Hawaii State Government

...The handling of this COVID-19 pandemic has been utterly chaotic and there is mass confusion among the public....

...The memo recommends all Senate offices close until further notice....

...Ige, by Supplemental Emergency Proclamation dated March 16, 2020, waived many laws pertaining to transparency and accountability, specifically Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92 dealing with open meetings, and Chapter 91 dealing with rulemaking....

...but the State government is the least dependent....

...On March 4, 2020 a Capitol employee was suspected of having been exposed to the virus, and the Public Access was subsequently shuttered....

...suspension of the legislative session indefinitely, starting on Tuesday, March 17....

...Sunshine doesn't cure Corona Virus -- but Corona Virus cures Sunshine....

...House Speaker Scott K. Saiki today announced the appointment of individuals to serve on the Select House Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness adopted through House Resolution 54....

...Hawaii citizens can count on seeing a slew of bills introduced to raise taxes on somebody....

...Carbon Tax to become $15B Slush Fund for Developers....

...Senate Bill 3104, Senate Draft 2, relating to Land Development...and...Senate Bill 3103, Senate Draft 2, relating to a School Facilities Agency....

...hearing and floor session videos have been and continue to be archived, unedited....

...Convicted cocaine dealer and MMA fight promoter Chad Tsuneyoshi may not be satisfied with just having his wife on the Honolulu Council....

...A total of 355 bills have been sent from the House to the Senate for their consideration....

...During the recession of 2008, the state government was forced to reduce the school week to four days, cut millions of dollars from social programs, and reduce public employee salaries by 5 percent....

...A group of bills will be up for third reading in tomorrow’s crossover session in the Hawai‘i State Senate tomorrow, Tuesday, March 3, 2020, starting at 9:30 a.m....

...Thursday March 5th is the 2020 Legislative session first crossover....

...See all 2019 and 2020 House bills that have crossed over to the Senate this session....

...Emergency preparedness in Hawaii....

...Projects total $4.9 billion for fiscal years 2020 and 2021....

...Reckless state spending is exhausting our emergency reserves....

...Experienced aviators Rick Rogers and Bill Enoka have been identified as the two killed at Dillingham Airfield Saturday, February 22, 2020, when their Cessna crashed on takeoff.  Captain Rogers forwarded this letter to media outlets Wednesday, February 19, 2020.... 

...We reviewed 99 House and Senate bills proposing 63 special and revolving funds during the 2020 legislative session. None satisfied the criteria....

... will Sen Taniguchi block this bill as he did last session? ....

...House cuts funding for TMT enforcement from state budget—Ige Wanted $65M to Not Enforce Law on Mauna Kea....

...the state is staring at a looming major debt crisis, projected at the moment to total $88 billion over the next 30 years....

...Will 2020 be the year of an Hawaii Airport Corporation?....

...Federal aid is allocated to states for a variety of purposes, primarily to supplement state funding for programs or projects deemed to be of national interest, such as Medicaid payments, education funding assistance, infrastructure assistance, and more....

...establishing a remote legislative access program that would allow individuals to present oral testimony at legislative committee hearings....

...Dillingham Airfield Can be Better off Without Airports Division....

...The Hawaii State Senate today confirmed William J. Aila to be Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Department of Hawaiian Homelands and Tyler I. Gomes to be Deputy....

...from the Honolulu Republican Party....

...nanny-state proposals, unconstitutional overreach bills and social engineering schemes....

...the U.S. Army got unexpected news from the DOT on Jan. 23....

...how Hawaii can avoid its looming major debt crisis, projected at the moment to total $88 billion the next 30 years....

... from the Honolulu Republican Party ....

...there is a plethora of requests for “special funds” in the 2020 Legislature....

...a case for the Hawaii community to focus on “the future fiscal capacity of Hawaii state and local governments.”....

... List of present and future hearings ....

...The State’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget for FY2019 was $2.02 billion....

...What ails Hawaii is too much government and too much spending. The last thing we need is more of the same....

...4,161 bills and resolutions (including carry-overs from 2019) have been recorded as of January 20, 2020....

...the Hawaii State Senate’s new Anti-Harassment Policy....

...the elephant in the room—the cost of living—got a little larger and harder to deal with each year....

...DBEDT had non-general funds with balances totaling $5.75 million and administratively created non-general funds with balances totaling more than $750,000 that were not reported to the 2019 Legislature as required by HRS....

...In FY 2019, total State tax collections were $8.28 billion, a 4.8% increase from FY 2018 which were $7.9 billion....

...Ige plans to “boost” the construction industry by increasing the number of public works projects....

"...legislative package of bills to reduce income inequality...."

...Common Cause Hawaii will be holding a meeting about the 2020 Hawaii State Legislative Session on Saturday, January 25....

...When you’ve dug an $88 billion hole, you need to stop digging....