KA ‘AHA KENEKOA
THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2025
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Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair |
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Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Vice Chair |
NOTICE OF DECISION MAKING
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DATE: |
Friday, March 28, 2025 |
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TIME: |
10:02 AM |
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PLACE: |
Conference Room 211 & Videoconference State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
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PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL
BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY
A live stream of all Senate Standing Committee meetings will be available on the Senate YouTube Channel.
A G E N D A
The following measure(s) were previously heard in their respective subject matter committees:
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RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE. Increases transparency and accountability surrounding property forfeiture. Restricts civil asset forfeiture to cases involving the commission of a felony offense where the property owner has been convicted of an underlying felony offense. Directs forfeiture proceeds to the general fund. Amends the allowable expenses for moneys in the Criminal Forfeiture Fund. Requires the Attorney General to adopt rules necessary to carry out the purpose of the Hawaii Omnibus Criminal Forfeiture Act. Limits the transfer of certain forfeiture property to federal agencies. Establishes records requirements. Repeals language that requires the Hawaii Omnibus Criminal Forfeiture Act to be construed liberally. (SD1)
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JDC, WAM |
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RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. Authorizes the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to furnish a list of five qualified and experienced interest arbitrators in the event the parties fail to select the neutral third member of the arbitration panel. Clarifies that the list of five interest arbitrators may contain arbitrators from both the American Arbitration Association and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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LBT, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE REVENUE BONDS TO ASSIST HAWAII ISLAND COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER. Authorizes the issuance of special purpose revenue bonds to assist Hawaii Island Community Health Center to purchase or lease land on the island of Hawaii and develop primary care health care facilities. Effective 7/1/2026. (SD1)
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR COURT-APPOINTED COUNSEL. Increases the rate of compensation and maximum allowable amounts per case for court-appointed counsel in criminal proceedings. Appropriates funds. Effective 4/23/2057. (SD1)
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JDC, WAM |
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RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR COURT-APPOINTED REPRESENTATION. Increases the rate of compensation and maximum allowable amounts per case for court-appointed counsel and guardians ad litem in family court proceedings. (SD1)
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JDC, WAM |
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RELATING TO FARM TO FAMILIES. Establishes the Hawaii Farm to Families Program to alleviate food shortages in the State. Requires reports to the Legislature before the Regular Sessions of 2026 and 2027. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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AEN, WAM |
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RELATING TO EARLY LEARNING. Appropriates funds to hire teachers and teacher assistants and for equipment and services for public preschools. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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EDU, WAM |
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RELATING TO HOUSING. Appropriates funds to the Office of the Governor for the continued implementation of the Kauhale Initiative and Ohana Zones Pilot Program. Appropriates funds to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation for the development of supportive housing projects and provision of supportive services for certain households in the supportive housing projects. Effective 6/29/3000. (SD1)
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HHS/HOU, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND. Establishes the Mixed-Income Subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to prioritize development of workforce rental and for-sale housing projects for qualified residents as defined in section 201H-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to adopt administrative rules. Appropriates funds. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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HOU, WAM |
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RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY. Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for reentry services to connect offenders with community-based services. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
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PSM, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE HAWAII TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. Establishes state goals related to economic diversification. Appropriates funds to the Hawaii Technology and Development Corporation to meet those goals. Requires the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation to submit annual reports over three years to the legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO STATE FINANCES. Authorizes the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to secure revenue bonds as a line of credit or other instrument of indebtedness for the Bond Volume Cap Recycling Program. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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HOU, WAM |
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RELATING TO FIREWORKS. Allows recordings made by law enforcement agencies who are using, controlling, or operating unmanned aerial vehicles to establish probable cause for arrests under the Fireworks Control Law if the unmanned aerial vehicle is recording directly above public property and the act leading to the arrest is committed on public property. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
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PSM/JDC, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE COCONUT RHINOCEROS BEETLE PROGRAM. Establishes short-term management initiatives for the coconut rhinoceros beetle response program. Appropriates funds for activities and positions related to coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation control. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
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HRE/AEN, WAM |
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RELATING TO HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. Appropriates funds to support educational training programs to expand the State's health care workforce, including funding to support health care certification programs offered in public high schools and education programs that support certified nurse assistants in becoming licensed practical nurses. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)
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HHS/EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO WASTEWATER SYSTEMS. Establishes and appropriates funds for a three-year new wastewater system and individual wastewater system technology testing pilot program within the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center. Requires interim and final reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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HRE/AEN, WAM |
