The Upcoming 2025 Session
Why Hawaii's housing costs are among the highest in the nation
Hawaii 3rd-Highest Pension Debt
Dream home in paradise leads to 'total dismay'
Insiders Scripting Next Legislative Session Right Now
SA: … Senate President Ron Kouchi did not respond to a request for comment on the Senate’s priorities for the upcoming session. But new House Speaker Nadine Nakamura remains in lockstep with Green that affordable housing and reducing the cost of living are also priorities for House Democrats.
“The high cost of living here is top of mind for everyone,” the Kauai lawmaker said. “Whether it’s affordable housing or the issues of homelessness, people are concerned about the high cost of food and the need for a stronger, more diversified economy.”
HOUSE Democrats are still formalizing their legislative agenda before the session starts. And Green will outline details of his legislative goals during his State of the State Address on Jan. 21.
According to Nakamura, some representatives are talking about increasing the maximum income to qualify for “affordable housing” in order to help working families. Most affordable housing programs apply only to people who earn 60% or less of what’s known as area median income. Instead, some House members are talking about raising the income maximum to 140% of area median income, she said.
“That’s why people are moving away,” Nakamura explained. “Low-income housing tax credits are focused at 60% AMI or below. So focus on workforce housing is going to be top of mind.”
Like Green, the House speaker is worried the Maui wildfires will further exacerbate Hawaii’s insurance crisis, as insurers leave the market or refuse to sell certain policies, which already is happening in the Puna District of Hawaii island where new lava and hurricane insurance cannot be bought.
“All of our members are getting calls and messages from constituents or insurance carriers who are leaving Hawaii,” Nakamura said. “And some of them are quadrupling the cost of insurance.”
Along with Green, Nakamura also wants to figure out how to fund plans to prevent future disasters, including “making sure we’re working with our utilities for hazard mitigation plans in place.”
Green said he has been impressed with Nakamura’s leadership since House Democrats elevated her to the post after the Nov. 5 general election. She previously served as House majority leader under former Speaker Scott Saiki.
“I really do like her,” Green said. “Already I have a lot of respect for Speaker Nakamura. … She’s a thoughtful leader already. We will work hand in hand on housing with the House and Senate.”…
(TRANSLATION: We are now working out which bills to pass. But, as always, we will pretend to consider ‘your’ bills until they are mysteriously killed off by a committee chair.)
SA: Editorial: Push visitor impact fee for Hawaii’s environment | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Gov. Josh Green plans new push on tourism fee, housing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Keiki Climate Change Settlement Behind Construction Projects
Borreca: … several new plans are being pushed forward that would add hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to encourage bike riding.
First is the plan to put a bridge over the Ala Wai Canal for folks walking or riding a bicycle. It already has a federal grant for $25 million with total estimates of around $63 million, according to news reports.
The other plan calls for a 3.51-mile path connecting the West Loch Bike Path and the existing Pearl Harbor Historic Trail. According to a report by the Hawaii Bicycling League and the state Transportation Department, this plan is a big one.
It calls for hundreds of feet of retaining walls, plus utility relocation; demolition and construction of new bridge structures at Waikele Stream and Kapakahi Stream; paving the 9- to-10-foot path with concrete; and installation of concrete posts to prevent the use of the bikeway by motorized vehicles. Construction is estimated to start now at a cost of $15.7 million.
How much do you want to bet that this won’t be the last you see of those folks with their hands out?
It is an interesting note that these bikeways came about as part of the Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation settlement agreement. That was the lawsuit by Hawaii students who sued the state over climate pollution from the transportation sector.
Part of the agreement was to complete the statewide pedestrian, bicycle and transit network around Pearl Harbor and the retaining walls and bridges….
read … Column: $80M for 2 paths for walkers, bikers? Bridge too far | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Public needs legislative transparency
SA: … The Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct established by the state House of Representatives in 2022 recognized and applauded the Legislature’s increased transparency and accessibility to the public, and made recommended rule changes to further enhance public participation in the legislative process. The commission recommended that:
>> Testimony submitted to a committee should be immediately posted on line;
>> The practice begun during the COVID pandemic of livestreaming committee and floor sessions and recording the sessions for posting on its website should continue;
>> Committee chairs should be required to articulate the reasons for deferring measures indefinitely and for not scheduling measures for public hearings, with a majority of committee members having the right to overrule the chair;
>> Proposed substantive amendments to measures should be shared with the public in a timely manner; and
>> The rules of each chamber should be revised to bring greater clarity and transparency to the legislative process regarding legislator conflicts of interest, disclosures, voting and recusal from voting.
The House and Senate and their committees moved forward on these commission recommendations in varying degrees….
read … Column: Public needs legislative transparency | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Green Allocates $20M to Sue Trump
SA: ... Gov. Josh Green says he will not send Hawaii National Guard troops to the mainland to help enforce potential Trump administration immigration policies “that would break up families.”
The governor also drafted a budget ahead of next month’s legislative session that includes an additional $10 million in each of the next two fiscal years for state Attorney General Anne Lopez to file potential lawsuits against Trump administration policies.
They are among governors and attorneys general from Democrat-leaning states across the country who are collectively preparing for the possibility of pushing back against policies and potential cuts to federal agencies promised by President-elect Donald Trump, his Cabinet appointees and high-level members of his administration….
