Hawaii State Government

... House speaker calls Ige’s State of the State address ‘risk averse’ ....

... a perpetual emergency status ....

... Senator Laura Acasio was appointed by Governor Ige to the Senate District 1 seat ....

... As a service to our readers we are providing a line-by-line debunk of HSTA's argument in parenthesis below ....

... “the carbon tax” is most likely the “barrel tax” ....

... 2021 Key Dates in Legislative Calendar ....

... that $2 billion in “savings” is going to end up costing the taxpayers almost four times as much in the long term ....

"...ADC has done little – if anything – to facilitate the development of agricultural enterprises...the State can no longer wait for ADC to figure out what it is, what it is supposed to do, and how it is supposed to do it...."

... Efforts to save money now will cost taxpayers more later while putting government employees and retirees at risk, says Grassroot Institute of Hawaii ....

... There is still a lot of real estate between $0.3 billion and $1.4 billion a year ....

... This week, we got our first real glimpse of Gov. David Ige’s proposed budget. ...

... Barabara Marumoto, architect of the state's legal spending cap, continues to believe Hawaii needs better budgeting practices ....

"I was just notified that someone had filed an unemployment claim using my name, work title, Social Security number, and work address."

... Free app augments contact tracing, (claims to) keep data private, sends notice of potential exposure ...

... Legislative Advocacy During COVID - A Virtual Seminar - How the Hawaii Legislative 2021 Session will be Conducted ....

... This annual report includes HDOT Highways Division goals, progress made towards those goals (including statistics), and expenditure breakdown .... 

"... A 25-year lack of progress is unacceptable .... "

... “The following specific provisions of law are suspended, as allowed by federal law … Chapter 89, HRS, collective bargaining in public employment.” ....

... Governor being coy in new budget about tax increases totaling $1 billion ....

... steps state officials could take to turn things around ....

...“I’m hopeful that federal aid will allow us to refrain from imposing furloughs until later.”...

... the only two things that are certain in life are debt and taxes ....

... Respecting the state’s legal spending cap might have saved the state from having to consider furloughs for its employees ....

... This RFQ includes the new Aloha Stadium complemented by a mix of developments that will connect to the rail station ....  

"...Many public workers have already lost their second jobs in the tourism industry...."

... Compact Impact Fairness Act Aims At Growing Burden On States and Territories, Now $200 Million Annually for Hawai’i Alone, For Uncovered Services To Resident Migrants From The Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia ....

...About 10,160 employees will be subject to the furloughs. The number will be even larger when Department of Education and University of Hawaii employees are included....

... for up to five health plans to ensure access and continuity of care for Medicaid beneficiaries ....

...Otani replaces Nolan Espinda, who retired in September....

... DAGS and Office of Enterprise Technology Services, November 16, 2020, issued the RFP for an Enterprise Financial Solution ....

...B&F basically told the departments, “Here’s your money. Go spend it.”....

... This is a five-spot improvement from the previous report, where Hawaii ranked 47th overall ....

... an update to the original Hawai‘i Broadband Strategic Plan released in 2012 ....

...Johnson is currently the Parole and Pardons Administrator for the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority (HPA), a position he has held since 2001....

...Failure to address the legally required increase could discourage employers from hiring back employees after the lockdowns....

... to remain at the forefront in developing policies and regulations ....

...$2.28 billion within 257 accounts....

...The process will begin with a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, November 16 2020, at 1:00 p.m....

... Working at the Hawaii State Legislature offers individuals an opportunity to experience firsthand what it’s like ....

...From 2015 to 2018, we made 190 actionable audit recommendations, of which the affected agencies reported partially or fully implementing 182….

...At the county level, there could be some changes....

... Speaker Scott K. Saiki announced the House leadership and committee chair assignments for the 2021 legislative session that will convene on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 ....

...The newly-elected House Majority members are Patrick Branco, Greggor Ilagan, Matt Lopresti, Jeanné Kapela, Sonny Ganaden, Jackson Sayama, Lisa Marten, and Adrian Tam....

... Leadership and members in the sixteen standing committees are ....

...Jordan Lowe most recently worked at the Honolulu Department of Prosecuting Attorney as the Chief Investigator for the Investigative Services Division....

... the Governor issued a Fourteenth Supplementary Proclamation, in which the language suspending the Procurement Code was radically changed ....

... last-minute “spend-for-the-sake-of-spending” mentality ....

...a permanent change to the Sunshine Law that would allow, but not mandate, boards to conduct “virtual” online public meetings, while continuing to require at least one physical meeting location where people ... could still testify and participate in person....

...Five states continue to carry elevated long-term liability burdens above 20% of personal income in fiscal 2019, including Illinois (at 27% of personal income), Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii and Alaska. For all of them, pensions remain the driver of elevated liabilities....

...we have a state budget hole of more than 2 billion dollars....