Hawaii State Government

One of the interesting things about elections is that so little attention is paid to issues that have major, long-term consequences....

In 2016, Hawaii ranked 40th among the states with an OPEB funding ratio of 29.2 percent....

...free workshop, offered at numerous locations on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island this fall....

...Judge Katherine G. Leonard of the Intermediate Court of Appeals served as Acting Chief Justice for the Hawaii Supreme Court in this case. All five of the regular justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court had recused themselves....

From League of Women Voters, October, 2016....

This report provides the Honolulu City Council with an update on the activities of the Office of the City Auditor....

As of the end of Fiscal Year 2016 Hawaii’s Pipeline balance is $548 million....

...administration will seek to both accelerate state payments into the Employee Retirement System pension fund and establish new rules for dealing with the privatization of government operations....

General fund spending rose 7 percent in 2016, and Ige proposed to increase it 12 percent in 2017....

Despite that heavy spending, Hawaii’s roads are the worst in the U.S. for urban pavement conditions ....

...you have circumvented the Constitution and laws of our state by appointing your so-called “Governor’s ESSA team.”....

Four years ago, the state acquired 1,200 acres of farmland....

Hawaii’s worst rankings are urban Interstate pavement condition (50th) and administrative disbursements per mile (49th).... 

Oliver Porter, a leader in the creation of the public-private city model, will come to Hawaii to be featured at a Grassroot Institute event on Oahu on September 28th and on Maui on September 29th....

...highest ever bond ratings and the strongest credit position the state has ever achieved in its history....

...a federal lawsuit asserting that the amount the State pays to resource families to cover the costs of caring for foster children was inadequate....

SLH’s water carrier service is regulated by the PUC....

Recent headlines reporting a $1 Billion surplus in the state general fund tell only part of the story....

“Our goal is to design a system for highways funding"

...sold municipal bonds using offering documents that contained materially false statements....

SB2077 could result in the ERS plan being disqualified by the Internal Revenue Service....

Hawaii’s Legislators are well on their way to depleting the state’s $890 million cash balance....

Current Deputy Director Pankaj Bhanot will serve as the next DHS director beginning September 1. Mr. Bhanot’s appointment is subject to Senate approval....

There is currently no one on the waiting list, which will reopen on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016....

At the rate Hawaii is spending and taxing, projected budgets will only be sustainable for two more years....

...at $6,000 per resident, the burden of Hawaii’s pension shortfalls is among the highest in the nation....

...assessing the financial health of the state general fund as a result of key decisions made by the legislative and executive branches during the 2016 legislative session....

... Grassroot Institute Exposes Flaws in Veto Override Regarding Maui Hospitals ....

Complete list and links here ....

...2016 VoterVoice Survey Results....

Hemp, Agriculture, Public Safety and TeleHealth....

• HB 2169 Act 212  Relating to Social Workers
• SB 2811 Act 213  Relating to Parental Rights
• HB 1726 Act 214  Relating to Murder

BILL SIGNING CEREMONIES for the following....

State Capitol, 5th floor, Governor’s Ceremonial Room....

On July 12, any measure that has not been signed or vetoed by Gov. Ige will become law with or without his signature....

Since enabling legislation was enacted into law on May 29, 1986....

...in a June 16 letter, Case said she was not extending Friel's employment past his six-month probation period....

...at ceremonies on Oahu and Maui....

...liabilities are equal to 73 percent of total state personal income....

...in a recent Star-Advertiser online poll, 50% of respondents gave the 2016 Legislative Session a “D” or “F” grade....

...despite having secured state funding since 2012, the chairperson of the Board of Agriculture has neither re-established nor filled the branch’s program manager and inspector positions....

...Hawai’i is the first state to file a lawsuit against these companies for their roles in causing millions of cars to be sold with airbags that could explode, posing grave, sometimes fatal, dangers to the cars’ occupants....

This paper examines Hawaii’s recent effort at developing a model to allocate the state’s transient accommodation tax....

...Nearly 300 bills passed the legislature this session....

...Thirty-five states experienced a decrease in absolute debt levels....

... Disagreements are inevitable ....

...new accounting rules require the state to report pension debt in its balance sheet....

Native Hawaiians continue to disagree on the future of the sovereignty movement, or even whether there should be one....

Tuesday (5/3) will be the second to last floor session where many of the bills will be heard for final passage. The 2016 Legislative session officially ends Thursday (5/5)....