2025 Legislative Wrap-Up
Teaching Personal Finance? Hawaii Ranks 42nd
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted May 9, 2025
Another ‘Friends and Family’ Development Deal with Kali Watson, DHHL
CB: … In a land-swapping version of musical chairs, a developer wants to buy former agricultural land in ʻEwa, donate it to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, then lease it back to build a commercial center.
The approach would allow Kalanianaʻole Development (CLUE: Nan and a friend of Kali) to circumvent county zoning rules by tapping into the Hawaiian housing agency’s special powers — exemptions granted by the U.S. Congress specifically to increase housing for Native Hawaiians….
Chairman Kali Watson abstained from voting. (LOL!) The president and CEO of Kalanianaʻole Development, Patti Tancayo, used to work for Watson in the private sector. …
(See? Told you.)
The commission voted 5-3 in December to allow the department to start the negotiation process. It voted again the following month, along the same 5-3 line, to make a smaller, adjacent parcel part of the same deal, while also deciding that an ad-hoc committee would be formed to monitor the negotiations. …
Mike Kahikina, a former commissioner, said he pushed for a similar land donation deal in Mākaha in 2011. However, that project would have entailed building a new school with accompanying housing for teachers and families. The plan ultimately fell through over a demand from one of the project’s partners for lucrative tax credits….
Records show that the church later applied for a sewer connection for up to 200 multi-family dwelling units in 2023….Kalanianaʻole Development doesn’t own the property yet, but Tancayo said it is under a contract with the church to purchase it….
She told Civil Beat that she started Kalanianaʻole Development to help DHHL build more homes. The development company is a partnership between Tancayo and (convicted bid rigger) Nan Chul Shin, founder of Nan Inc., one of the state’s largest general contractors….
(See? Told you.)
2024: 20% Kickback Legalized? Nan Scores $150M DHHL project by teaming up with Kali Watson Crony
2011: Ka Pua Makaha: Multi-million dollar giveaway of DHHL assets disguised as “gift”
read … Developer Wants To Use Hawaiian Home Lands Powers To Skirt Zoning Rules - Honolulu Civil Beat
Bill 43 would offset Honolulu sewer fee hike with money intended for rail
SA: … Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters has sponsored legislation to defray costs associated with the city’s planned 10-year, 115% sewer fee rate hike that is slated to start this summer.
Bill 43, which was introduced May 5, would redirect a portion of the 3% visitor-generated Oahu transient accommodations tax, which is earmarked for Honolulu’s rail project, to the city’s sewer fund.
The measure would temporarily amend the disposition of the city’s OTAT revenues so that 50% would be deposited into the transit fund, while 41.66% would go into the sewer fund.
The legislation also allocates 8.34% to create a special fund, one to be named by the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, in order to mitigate impacts of visitors on public facilities and natural resources and “supplement any funds regularly appropriated for that purpose.”
Bill 43 would take effect July 1, 2027 and be repealed June 30, 2037. The full Council is scheduled to hold a first reading on Bill 43 on Wednesday.….
read … Bill would offset Honolulu sewer fee hike with money intended for rail | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
After Hurricane CNHA, HTA Needs an Exorcism
SA: … The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) has operated on increasingly shaky ground since the COVID-19 pandemic pulled the rug out from under tourism on a global basis, and there’s no denying that it’s currently beleaguered. Soon, a new law will redirect lines of authority for HTA, which has been increasingly subject to power plays — and dissatisfaction over the quality of its decision-making — by, alternatively, the Legislature and the state’s executive branch. Now, the agency is roiling publicly as charges of unprofessional behavior are exchanged between multiple HTA staffers and Vice President of Finance Isaac Choy….
(CLUE: CNHA was here.)
Four other Native Hawaiian staffers have resigned, including HTA’s chief stewardship officer, and Choy also has been accused of sexist and demeaning behavior. He has responded that the allegations are false, calling them “retaliation” for reporting “violations and suspected violations” of laws and regulations by HTA.
(CLUE: CNHA was here.)
The state Attorney General’s Office is now investigating all allegations with the state Department of Human Resources Development. Late Friday, HTA stated that Choy has been placed on leave, at the direction of the two investigatory agencies, pending the outcome of the probe.
(CLUE: CNHA was here.)
Meanwhile, HTA’s reputation has been tattered.
Who’s responsible for these blunders — or violations of state law, if proven? The organization’s leader, of course, but just who that is has been unclear since at least 2023. Tokioka leads DBEDT, which currently has approval power over HTA’s budget and contracts, and follows direction from Gov. Josh Green. Apo’s predecessor as chair, former Mayor Mufi Hannemann, publicly tussled with Tokioka over HTA decisions — but Hannemann resigned as board chair in March, after it was revealed that he had arranged for use of the state’s convention center by two nonprofits connected to him, without paying. (Hannemann has said he believed the connection between events he set up and tourism/HTA concerns justified the free use.)
