FINANCE COMMITTEE PASSES BILLS RELATING TO DISASTER RELIEF, VOTING BY MAIL, DUI, AND SAFETY AT THE STATE CAPITOL

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – Today the State House Committee on Finance chaired by Representative Sylvia J. Luke (Makiki, Punchbowl, Nuʻuanu, Dowsett Highlands, Pacific Heights, Pauoa) passed dozens of bills, including:

HB 1180, HD1              RELATING TO NATURAL DISASTERS.

Appropriates $60 million for disaster relief, recovery, mitigation, and remediation activities for the County of Hawaii. The Kilauea eruption covered nearly 14 square miles in Puna; it destroyed 716 homes and made over three thousand parcels inaccessible, and destroyed a school, farms, cultural sites, roadways, water systems, recreational destinations, and a large portion of the electrical grid. The state has already allocated $22 million for recovery efforts bringing the total funding to $82 million. The governor, the legislature, and the Hawaii County Council all support this bill. The bill requires reporting of monthly expenditures to the Department of Budget and Finance.

HOUSE COMMITTEES VOTE TO PROVIDE $60 MILLION IN DISASTER RELIEF FOR HAWAIʻI ISLAND FOLLOWING KILAUEA ERUPTION

Cooperative efforts of House, Senate, County, and Administration make funding possible

The House Public Safety, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee in a joint hearing with three other House committees today amended and passed HB 1180 that provides $60 million in disaster relief for Hawaiʻi Island following the destruction caused last year by the Kilauea eruption.

Of the $60 million total, $20 million would be set aside in a state grant and $40 million would be designated for a state loan with an expected payback from the federal government. Spending the funds would be subject to the Hawaiʻi County Council approval. The state has already provided $22 million in emergency funds for Big Island disaster relief, bringing the total package to $82 million.

The bill has the support of the House, Senate lawmakers and leadership, the Hawaiʻi County Council, and the Ige Administration and now moves to the House Finance Committee where Chair Sylvia J. Luke has said she would expedite it.

LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE BY MAUI'S TWO NEW HOUSE LAWMAKERS

Measures address minimum wage, sea level rise, school capacity and repair, illegal short-term vacation rentals

Maui's two new freshmen lawmakers, Representatives Tina M.L. Wildberger (Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena) and Troy N. Hashimoto (Kahakuloa, Waihe‘e, Waiehu, Pu‘uohala, Wailuku, Waikapū), introduced their first slate of bills to address issues of top concern to Maui residents. The measures include addressing the minimum wage, sea level rise, invasive species, school capacity and repair, and illegal vacation rentals. 

HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES OHA FUNDING BILL

The House Committee on Water, Land & Hawaiian Affairs on January 30 passed out House Bill 402 which substantially increases funding for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.  This measure would establish $35 million as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' pro rata share of the public land trust and transfers a lump sum of $139 million to OHA for underpayment of the public land trust funds.

HAWAIIAN CAUCUS WEEK AT THE STATE CAPITOL

Recognition, activities to honor community leaders

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature's Native Hawaiian Caucus Co-Chairs, Senator Jarrett Keohokalole and Representative Daniel Holt, with 43 of their colleagues, are sponsoring Hawaiian Caucus Week and Hawaiian Caucus Day to honor community leaders that have contributed to the advancement of Native Hawaiians and to recognize the contributions of our ‘ōpi‘o (youth), makua (parents), kūpuna (elders), Hawaiian at Heart supporters, and ‘ahahui (organizations).

HOUSE VOTES TO ADOPT NEW WORKPLACE HARASSMENT POLICY

 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – On Thursday, January 24, the House of Representatives adopted by resolution the House Administrative and Financial Manual for the Thirtieth Legislature 2019-2020.  Chapter 27 of the manual contains the House's new Workplace Harassment Policy.

"Changes were made to the House Workplace Harassment Policy to provide better direction, increase accountability, and facilitate appropriate follow-up of any complaints," said House Speaker Scott K. Saiki (McCully, Kāheka, Kakaʻako, Downtown). "This policy will help ensure that all members, staff, and the public are protected."

A sign detailing where to read the new policy will be posted in all members' offices, agency offices, conference rooms, and on bulletin boards.

HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES BILL TO INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE

Lawmakers seek to protect worker benefits and be sensitive to the burden on employers

The House Committee on Labor & Public Employment today passed HB1191 HD1 to increase Hawaiʻi's minimum wage. The bill will increase the state minimum wage on a gradual basis beginning on January 1, 2020 through 2024, with smaller wage increases for employees receiving employer-sponsored health insurance to incentivize employers to continue to provide that benefit.

"The bill balances the real need of lower-wage workers to keep up with Hawaiʻi's high cost of living and small businesses' ability to continue doing business amidst the significant burdens imposed on them by the state," said Representative Aaron Ling Johanson, Chair of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment. "The bill improves the wages of those who are most vulnerable with less risk of compromising those same employees' health insurance currently paid for by the employer."