April 12, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, April 12, 2025

April 12, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:36 PM :: 1207 Views

Why are "blankety blank" tax-hike bills even allowed?

Salary Commission Chokes on Some of its Pay Hikes

MN: … This morning the Maui County Salary Commission rescinded its two-week-old decision on pay raises for the mayor, managing director and deputy managing director. Then, it recalibrated raises for those top leadership positions, using as a benchmark a recent Hawaiʻi State Salary Commission pay raise for Gov. Josh Green.

The commission voted 5-1 to increase the mayor’s pay, beginning July 1, from $211,119 to $245,000 per year and reduce earlier approved salaries from $325,104 to $240,000 for managing director and from $292,594 to $216,000 for deputy managing director.

Currently, Mayor Richard Bissen earns $159,578 per year; and Managing Director Josiah Nishita makes $172,154. Nishita’s increase from there to $240,000 will be $67,846, or 39.4% more, far less than his earlier raise of 89%.

The mayor’s raise of $85,422 is an increase of 53.5% from his current annual salary. Currently, the Council chair earns $86,336, and council members make $80,299. Their pay raises are 23.2% and 26.2%, respectively.

This morning, acting Commission Chair Grant Nakama asked commissioners to reconsider their March 28 vote because of an earlier “oversight” about “structural differences” in governance arising from consultant MGT‘s study….

read … Salary Commission votes to raise Mayor’s salary, but dials back pay for managing director and deputy : Maui Now

Counties could lose some oversight over affordable housing developments

HPR: … Hawaiʻi's four county councils could have less oversight over new affordable housing developments.

State lawmakers are advancing a measure that would not allow county councils to impose conditions or median income restrictions stricter than the ones established by the state — if those conditions will increase the cost of the project. The measure would also not allow counties to reduce fee waivers for these projects.

The measure would cover 201-H projects, where the state grants exemptions to many planning, zoning and land use requirements. Those exemptions apply if they reserve over half the building for those making 140% of the annual median income or less.

Rep. Della Au Bellati voted yes on the measure, but with reservations.

"In my district, I have a number of residents throughout the district, different groups concerned with affordable housing that is coming up, and they often feel like they have no recourse, no way to express their community concerns,” she said.

(TRANSLATION: The NIMBYs live in my district.)

“If the legislative body at the county level is one place that they will be able to do that, this foreclosure of that opportunity raises some serious concerns for me, simply because I am hearing more and more concerns raised by community members who want to be engaged in the system and feel like their voices are being cut out.”

However, Rep. Luke Evslin who chairs the Housing Committee explained that this is a way to streamline development for the needed workforce housing.

"The current process ensures that there's two layers of discretionary review, both through the [Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation] and at the county council level,” he said….

RELATED: Schatz Goes YIMBY

read … Counties could lose some oversight over affordable housing developments | Hawai'i Public Radio

Hawaiʻi lawmakers plan special sessions to address federal funding cuts

HPR: … State lawmakers are blocking off three dates in the coming months for a special legislative session to address federal funding cuts.

The Legislature has about three weeks left of its regular session. But the magnitude of federal cuts and what it means for the state’s budget is still unknown.

House Majority Leader Chris Todd said that’s why the special session dates are in August, September and November — when more information may be available to lawmakers….

read … Hawaiʻi lawmakers plan special sessions to address federal funding cuts

Hawaii to reopen hurricane relief fund after two decades of inactivity

IBA: … The Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF) is expected to begin issuing policies as early as this summer, according to the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

The move follows a prolonged period of inactivity for the fund, which has been dormant since the early 2000s but now holds $170 million designated to address ongoing challenges in the state’s condo insurance market.

The fund's reactivation is part of an emergency response initiated by Gov. Josh Green, who issued a proclamation in 2023 aimed at stabilizing what state officials have described as a crisis in the property insurance market, particularly for condominium associations.

According to the governor’s office, insurance premiums in some cases have risen by up to 1,000%....

read … Hawaii to reopen hurricane relief fund after two decades of inactivity | Insurance Business America

Historic Hawaii Theatre pounded by insurance crisis

HNN: … Hawaii Theatre Center Board Chair Timothy Howell said insurance for the 103-year-old theater last year cost $2 per $1,000 of coverage, which enabled them to carry a $45 million policy.

But this year, the premium was $90 per $1,000, so they could only afford $5 million in coverage, far less than replacement cost….

Theater leadership reached out to lawmakers who have been moving a resolution urging the state to acquire the property. The measure, SCR 131, passed the Senate with only one negative vote and was approved Friday by the House Culture and Arts Committee.

The resolution says the state has supported the theater in the past with about $30 million in preservation grants and that many community performance groups benefit from the nonprofit venue….

