April 29, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Wednesday, April 29, 2026

April 29, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:51 PM :: 278 Views

A Bigger Fish than Luke: AG Bribery Letter Reopens PUC Lahaina Fire Coverup

Ninth Circuit says Hawaii does not have to publicly release voter rolls

HB2309: DHHL Homestead Inheritance Rules

VIDEO: Drawing Held to Determine Ballot Placement

Budget Committee Makes Deal to Increase Taxes

CB: … Todd proposed leaving the entire 2024 package of tax cuts intact for Hawaiʻi families who earn less than $350,000 a year while increasing state income taxes by 1% for the highest-earning Hawaiʻi taxpayers in the top three tax brackets.

That 1% tax increase would apply to joint filers who earn $450,000 or more per year…

Later in the negotiations, Todd also proposed a new income tax bracket for households earning $1 million or more and single filers earning $500,000 or more, which would have a marginal tax rate of 13%. Dela Cruz accepted that idea….

To increase revenue for the state, Todd essentially agreed to Senate proposals from earlier in the session to phase out the popular renewable energy tax credit that subsidizes many rooftop solar energy systems, and to end the capital goods tax credit that provides tax incentives for businesses to make capital investments….

The Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi, meanwhile, objected to the plan to eliminate the capital goods tax credit, arguing that wiping it out “will raise costs for equipment and infrastructure across sectors, with those increases likely passed through to consumers.” According to the chamber, “In an already high-cost environment, this creates additional upward pressure on prices and cost of living.”

Dela Cruz agreed with Todd’s plan to leave intact all of the 2024 tax breaks for joint filers earning less than $350,000 and single filers making less than $175,000, which was apparently identical to a Senate proposal made earlier in the session.

Dela Cruz also proposed Tuesday that lawmakers allow the state earned income tax credit, the food excise tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credit be reduced as scheduled in 2027, which would also save the state money. Dela Cruz cited data showing tens of thousands of low-income households that qualify for those credits never actually claim them.

He also restated the Senate’s support for ending the High Technology Business Investment Tax Credit, the Renewable Fuels Production Tax Credit and the Research Activities Tax Credit, saying they should all be terminated at the end of 2028.

Ending or modifying those state tax credits would save the state $971 million in the years ahead, Dela Cruz said….

Once lawmakers finally resolve the issue of the tax cuts, Dela Cruz and Todd will need to dive deeply into the details of the state budget to hash out an agreement on that complex document by Friday….

BACKGROUND: SB3125: Senators make their case for smaller Tax Hikes

News Release: Press Release | STATE LAWMAKERS REACH AGREEMENT TO PRESERVE PROMISED INCOME TAX RELIEF FOR WORKING FAMILIES | Hawaiʻi State Senate Majority

SA: Tax relief change legislation reaches compromise | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

KITV: Hawaii income tax cuts secured for local families | News | kitv.com

KHON: Legislature approves tax cuts for most Hawaiʻi families

Read … Budget Committee Makes A Deal To Save State Tax Cuts - Honolulu Civil Beat

Boosting Hawaii's economy with film industry expansion

KHON: … The work at the Capitol centers on tax incentives that can help Hawaiʻi compete for film and television projects. Galindez said lawmakers have shown strong interest this session as the industry pushes to recover from a slow period.

“The legislature this year has been very, very supportive of the film and TV industry,” Galindez said….

A proposed private development near the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu could become a major step forward for the state’s film industry….

REALITY: Miske Mob Were All Union Drivers on Set of Hawaii 5-0

Read … Boosting Hawaii's economy with film industry expansion

SB3218: Loot Honolulu County to pay for Aloha Stadium

HNN: … SB3218 would allow counties to use private capital to fund public infrastructure improvements…

Developer Stanford Carr says they are on track for a 2029 opening.

“We need more money to build the stadium. We’re very cognizant of that, but we’re poising the project along first, starting with the demolition,” he said. “We’re at 60% schematic design. we’ll continue with the schematics, refining it until we go to design development, and then, partial construction.”

“This is a community asset and so we want all of the community, to invite them to be a part of it and involved.” Carr added.