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RELATING TO ENERGY. Requires the Department of Budget and Finance to enter into step-in agreements for payment obligations arising under certain power purchase agreements. Establishes the Power Purchase Costs Trust Fund. Establishes that money collected from on-bill charges for power purchase agreements and money received from a surcharge supporting a reserve account that are deposited in the Trust Fund shall be held in trust by the State, and that independent power producers shall hold a beneficial interest in the moneys to the extent of the amounts owed under the covered power purchase agreements. Appoints, authorizes, and empowers an electric utility to serve as the billing, collection, and payment agent of the Department of Budget and Finance in the service of performing step-in agreements. (SD1)
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EIG/CPN, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. Part I: Authorizes the Hawaii Community Development Authority to cooperate with or assist public and private sector entities to engage in projects that improve the State. Establishes the Transit-oriented Development Infrastructure Improvement Program under the HCDA. Repeals the Transit-oriented Development Infrastructure Improvement District and Board. Authorizes the HCDA to issue bonds to finance the development of infrastructure outside of HCDA's community development districts. Part II: Establishes the Transit-Oriented Community Improvement Partnership within the HCDA. Establishes the Community Improvement Special Fund. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds into and out of the special fund for the Partnership and positions. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
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TCA, WAM |
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MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. Provides an emergency appropriation for fifty per cent of the penalty assessed by the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service to be reinvested in the continued development of a new eligibility system that will assist in reducing the State's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rate, which, if successful, may result in the State not being required to pay the remaining fifty per cent of the penalty. Declares that the general fund expenditure ceiling is exceeded.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII CONFERENCE CENTER REVOLVING FUND. Establishes the University of Hawaii Conference Center Revolving Fund to facilitate the administration of the revolving fund for conference center programs among various campuses and operating units of the University of Hawaii System. Repeals the Conference Center Revolving Fund and the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the Community College Conference Center Revolving Fund. Lapses all appropriations and encumbrances of the Conference Center Revolving Fund, University of Hawaii at Hilo and the Community College Conference Center Revolving Fund to the University of Hawaii Conference Center Revolving Fund. Appropriates funds out of the University of Hawaii Conference Center Revolving Fund. (SD1)
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HRE, WAM |
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RELATING TO PROCUREMENT. Phases in a ban on state departments and administratively attached agencies from purchasing imported flowers and lei. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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GVO, WAM |
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RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. Requires each county, in collaboration with the Department of Transportation to establish a Summer Streets Pilot Program that closes vehicular traffic and repurposes roads for pedestrian and cyclist use, outdoor events, and other community-driven activities. Requires each county with a population of two hundred fifty thousand or more to collaborate jointly with the State Highway Safety and Modernization Council to develop proposals to submit to the Director of Transportation. Requires a participating county to submit an initial proposal to the Director of Transportation. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Repeals on 6/30/2027. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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TCA, WAM |
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RELATING TO CANCER. Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to conduct a multiethnic cohort study focusing on the social determinants of health, lifestyles, environmental exposures, and resilience factors of Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Filipinos, including an analysis of the health effects and risks of individuals living in close proximity to landfills in Nanakuli, Oahu. Requires the appropriated funds to be matched by federal funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis before expenditure. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
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HRE, WAM |
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RELATING TO GOVERNMENT PROCEDURES. Establishes the Intergovernmental Task Force for Permit Simplification to identify actions taken, challenges encountered, and legislative measures necessary to facilitate, expedite, and coordinate state and intergovernmental development permit processes. Appropriates funds. (SD1)
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EIG, WAM |
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RELATING TO TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. Amends the funding priorities of the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to incentivize development in areas that satisfy transit-supportive density requirements. Allocates a minimum percentage of Rental Housing Revolving Fund moneys for certain mixed-income rental housings projects. Requires the Transit-Oriented Development Infrastructure Improvement District Board to consider the infrastructure needs of transit-supportive density requirements. Requires the strategic plan developed by the Hawaii Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development to delineate transit-oriented development areas for each county. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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HOU/WTL, WAM |
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RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL CLIMATE RESILIENCY. Establishes a three-year Climate-Resilient Food Systems Grant Pilot Program, to be administered by the Department of Agriculture. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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AEN, WAM |
Decision making meeting only, no oral testimony will be accepted.
Persons wishing to submit written testimony may do so up to 24 hours prior to the hearing. Click here to submit written testimony.
All testimony received by the Hawai‘i Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public.
For special assistance: The cable TV broadcast and/or live stream of this meeting will include closed captioning. If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation due to a disability, please call the committee clerk at the telephone number listed below or email WAMcommittee@capitol.hawaii.gov. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.
FOR AMENDED NOTICES: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored. If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT (808) 586-6800.
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_____________________________________ Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz Chair |
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