(CLUE: State ownership would destroy the theater. It would be demolished within 20 yrs.)

read … Historic Hawaii Theatre seeks state ownership in insurance crisis

Legislative update: Senate budget omits UH priorities

UHN: … The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is entering the final few weeks of the 2025 legislative session, when the Senate and House will work together in conference committees to reconcile differences between their versions of the state budget, as well as other legislative measures that have survived the session thus far.

This legislative update will show the areas of budget support (or non support) for UH as the budget bill has progressed through the legislative session. It is clear that the governor and the House of Representatives have provided greater support for the University of Hawaiʻi than the Senate. The Senate recently passed its version of the budget that reflects a more constrained level of general fund support for UH in multiple key areas….

read … Legislative update: Senate budget omits UH priorities | University of Hawaiʻi System News

State Legislature poised to pass sweeping weapons ban

ASD: … Senate Bill 401 proposes to ban the purchase or sale of “assault rifles” and “assault shotguns” in the state after July 8. While such weapons purchased and registered before July 8 would remain legal, those guns could not be again sold within the state.

The bill has generated substantial opposition from gun owners statewide. Several have argued that the bill’s definition of an “assault rifle” would impact the vast majority of long guns in circulation….

read … State Legislature poised to pass sweeping weapons ban | Aloha State Daily

Hawaii Governor Signs Bill To Speed Marijuana Record Expungements Process

MM: … As of mid-December of last year, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC) had reviewed 640 cases and issued 81 expungements under the pilot program, according to the advocacy group Last Prisoner Project (LPP), with 112 cases pending expungement and 414 cases still under review.

“LPP is proud that Hawai’i has chosen to bolster its first-ever state-initiated process for expungement by passing HB 132 and further expediting the process,” Adrian Rocha, director of policy for LPP, told Marijuana Moment…

records don’t “consistently specify” whether offenses are for marijuana or other Schedule V substances under state law, the post says. “This lack of detail forces HCJDC staff to manually search through arrest and court records, significantly slowing the process.”

HB 132 would address that by removing the distinction between marijuana and other Schedule V drugs for the purposes of the expungement program….

read … Hawaii Governor Signs Bill To Speed Marijuana Record Expungements Process –

Will Board of Education require financial literacy for Hawaii students?

SA: … The state Board of Education has ‘begun discussions’ to ‘develop’ a formal policy that would embed financial literacy education throughout the state’s public school system, responding to growing interest from students, educators and the broader community.

During a Thursday meeting, the Board’s Student Achievement Committee reviewed a memorandum from committee Chair Bill Arakaki recommending ‘the initiation of a policy development process’ that would ‘pave the way’ for a ‘structured approach’ to teaching financial literacy in Hawaii public schools.

The board acknowledged that there is significant and consistent demand from students and other stakeholders to expand access to personal finance education. While some offerings already exist through elective courses and digital platforms, the board is ‘exploring’ how to ‘systematize’ and ‘possibly’ require financial literacy education for graduation….

read … Board of Education promotes financial literacy for Hawaii students | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Another Day in the DoE: McKinley employee banned from school grounds following sex misconduct allegations

HNN: … Principal Ron Okamura sent a letter home to parents on April 9, announcing the investigation.

While he did not go into details about what the allegations involved, Okamura said the school is cooperating with law enforcement.

Police records show that 22-year-old Cal Muramaru was arrested for sexual assault on March 31….

read … McKinley employee banned from school grounds following misconduct allegations

Waimanalo Gulch Continues—No Surprise: Hawaii lawmakers advance bills banning landfills over aquifers

SA: … Opponents to ~~plans~~ (Kabuki) by Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration to site the city’s next solid-waste landfill on active pineapple fields above Central Oahu’s freshwater aquifer claimed a tentative victory this week.

(TRANSLATION: Keep using Waimanalo Gulch.)

Two state-level ~~measures~~ (Kabuki) that seek to prevent landfills from being placed above potable groundwater sources or in agricultural districts anywhere in Hawaii respectively passed their third of three readings at the state Legislature on Tuesday.

(TRANSLATION: Keep using Waimanalo Gulch.)

~~House Bill 969~~ (Kabuki) would prohibit the construction, modification or expansion of any waste or disposal facility on land that is above a significant aquifer as ~~determined~~ (Kabuki’d) by the state Department of Health….

(TRANSLATION: Keep using Waimanalo Gulch.)

~~Senate Bill 438~~ (Kabuki) would prohibit landfills in an agricultural district that has “class A soils,” meaning highly productive, prime agricultural lands. This measure also would narrow the prohibition on constructing, modifying or expanding dump sites within a half-mile buffer zone of residential, school or hospitality property lines to apply specifically to landfills or related facilities.

In addition, ~~SB 438~~ (Kabuki) would prohibit the construction, modification or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than 500,000 people, with certain ~~exemptions~~ (Kabukis) ….

(TRANSLATION: Keep using Waimanalo Gulch—but don’t expand it.)

read … Hawaii lawmakers advance bills banning landfills over aquifers | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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