Hawaii State Government

... Grassroot Institute “actually proposed 15 model bills this year that were introduced and got one across the finish line, which was the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact” ....

... Hawaii property tax rates thus can be low because the counties that assess and collect them do not have to cover the cost of public schools ....

... Don Dela Cruz is not a happy boy ....

... progress was made in the fight to improve transparency and accountability ....

..  Dela Cruz sales pitch for latest boondoggle ....

“...ready, fire, aim....”

... House Bill 954 would increase the personal exemption from $1,444 to $2,288 beginning with the 2023 tax year and increase the standard deduction ....

... Nightly closures of runway 8L from 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. will be needed for a 140-day period to complete the improvements to the runway ....

... Hawaii’s taxpayers have paid about $1.5 billion in just the past two years for housing, but “Where’s all the affordable housing?” ....

... The main areas where progress was cited were affordable housing, homelessness, the high cost of living, healthcare, education, and the environment ....

... The HHRF shut down in 2002.  It's fund still has $186.7M today ....

... an inside look at the 2023 Hawaii legislative session ....

... Since bad bills tend to outnumber good ones, that means we played a lot of defense ....

... the Legislature approved a bill authorizing the state to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which will help alleviate the state’s doctor shortage, but shelved other licensure compact bills that would have applied to nurses and other healthcare professionals. It also failed to exempt medical services from the state’s general excise tax ....

... “The budget is increasing by 30% this year,” Kent said, far exceeding last year’s record increase of 17% and breaking the state’s constitutionally mandated spending limit as well, which can be bypassed by a two-thirds vote .... 

... The Department had a successful legislative session, with five out of the seven administrative bills we advocated for being passed ....

... The Legislature's proposed spending plan for fiscal 2024 could result in a state budget deficit of $45 million by fiscal 2028, if OK'd by the governor ....

... More than half of these populations now reside in the continental United States and an estimated 43% are U.S. citizens ....

... On Maui, Hawaii Island and Oahu, Grassroot Institute staffers will take a look at the ups and downs of this year's legislative session ....

... The proposed budget is $668 million more than the governor requested and doesn't even include almost 30 other measures that require funding ....

... Apparently the Governor is becoming the appropriator--constitutionally a function of the Legislature .... 

“HTA is thankful that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the Legislature agreed on a funding approach that will allow HTA to continue...."

"...Green would like to thank the legislature for its collaboration...."

... how will this help Dela Cruz make money on Aloha Stadium? ....

... The Executive Director of OCP is the consumer counsel for the State of Hawai‘i ....

... empower the State, county, schools, and community members to directly collaborate on efforts to make streets safer ....

... On closing day, the House passed the final version of the state budget and priority fiscal bills ....

... a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from American consumers’ bank accounts ....

... After eight years of inaction, DoH forced DOBOR's hand by grabbing control of their budget ....

... Grassroot Institute in the news ....

... Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is hosting events across the state in May to discuss how key measures fared at the Legislature this year ....

... A final version of the State Budget Bill (HB300 CD1) was approved last night by Senate and House conferees ....

... testimony submitted during the past week includes ....

... people often make inaccurate assumptions about what OIP is and what it does ....

... Hawaii was called out by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica in 2022 for letting TANF money gather dust in some dark corner instead of putting it to use helping families and children ....

... House and Senate conferees began negotiations today on judiciary measures relating to fraud, fictitious claims, and campaign funds ....

... this is not easy to find ....

... The Senate's version of HB300 for the biennium budget covering fiscal years 2024 (FY24) and 2025 (FY25) includes appropriations of $11,652,494,699 and $9,942,927,794 in general funds, respectively. Additionally, the bill allocates $19,840,434,756 in FY24 and $18,151,811,832 in FY25 for all means of financing. ...

... These bills now head back to the Senate for their consideration ....

... Cullen accepted bribery payments on eight (8) separate occasions over the course of several years ....

... “It’s just four months of chaos" ....

... can you count how many times the word 'adding' is used? ....

"...You must promise me that if things ever get really ugly between the both of us, you will not say a word about this...."

... The Hawaii State Legislature is off and running again after a brief pause during which the House and Senate exchanged the bills they each had approved ....

... Green's pick for #2 at DBEDT is Dane Wicker, a current business partner and former chief of staff to Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz.  If Sadayasu is rejected, Wicker could advance to #1 ....

... 55 bills introduced by the House Majority Freshmen have passed third reading in the House and crossed over to the Senate ....

... SB36 amends state law to allow county prosecutors to initiate felony cases by complaints following preliminary hearings and prohibits multiple attempts to initiate a felony prosecution for an offense, except in certain circumstances ....

... The following measures have PASSED the first crossover and are moving to the Senate ....

... update on the state budget and the Majority Caucus' legislative priorities ....

... Gov. Green became Hawaiʻi’s ninth governor on December 5, 2022 and has since managed to fully staff his office ....