Senate Bill 3218 could help with financing the $650 million dollar public-private project, including housing and commercial areas around the stadium.

“Oftentimes in Hawaii, we get a pessimistic attitude towards construction, and we start thinking that because of our relatively isolated geography that things are going to take five million years, and they don’t have to,” said Michael Yadao, Interim Aloha Stadium Manager. “We have the expertise, we have the local human capital and materials to be able to build a great stadium and a thriving stadium district.”

The measure would allow all counties to use private capital to fund public infrastructure improvements….

SB3218: Text, Status

Read … Aloha Stadium continues to come down in with controlled collapse

HB1516 Pre-Trial Release: Soft-on-Crime Activists Rush to MisJudgment

CB: … The state’s own Criminal Justice Research Institute 2025 Annual Report reinforces this caution. As the first year of a centralized pretrial data system, it is explicitly a baseline report.

It focuses heavily on process measures while key outcome data — failure-to-appear rates, comprehensive successful-release metrics, and full comparability across circuits — remain incomplete.

The report also highlights meaningful variation across islands in case mix, custody rates, and practices.

In this environment, further prescriptive statutory limits on how courts assess financial ability may be premature. Policymaking should follow clear, complete evidence rather than get ahead of it….

HB1516: Text, Status

Read … Don’t Get Ahead Ahead Of The Data On Pretrial Reform - Honolulu Civil Beat

Millions in ‘improper billing’: Governor Terrified of what Upcoming Kauhale Audit will Reveal

CB: … Gov. Josh Green blasted Hawaiʻi State Auditor Les Kondo’s preliminary report on his signature tiny homes project, accusing the Legislature’s watchdog of being overly aggressive and expressing an unwillingness to help the administration with the endeavor.

(TRANSLATION: Kondo has uncovered corruption.)

The auditor, Green said, is engaged in a “personal vendetta.”

(TRANSLATION: Kondo has uncovered corruption.)

“Instead of being constructive,” Green said of the audit process, “it became a very caustic, aggressive process.”

(TRANSLATION: Kondo has uncovered corruption.)

“It was very much an interrogation,” Green added….

(TRANSLATION: My people might go to jail.)

SB2557: Text, Status

PDF: Auditor Memo to Legislators | DocumentCloud

SA: Auditor warns legislators of initial kauhale concerns | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

REALITY: Kauhale Program: Auditor warns of Millions in ‘improper billing’

Read … 'Vendetta': Gov. Blasts Auditor Report On Key Homeless Program - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii NIL bill would allow UH to pay student-athletes

PBN: … In the ever-changing world of college sports, a bill moving through the Hawaii Legislature would engage Hawaii student-athletes in name, image and likeness opportunities following a historic $2.8 billion antitrust settlement last year.

Senate Bill 3263, which passed both chambers and was sent to conference committee, would permit the University of Hawaii to provide direct financial compensation to its student-athletes for use of their name, image and likeness. House and Senate conferees were set to meet on Tuesday afternoon.

Since the June 2025 ruling in House v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, more than 30 states, including California and Florida, have enacted NIL laws. Many were enacted before the settlement and have since been amended. …

ESPN: Executive order aims to limit NCAA athletes to 5 years, 1 transfer - ESPN

SB3263: Text, Status

Read … Hawaii NIL bill would allow UH to pay student-athletes - Pacific Business News

Hawaii Traffic deaths cut in half

HNN: … Traffic deaths on Oahu roads are half of what they were last year, according to state Department of Transportation statistics, as police and transportation officials credit a coordinated effort to keep roads safer.

This time last year, there were 46 fatalities on roads statewide, with 25 of them on Oahu. This year, there were 23 fatalities statewide with 14 on Oahu.

In 2025, there were 82 traffic deaths, 54 in 2024 and 57 in 2023.

The season’s DUI checkpoints start Friday….

Read … Traffic deaths on Oahu cut in half as officials credit safety partnership

How one dairy farmer is keeping the milk flowing in Hawaii

FG: … Back in the 1950s the number of dairy farms on the island of Hawaii was around 80 ….

Read … How one dairy farmer is keeping the milk flowing in Hawaii | Farm News | Farmers Guardian

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