. —Rhoads, Chang HB 595 – Establishes the right to record law enforcement. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Perruso SB 307 – Establishes right to record law enforcement. —Rhoads, Chang HB 610 – Establishes a cold case unit within the AG’s office for investigation of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. —Souza, Amato, Cochran, Iwamoto, Perruso, Poepoe HB 291 – Stand Your Ground law established. —Garcia, Alcos, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward HB 390 – Increases penalties for bribery, under certain circumstances. —Nakamura SB 775 – Prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement except in limited circumstances. —Rhoads, Aquino, Chang SB 1149 – Requires law enforcement to report all possible hate crimes. —Lee, Hashimoto, Rhoads SB 1156 – Makes it a crime to create a sexually explicit deepfake. —Gabbard, San Buenaventura HB 278 – Requires county police agencies to collect data on arrests, stops, use of force and complaints and provide to the AG which would produce a report. —Tarnas, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kila, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Sayama, Souza, Takayama HB 61 – Requires county mayors to appoint medical examiners. —Souza, Perruso Media literacy and civic education HB 100 – Authorizes school complexes to incorporate media literacy in their standards-based curriculum, including content that prevents negative impacts of misinformation, disinformation, digital discrimination, and online hate speech. —Perruso, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Marten, Poepoe, Tam, Chun SB 772 – Media literacy and digital citizenship curriculum in schools to prevent misinformation and online hate speech. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard, Kim, San Buenaventura, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, Richards SB 844 – Requires digital citizenship and media literacy curriculum in the schools. —Chang HB 763 – Promotes civic education in public schools including two full-time positions. —Perruso, Belatti, Garrett, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Matsumoto, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama HB 1210 – Requires the Department of Education to provide and disseminate its procedures for dealing with bullying. —Templo SB 1631 – Establishes the Aloha Civics Collaborative to promote civics and perpetuate the Aloha Spirit. —Ihara Cell phones and social media HB 289 – No cell phones or social media in schools and requires social media education program. —Shimizu, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Ward HB 623 – Requires the Board of Education to adopt a policy that bans the use of phones and related devices by students during school hours. —Woodson, Evslin, Garcia, Garrett, Grandinetti, La Chica, Lowen, Marten, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Takayama, Tarnas, Ward HB 1195 – Requires the Department of Education to prohibit cell phone use during the instructional day, prohibit student access to social media through the school’s internet, and implement a social media education campaign. —Shimizu, Alcos, Lowen, Muraoka, Pierick, Ward HB 1224 – Requires the Department of Education to prohibit cell phone use during the instructional day, prohibit student access to social media through the school’s internet, and implement a social media education campaign. —Matsumoto, Alcos, Evslin, Garcia, Kila, Kusch, Lamosao, Matayoshi, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Ward HB 1303 – Requires each public school to implement a policy to prohibit students from using cellular phones and other wireless communication devices during school hours. —Kila, Evslin, Kahaloa, Lamosa, Poepoe HB 1343 – Requires the Board of Education to adopt a policy that bans the use of phones and related devices by students during school hours. —Woodson, Amato, Chun, Evslin, Garcia, Garrett, Grandinetti, Holt, Kahaloa, Kila, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, Lowen, Marten, Matayjoshi, Matsumoto, Morikawa, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Sayama, Souza, Takayama, Tarnas, Templo, Todd, Ward AI and Internet HB 487 – Provides funds to Legislative Reference Bureau to procure AI to streamline state law and regulations. —Muroaka HB 824 – Gives funding to the Legislative Reference Bureau to procure AI to streamline state laws and rules. —Muraoka HB 546 – Establishes the Aloha Intelligence Institute within UH to develop, support and advance AI initiatives. —Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds Sayama SB 1622 – Establishes the Aloha Intelligence Institute within UH to develop, support and advance AI initiatives. —Kim, Chang, Inouye, McKelvey, Richards, San Buenaventura, Wakai HB 639 – Requires anyone engaging in commercial transactions to make it clear the customer is interacting with an AI chatbot if it is mimicking a human. —La Chica, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Lowen, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Todd, Ward SB 640 – Requires anyone engaging in commercial transactions to make it clear the customer is interacting with an AI chatbot if it is mimicking a human. —Keohokalole, Chang, Fevella, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura, Wakai HB 1384 – Establishes the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. —Garrett, Amato, Belatti, Chun, Kapela, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Lamosao, Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Poepoe, Quinlan, Souza, Takayama, Ward Neighborhood boards and community meetings HB 944 – Authorizes neighborhood boards to solicit ideas for capital improvement projects and budget priorities and county mayors to respond. —Hussey, Amato, Belatti, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Reyes