Hawaii State Government

... China's most recent act of using artificial intelligence to circulate false images and videos worldwide, which purported the Maui wildfire was caused by the U.S. government thru the use of a meteorological weapon ....

... Each working group will produce a preliminary report by November 1 and deliver a final report by December 15, 2023 ....

"...Threats have been made against me, loved ones who don’t even work for the government, and even children...."

... to formulate recommendations for the upcoming session, which begins January 17, 2024 ....

... Hawaii signs a multi-year agreement to use mdf commerce's advanced procurement technology suite to digitize and streamline its end-to-end procurement process ....

“... I was appointed to this position, I didn’t run for it initially so I’m not wedded to staying in the Legislature ....”

... Governor Josh Green, M.D., has announced several appointees to state boards and commissions ....

"... Innovative Transaction to Rehabilitate Properties and Preserve Long-Term Affordability ...."

... HRS Chapter 26-35 spells out the requirements that apply to an agency administratively attached to a state department ....

... Hawaii underestimated the deadly threat of wildfire, records show ....

... Hawaii is the worst state in the nation for cryptocurrency, due to the state's strict and confusing regulations ....

... The Moniz appointment is due in large part from a new law. Under a recent law, Act 260 Session Laws of Hawaii, the Governor must appoint the person nominated by the public employee unions. ....

... Green issued 11 vetoes on July 7, due to serious legal and programmatic concerns ....

... It applies to almost all state employees (except those working for the legislative or judicial branches) ....

"...Thank you for giving a heads up to legislators about accepting a book from Hawai’i’s social workers because it might be an Ethics Violation...."

... At the ceremony, the Governor made clear that tax relief, especially for ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed) families, is still on the table.  There will be a Phase 2, he said, apparently targeting the 2024 legislative session ....

... two 2023 laws, Act 019 and Act 125, added new Sunshine Law requirements effective July 1 and October 1, 2023 ....

... Act 242, signed by Gov. Josh Green this week, established the council, which renamed the Highway Safety Council to the Hawaii Highway Safety and Modernization Council ....

... Since the program’s inception in 2021, service providers from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and Hawaiʻi Community Lending have been serving homeowners with the greatest needs ....

... The agreement, which began on June 30, calls for Solar Farm View Estates LLC (SFVE) to undertake substantial repairs to the complex and operate it for the next 75 years. The Board of Directors of HHFDC, which retains the property’s fee-simple interest, approved a $4.95 million, low-interest, 10-year loan that allows SFVE to facilitate the repairs ....

... Housing, the Honolulu rail, the Aloha Stadium, homelessness and the 64% pay raise for Honolulu City Council members ....

... Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, hailed the tax break bill as a positive financial benefit for struggling families ....

... Governor Josh Green, M.D., today notified legislative leaders and stakeholders of his intent to veto 11 bills passed by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature during the 2023 session. ...

... What happened to Hawaii’s $10 billion budget surplus? ....

... Sometimes it takes a bad situation to make another bad situation better.  This might be one of those times ....

" ... if the government spending is growing faster than the private sector, then it is unsustainable .... "

... "We are working with our colleagues, possibly in the next couple of weeks, you will see this housing declaration of emergency, similarly to address some of the bottlenecks on housing," Green said. ....

... Don Aweau most recently served with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a senior advisor ....

... Green plans to trim approximately $1 billion from the Legislature’s proposed biennial budget via 22 separate line item vetoes ....

... 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 ....