“I’ll be doing it a lot more in the coming weeks,” Green said….
read … Hawaii joins ‘blue state’ coalitions to fight Trump policies | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HPD looks to pull back West Oahu manpower
KHON: … HPD Chief Logan mentioned the change during the recent police commission meeting.
“I think this just goes to show that extra enforcement is needed on the Waianae coast, so if it’s working, why would we retreat?” said Sen. Samantha Decorte, (R) Ko Olina-Makua.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has been staffing the Waianae Boat Harbor 24-7 since August. At this time, that will continue.
State Department of Law Enforcement said it will continue to support HPD and other law enforcement agencies in promoting safety on the Leeward Coast but newly elected Waianae Senator Samantha Decorte said there’s still a big missing piece.
“I have been a strong advocate for many years on completing the Waianae police station,” said Decorte. “It still continues to sit unfinished and uncompleted.”
“Do we need like a whole bunch of people just out there around? I’m sure to some degree that helps, but really the plan with crime is not to just have kinda a scarecrow method of trying to scare people off but to have a long-term method,” said Honolulu Councilmember Andria Tupola….
Honolulu Council member Andria Tupola is looking for long-term fixes.
“It’s kinda like the broken glass theory,” said Tupola. “You have broken glass and things everywhere, it looks like you should do crime there. We need to deter people from crime in areas like that and the only way you do it is to beautify, make it look like ‘hey this is not a place to do this.'”
Tupola said she wants to attack crime in three areas – at parks by creating a “parks detail” for patrol, in schools with resource officers and cleaning up the corridor from the bridge to the high school….
Back Again: Overnight shooting in Waianae leaves 19yo in serious condition
read … HPD looks to pull back West Oahu manpower
Legal Weed? Tarnas Copying now-unpopular Maryland Law
Shapiro: … Tarnas says he’s looking closely at other states — especially Maryland, the most recent to legalize recreational cannabis in July 2023.
With 67% voter support, Maryland legalized pot for adults over 21, allowing possession of 1-1/2 ounces for personal use, growing two plants and giving cannabis to others.
A state lottery awarded 174 cannabis dispensary licenses, and advocates trumpeted $40 million in sales tax revenue the first nine months; other states have reported disappointing revenues because of uncontrolled competition from illegal street sales.
Maryland hasn’t tamed the black market, but it’s been less of a complaint than in states like California and New York, where illegal sellers offering cheaper prices have severely undercut legal outlets that must price in regulatory costs and taxes.
The Maryland law has provisions to address use by minors, driving while high, public smoking and location of dispensaries, which Tarnas is trying to emulate.
While Maryland’s rollout was smoother than in other states, it’s not been all roses. Concerns about access by minors persist along with fights over dispensary locations. While two-thirds of voters approved the original initiative, a Washington Post poll nine months in found only one-third still thought it was good for the state. Half opposed having a store in their own neighborhood….
read … David Shapiro: High times at the Capitol as legal pot rises anew | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Water Issues Strangle Troubled Residential Development in Rainy Hilo
HTH: … According to Puainako Heights’ website, the original plan was for “a neighborhood of 337 lots … 318 of these lots are designed to have single-family homes while there is also a small community of town-homes consisting of 19 condominium lots.”
“They haven’t been able to get off the ground mainly because of the wastewater issue,” said Jeff Darrow, the new county planning director.
Lee said the property is zoned “for about 440 residential units, with a commitment of over 300 water meters from the Department of Water Supply.”
“It’s probably the only available residential site near Hilo with a significant water commitment,” he said. “It was planned to be a continuation of the neighborhood below South Wilder Road but has basically been in trouble since the 1990s.” …
read … Troubled Hilo residential development in foreclosure
General Plan meeting wanders into climate change discussion
HTH: … Surprenant said the updated plan does not retroactively change current zoning and land subdivisions. However, the updated plan would increase the amount of land considered “rural” from about 47,000 to 73,000 acres.
Despite all this, nearly all discussion by attendees was not about land use, but climate change, which had been the subject of last month’s meeting.
About a dozen attendees were present in person or online Thursday at the Windward Planning Commission meeting, most of whom reiterated comments from last month’s meeting, claiming that anthropogenic climate change is a politicized myth intended to mask the rise of an authoritarian one-world government.
“What’s meant by ‘climate change’ is that mankind is the cause of all of it, because of what we exhale and what we drive,” said Hakalau resident Kevin Hill. “And that presumption is the fundamental issue with climate change, and that comes into the conversation about how we do sustainability, and how we do zoning, and how we do everything else.”
Hill also argued that the sun, not human action, is the greatest influence upon climate fluctuations, while also claiming that there are worldwide efforts by governments to control the weather.
Some testifiers had other problems with the plan. Captain Cook resident Juhl Rayne took issue with language suggesting the General Plan will restrict how residents can use water catchment systems….
read … General Plan meeting strays off-topic with climate change talk
Huge backlog for key business tax credit
HNN: … The Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit goes to businesses that hire people from groups that the IRS describes as having “persistent barriers to employment.”
These include youth looking for summer jobs, veterans seeking new careers after serving and ex-felons.
For employers to be eligible, they need to get a certification from the state.
The state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said currently there are 36,000 submissions backlogged….
read … State works to reduce huge backlog for key business tax credit
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