Oda HB 1395 – Requires counties to ensure neighborhood board members’ terms don’t exceed one year and residents can vote for board members with electronically or in person. —Pierick SB 1558 – Applies the campaign finance laws to candidates for the neighborhood boards. —Ihara HB 1329 – Requires government agencies planning a major project to give notice to communities that are affected and hold public hearings —Cochran, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Ward HB 1453 – Prohibits boards from beginning or continuing meetings after 9 p.m., excluding county council meetings. —Tam, Kila, Templo, Matayoshi SB 1617 – Prohibits boards from beginning or continuing meetings after 9 p.m., excluding county council meetings. —Chang SB 1253 – Clarifies rules regarding boards and commission members who are holdovers. -—Kim, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Hashimoto, Inouye, Wakai, Dela Cruz, Moriwaki CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Changes to the Legislature, elections and campaigns HB 770 – Establishing a continuous legislative session with restrictions on outside employment. —Belatti, Amato, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Perruso, Reyes Oda, Tam SB 733 – Establishing a continuous legislature that meets at least once a month. Restricts outside employment. —Chang, Gabbard, McKelvey, Fevella SB 311 – Provides that right of free speech does not include spending money to influence elections. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Inouye, Kidani, McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura, Gabbard, Richards SB 1225 – Majority of votes means all yes votes and doesn’t include spoiled, blank or over votes. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Gabbard, San Buenaventura SB 1238 – Incumbent legislators would be ineligible to serve based on the size of the Native Hawaiian population. —Awa SB 1284 – Proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit discrimination against a person because of ethnicity, age, disability, religion, national ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. —Lee, Kidani, Rhoads, San Buenaventura SB 1557 – Proposes a constitutional amendment to provide for a citizens’ assembly and to authorize the citizens’ assembly to propose to the Legislature constitutional and statutory revisions or amendments to the laws governing elections, political campaigns, campaign finance, ethics, referendum, reapportionment, legislative process, and public access to information. —Ihara HB 140 – Making reapportionment based on the resident population rather than the permanent resident population. —Quinlan SB 124 – Making reapportionment based on the resident population rather than the permanent resident population. —Rhoads Term Limits HB 298 – Term limits – Maximum 12 years in each chamber starting in 2026. —Ward, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu HB 488 – Term limits on elected officials plus bars criminally convicted elected officials from office. —Muraoka, Pierick HB 495 – Term limits in Legislature of 16 years. —Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Ward HB 570 – Term limits of 12 years for legislators. —Shimizu HB 764 – Term limits for legislators starting in 2028. —Belatti, Amato, Garrett, Grandinetti, Hussey, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Ward SB 1594 – Legislative term limits of 16 years. —Awa, DeBorte, Ihara Changes to the judiciary SB 175 – Increase mandatory retirement age of judges to 75. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard, San Buenaventura HB 1216 – Requiring the election of state justices and judges. —Pierick SB 121 – Giving the Senate more time to consider and confirm judges. —Rhoads, Kanuha, Kidani Changes to public schools HB 930 – Requiring the public school system to be thorough and efficient. —Perruso, Grandinetti, Pierick, Poepoe, Ward HB 287 – Proposes a constitutional amendment that would establish local school boards throughout the state to be elected by the voters. —Reyes Oda, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu, Ward Right to abortion and contraception HB 728 – Right to reproductive freedom including abortion and contraception. —Grandinetti, Amato, Belatti, Cochran, Evslin, Ichiyama, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, M. Lee, Lowen, Marten, Morikawa, Perruso, Poepoe, Sayama, Souza, Takayama, Takenouchi,Tam, Tarnas, Templo, Todd SB 297 – Abortion rights. —San Buenaventura, Chang, DeCoite, Kanuha, McKelvey, Moriwaki, Rhoads, Richards, Kidani SB 350 – Right to contraceptives. —Rhoads, Chang, Richards, San Buenaventura, Moriwaki Legalize marijuana HB 519 – Legalize recreational use of cannabis by those 21 and older. —Ward, Iwamoto Environmental health HB 597 – Establishes right to clean environment. —Poepoe, Amato, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Lamosao, Lowen, Marten, Perruso SB 559 – Right to a clean environment. —Rhoads, Gabbard SB 702 – Right to a clean environment. —Gabbard, Chang, Fevella Internet privacy SB 170 – Exclusive property right to the data you generate on the internet. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Lee, San Buenaventura, Gabbard

