Small Business

...SB2291 would raise the minimum wage in Hawaii to $15 an hour by 2020....

... Ige this week signed an executive order that most likely will discourage competition and innovation among internet service providers ....

...Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax. Rates range from 3 percent in North Carolina to 12 percent in Iowa....

...HB 2368 and SB 2795 would begin replacing private contractors with civil service employees....

...Bill to address Adams v. CDM court ruling (HB2201/SB2993)....

...the cost only adds more stress, with the average couple shelling out over $35,000 for their big day....

...it’s not a living wage if you’ve been replaced by a robot....

“...The state has a responsibility to ensure its natural resources are managed in a scientifically credible way for the benefit of all its citizens. We look forward to being partners in this important work....”

...Senate Bill 2003, which is being heard by the Senate Land & Water Committee on Friday, bans the issue of all new aquarium fishing licenses....

...Last Friday, Hawaii’s state senate introduced a bill that threatens to make it much harder to open a new vape shop. Now it’s emerged that another bill put forward at the same time could ban all online sales of vapor products....

...The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement actions this year in Hawaii resulted in closures of 19 large capacity cesspools (LCC) and over $500,000 in fines....

... Auto Repair Shops per Capita – 49th ....

...adds e-liquid to the definition of “tobacco products”, which would make all provisions of the cigarette tax and tobacco tax law that relate to tobacco products applicable to e-liquid....

...This closure is due to a delay in payments from the Department of Health. Once the back payments have been received, operations will resume as normal....

... whether they’re full-time fishers or “weekend warriors” ....

...Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin joined 22 state attorneys general today in filing a multistate lawsuit to block the Federal Communications Commission’s 'illegal'rollback of net neutrality....

Attorney General Chin said, “Banks and other depository institutions are currently hindered by federal law from providing financial services to cannabis businesses....”

...and the most unaffordable housing....

...Hawai'i has the longest average wait time for a building or construction permit - 17 months....

...the vessel is already in service and hosting tours along the West side of Oahu....

...that which has been done can no longer be done....

...We need legislation to save the fishery and all DLNR ocean issued-permit businesses....

...applying a Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling from last year to an existing DLNR rule....

...“We hope it becomes a model for all captains who want to do right by their immigrant crew.”....

...It's turtles this time....

...Hawai‘i legalized payday lending in 1999 as a way to regulate the check cashing business.... 

...The pilot program requires the rideshare drivers to pay 7 percent of each fare to the state Airports Division....

...Interior will make sure local voices are not drowned out by “large, well-funded NGOs and special interests”....

... no politician would want to get caught saying they supported limiting the number of  hospitals, dialysis facilities or MRI machines for rural areas.  And yet, that’s exactly what Hawaii's legislature has done ....

...The executive order establishes an Administrative Director in the Office of the Governor who will support companies seeking to test self-driving vehicle technology in Hawaiʻi....

...Thanks to the State Supreme Court's September 6, 2017 aquarium fishing decision, all ocean users now face the same fate as aquarium fishers--shut down awaiting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)....

...In Hawaii, it takes an average of 988 days and $438 in fees to become licensed to perform one of many occupations under the thumbs of state regulators....

...This report evaluates twelve publicly released agreements that Airbnb has entered with state or local governments....

...The Institute for Justice finds Hawaii to be ‘most burdensome’ in USA due to the large number of professions requiring licensure.   In contrast, the Wisconsin study finds Hawaii to be the 'least burdensome' based on an analysis of 10 specific professions and the requirements to attain license in each....

...the median wait time for treatment in the Queen’s Medical Center ER is about six hours and 20 minutes....

...to enable new applicants or existing licensees to search for their application status....

...in the early 1900s Ahi, Aku, Marlin and other pelagic fish, were reported in the commercial reef fish data. Then they separated the pelagic and reef fish. This alone accounted most of the 90% decline....

Vacation house rules in works: Regulating ‘unhosted’ rentals seen as way to preserve housing for residents....

...Kelii Akina and Ray Tsuchiyama discuss applying the lessons of Google to the future of Hawaii....

...The brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission....

...The Supreme Court Ruling will have far reaching impacts on all ocean permits issued by DLNR....

...Recently, the Honolulu City Council approved on first reading Bill 80 (2017), which would award a real property tax exemption to “ocean-friendly restaurants.”...

...DLNR continues to believe that existing aquarium fishing practices are sustainable and environmentally sound....

...Hawaii dropped from 11th for 2017 to 14th for 2018....

...Honolulu Rates F but the State overall rates C-....

...The State Business Tax Climate Index is a measure of how well states structure their tax systems....

...the 9th Circuit Court’s Marsh v. J. Alexander LLC decision makes life much easier for employers with tipped employees in Hawaii....

...the Harbors Division isn’t satisfied with three years of triple-digit increases....

The hearings will be held at the following times and locations....

...StarKist will pay a $6.3 million penalty and provide emergency response equipment to the American Samoa Department of Public Safety, Fire Services Bureau....