(CLUE: CNHA was here.)
Naho‘opi‘i claims he was prevented from acting on Choy’s alleged human resources violations, and was intimidated by Tokioka. Tokioka says Naho‘opi‘i failed to do his job.
These charges and counter-charges must be thoroughly investigated, and all responsible for violating law or regulation must be identified and held accountable. Further, all real or perceived racism, sexism or workplace “toxicity” in HTA needs to be completely exorcised, and leaders must do better.
(CLUE: CNHA was here.)
Green should sign into law Senate Bill 1571, making the HTA board an advisory body, with purse strings controlled by DBEDT, so that the state has clear responsibility for spending tourism money appropriately, while HTA’s president and CEO, subject to Senate approval, reports to the governor….
Fun Read: After FBI Raid, CNHA Demands Hawai'i Free Press 'Cease Operations'
read … Editorial: HTA must get past severe dysfunction | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Lahaina burn zone slowly transforming from ‘ghost town’ to big construction zone
MN: … Residents likely won’t know for years how many of their neighbors will be back. The University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization reported in January that at least 430 to 510 Maui residents had already moved out of state because of the fire. More than 80% of the people impacted by the fire were estimated to still be displaced as of March, including 42.5% displaced outside of West Maui, according to a UHERO survey of more than 900 people.
But even with the flow of departures, there are signs all across Lahaina of people planning to return. Many streets in the burn zone have homes under construction. In Lahaina, eight homes have been completed so far, and 368 building permits have been issued, with 301 others being processed, according to Maui County’s recovery dashboard as of Thursday.
But most have not even started to rebuild, and it will still be years before the town is completely rebuilt….
SA: Maui housing project receives largest wave of wildfire survivors to date | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Lahaina burn zone slowly transforming from ‘ghost town’ to big construction zone
Who Really Owns Hawaii In 2025
BH: … Billionaires buying property in Hawaii isn’t new. But a recent investigation revealed the scale of their landholdings has quietly ballooned into something much bigger—and more controversial. According to Forbes, just 37 ultra-wealthy individuals now own at least 218,000 acres across the islands. That’s 5.3% of Hawaii’s total land and over 10% of all privately owned acreage….
read … Who Really Owns Hawaii In 2025 - Beat of Hawaii
Anti-GMO Hysteria Gutted State’s Top Agricultural Commodity
CB: … Hawaiʻi’s genetically modified seed industry has been on the decline for at least a decade, but it is still worth more financially than any other agricultural commodity in the state.
Seeds emerged as the state’s strongest cash crop as pineapple and sugarcane production began declining on the islands in the 1990s, with seed values peaking at $241.6 million in 2011.
(Then they were attacked by moron anti-GMO activists.)
By fiscal year 2015, that value had dropped to $144.5 million and now the industry is worth $112 million, according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture data. But while the industry has declined overall, the crop’s per-acre value has skyrocketed over the past decade.
There has been a 77% drop in acreage used to produce seeds in Hawai‘i, falling from 3,980 acres to 880. The industry’s overall value in Hawai‘i during the same period fell from $144.5 million in fiscal 2015 to $122 million this year….
read … Data Dive: GMO Seed Companies In Hawai‘i Earn More Money With Less Land
State pushing speed cam expansion despite failed bill
SA: … The state Department of Transportation intends to use existing revenue streams to dramatically scale up an automated camera system to ticket drivers who speed or run red lights — even though a bill proposed by state lawmakers to expand the system stalled out.
House Bill 697, introduced in January and backed by DOT, proposed $10 million in funding over the next two fiscal years to add and operate for a decade 160 cameras on Oahu, in Maui County, on Hawaii island and on Kauai. The bill also sought to broaden the authority for validating infractions from county police departments to DOT and the state Department of Law Enforcement.
But that roadblock has not deterred state DOT officials, who say they still plan to expand the program, which deployed 17 cameras at 10 Honolulu intersections for red-light enforcement in late 2022, followed by a public-awareness phase for speed enforcement that since March 14 has generated some 36,000 warnings.
DOT said it plans to use red-light funds and state highway funds to expand, operate and maintain the camera system over the next decade with a minimum of 20 cameras per year over eight years, or 160 additional cameras total. A vendor selected would be paid a monthly flat fee and not receive any revenue generated from citations….
read … State pushing speed cam expansion despite failed bill | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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