Hawaii Senate bills aim to protect farmers, boost ag theft penalties Star Advertiser John Burnett, Hawaii Tribune-Herald February 20, 2025 Original Article Two agriculture-related bills moving forward at the state Legislature would increase penalties for agricultural theft and allow farmers and ranchers to use deadly force against intruders under certain circumstances. Senate bills 1248 and 1249, both introduced by Sen. Tim Richards (D-Kohala), have cleared the Committee on Agriculture and Environment. Both bills on Feb. 13 passed their second readings. SB 1248, the stand-your-ground legislation, has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, while SB 1249, an omnibus agricultural measure, has been referred to a joint session of the Judiciary and Ways and Means committees. SB 1248 would allow a farmer or rancher, under certain circumstances, to use deadly force without retreating. Richards calls the measure the “Cranston Duke Pia Act.” Pia was a 39-year-old Makaha rancher, who was — in Richards’ words — “executed in front of his mother” for protecting his cattle from hunting dogs on Feb. 17, 2024. Pia died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Chantston Pila Kekawa, then 17, of Maili, was charged as an adult with second-degree murder, first-degree terroristic threatening, firearm offenses and first-degree theft. He’s pleaded not guilty and has a trial scheduled for April 7 in Honolulu Circuit Court. Richards said Pia’s mother visited his office four days after the shooting. “Mutual friends brought her in with Cranston’s widow,” Richards said. “I gave her my word I would work very diligently on trying to make a difference, and not let Cranston’s murder be for nothing. That’s been my driver. “We’ve hit some headwinds, as you can imagine … but it is making progress and it is highlighting the problems of crimes against agriculture.” The measure received written testimony in support by the state Department of Agriculture, Kapapala Ranch, Hawaii Farm Bureau and Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council. In her written testimony, Lani Cran Petrie of Kapapala Ranch in Kau said that she, as president of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council, presented a resolution in Pia’s memory earlier this month to a National Cattlemen’s Beef Association committee. “The resolution was accepted by the committee and is moving towards its presentation to the full membership for vote at the next annual convention,” Petrie wrote, calling the response from fellow ranchers at the convention in San Antonio “humbling and overwhelming.” The Hawaii Farm Bureau testified that Pia’s death “highlighted the vulnerabilities that agricultural workers face, particularly in remote areas where law enforcement response times may be delayed.” “In recent years, the agricultural community has reported an increase in confrontations with trespassers, including incidents where farm workers and landowners have been physically threatened,” the testimony states. “In some cases, criminals have returned multiple times, emboldened by the knowledge that response times from law enforcement are slow or that penalties for agricultural crimes are minimal. Farmers and ranchers need stronger protections to defend themselves and their families when faced with imminent threats.” Pia’s father, Mike Pia, told lawmakers in live testimony on Feb. 10, “I want to see this thing pass.” “Until today, I still ask the question, why?” Mike Pia testified. “Why a young kid took my son away, my youngest son, of my four children?” “I’m still grieving today. It’s very painful,” he said. According to the FindLaw website, 29 states have some form of stand-your-ground law. A companion bill to the omnibus agriculture bill, House Bill 859, was introduced by Rep. Matthias Kusch (D-Hilo, Hamakua) and passed its second reading on Feb. 5 after clearing the Committee on Agriculture. The legislation’s intent is to establish an agricultural crime prevention program within the DOA to provide grants, education and other services to the state’s agricultural industry and to strengthen laws regarding agriculture theft and hunting on private agriculture lands. “The meat and potatoes of this bill is that it more carefully lays out penalties for agricultural crimes,” said Kusch. “Right now … (perpetrators) don’t get pursued by prosecutors because it’s sort of nebulous. There are a lot of hurdles, like you have to catch someone with a camera and they would have had to have climbed over a sign saying ‘this fruit is not free.’” “We’re talking about making it sting a little bit,” added Richards. “The perpetrators are stealing avocados or papayas, whatever. And what the attorney general is working on is to stiffen the fines to make them more expensive and changing laws from saying ‘may include jail time’ to ‘shall include jail time’ to lock these people up.” Written testimony in support has been submitted by Hawaii County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen, Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii Farm Bureau, the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General and the state Department of Agriculture. Written testimony in opposition was submitted by the Office of the Public Defender. Waltjen told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on Tuesday that he supports the efforts by Richards and Kusch “to aid farmers and ranchers by providing funding to protect and secure their crops and livestock, establishing more appropriate penalties to hold offenders accountable to deter future crimes, and supporting local law enforcement with additional resources.” “Agricultural crimes — including theft, trespass and poaching/hunting on private agricultural lands — have been an ongoing concern across our state,” Waltjen said. “To my knowledge, our office is the only law enforcement office in the state that conducts agriculture crime awareness and prevention efforts by visiting local farmers markets. “Our investigators educate vendors and members of the public about agriculture theft, the impact of purchasing stolen fruits, vegetables and produce, laws regarding ownership and movement certificates, document recent agriculture theft incidents for victims, and share methods farmers and ranchers can employ to protect their crops, animals, produce and equipment.” Waltjen said the measures, if passed, “will further support these types of efforts” statewide.