Hawaii State Government

... Luke Meyers is joining the Office of Governor Josh Green, M.D., as the State Disaster Management Advisor (SDMA), with Col. (Ret.) James D.S. Barros named as the new Administrator for the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) ....

... On Wednesday, January 18, 2023, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature will convene ....

... two dozen community and media organizations suggest changes that could be implemented by executive order ....

... The list is directly from the HGEA’s email to members earlier this week, January 9, 2023 ....

... Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s “wins” over the past year ....

... the important thing isn’t money for the sake of money, but whether it’s being used wisely to make our lives better ....

... TikTok is known to be mining and storing in China the identities and private information of up to 200 million Americans ....

... Reps. James Tokioka of Kauai and Ryan Yamane of Mililani will resign their seats in the Legislature and start in their new positions next week ....

... fireworks auditing, cigarette tax stamps, ranked choice voting ....

... more than 20 briefings to be held between Jan. 10 and 24 ....  

... Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 20, 2023 ....

... Hawaii is the fourth-worst state in the country when it comes to requiring occupational licenses ....

... revenue will continue to fall short of spending absent policy changes ....

... Governor Josh Green, M.D., First Lady Jaime Green and the Washington Place Foundation will carry on a 164-year tradition by hosting a Christmas Open House at Washington Place from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, December 16, 2022 ....

... With these selections, Gov. Green has now identified a Director for every state department ....

... finalized committee assignments ahead of the 32nd Legislature ....

... Governor Green recently announced the appointments of key cabinet and executive staff leadership roles, signaling the most expeditious assembling of a gubernatorial administration in the state’s history (behind a Carpenters Union chief of Staff) ....

... A total of 606,674 Act 115 refunds were issued, totaling $307.9 million. That includes 288,590 direct deposits and 318,084 paper checks ....

... Hawaii, pension liabilities totaled an estimated $32.7 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, the state's pension assets totaled $17.4 billion. Considering both assets and liabilities, Hawaii's pension funding ratio is 53.2%, the seventh lowest in the country ....

... Green today announced nominees to serve as Director and/or Deputy Director for fourteen state departments in his cabinet ....

... Hawaii has the highest average burdens across the occupations it licenses ....

... Hawaii Department of Transportation will be holding virtual public meetings on the update of the Hawaii Statewide Transportation Plan on Dec. 5, 6, 14, & 15 ....

... chief of staff, Brooke Wilson, (former political and education director for the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters) who had served in the same position when he was Hawaiʻi’s lieutenant governor ....

... Hawaii leveraged $290.0 million in federal highway and bridge formula funds in FY 2022 to help jumpstart 95 new improvement projects ....

... If we don’t demand action, followup on our demands and show the consequences at the ballot box, then we have failed in our civic duty ....

... Senate announces new Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs for 2023 .... 

"...higher inflation will pressure pension liabilities via rising employee wages, which raise projected benefits, and automatic cost of living adjustment mechanisms...."

... click here to apply ....

... Hawaii’s unemployment insurance (UI) program is funded exclusively by employers via state and federal payroll taxes on wages ....

... Hawaii spent $1 million on a sea urchin hatchery and $300,000 for an engineering assessment of the now-condemned Aloha Stadium. …

... the “dedication” of the funding source is often porous ....

... ​Yost vs Wakai over Hu Honua ....

... We found that OLA has done little of consequence ....

... $37,000 of shortfall per taxpayer ....

... The report examines the tax and spending choices made by the governors and discusses recent policy trends ....

... the state's sound financial position and strong governance, offset by economic concentration in tourism, elevated leverage (combined debt, pension, OPEB and other liabilities) and associated fixed costs ....

... The positions are temporary (4-6 month) jobs with start dates in December 2022 or January 2023 .... 

“...Effective immediately, departments and agencies under my authority shall not provide any information, including medical records, data, or billing, to another state seeking to impose penalties upon a person or entity related to reproductive health services in Hawaiʻi....”

“...This attack was focused only on the public-facing website for the airports and had no impact on internal systems, operations, or traveler safety....”

... The most recent and visible example is our iconic Aloha Stadium .... 

... draft legislation would incorporate a “deliberative process privilege” into the state Uniform Information Practices Act ....

... For 2021, Hawaii had $6.5 billion to pay its bills of $24.5 billion ....

... In a Telegram post Wednesday, Killnet, a notorious "hacktivist" group posted a list of several governmental websites it would be targeting in the coming days ....

... City boards, commissions and committees which currently have vacant positions, including openings on the Honolulu Ethics Commission and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation ....

... The Hawai‘i Regulatory Licensing Reform Act requires that professions should be regulated only when reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of consumers of their services ....

... Does the state have a responsibility to “go without,” if that would be better for the people? ....

... lawmakers are allowed to waive the state’s spending cap by a two-thirds vote, which they routinely do ....

... Tired of runaway government taxes, spending and debt?  Learn what we can do about it from budget expert Daniel Mitchell ....

... Decades of studies have shown that publicly financed stadiums, even those that include housing and retail projects, do not bring in enough money to offset public investments ....

... Gov. Ige vetoed HB1147, which the Legislature approved via an illegal practice, but also vetoed SB3089, which was a setback for liberty ....