Hawaii State Government

House and Senate conferees met today to begin negotiations on a final version of HB500, the state budget bill....

...we had a busy 2014—releasing 18 audits, analyses, and studies on everything from alternate uses of recycled glass to the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries....

House Republican floor speeches ....

A majority of the bills will go into conference committees where the House and Senate conferees will convene to settle differences....

The state House of Representatives passed today nearly 150 Senate measures....

Senator Slom says, "We should have learned something from the Kamamalu Building."

Formerly, the resolution only considered the Washington State ferry as a model, but now it has been expanded to other possible jurisdictions as well....

House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke provided only one hour notice for a 14-bill hearing she was holding this afternoon....

"It is another example of our state failing to be transparent."

...5-year strategic plan for outdoor recreation....

...Ige today announced his nominations to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Labor and Industrial Relations and the Office of Information Management and Technology....

Suzanne Case is a 28-year veteran of The Nature Conservancy and has served as its executive director since 2001....

"It brings relief to our beleaguered taxpayers and small businesses, and balances our state finances in the long term."

...They were under the impression that the bond sale process needed to begin by June 30 of this year. “No,” said the Department of Attorney General, “the law says that the bond sale needs to be DONE by June 30.”...

There are several State regulatory issues that need to be resolved prior to attempting to establish a Hawaii interisland ferry and are at least as important as the technical modeling, facilities and feasibility considerations....

...cars, trucks and school buses cross Hawaii's 61 structurally compromised bridges 900,643 times every day....

"...From agencies like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to organizations like HART that are entrusted with significant state funds, there is a need for greater accountability...."

Wednesday, March 25, 2015, from 6-7pm....

...an analysis of each new special or revolving fund proposed by legislative bills....

... hundreds of little (and in some cases, not so little) pots of money sprinkled throughout Hawaii's departments, agencies, and other governmental units ....

...county and state salary and overtime records, as well as retirement, health insurance, budgetary, and other data....

The House today passed over a hundred bills....

Hidano’s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation....

During floor session today (March 5th, 2015) after 1:00 PM, House Finance Chair stood up and requested a waiver of the 48-hour requirement to hear an agenda of bills with just one hour of notice....

...a nonpartisan effort to make the state budgeting process accessible to the public by putting state budget facts and figures online, in real time....

None of the appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate....

...Seventeenth Amendment issues matter. Its strange wording allows legislatures to game the system....

...If approved, non-profits directed by Grace, the Paradise Lua porta-potty magnate who beat the rap for the 1999 Aloha Stadium porta-potty fire bombings, would be eligible for millions of dollars to fund proposals such as the "Paradise Ohana Heart and Vascular Center, Inc."....

...Ige held a news conference to provide information about his participation in the National Governors Association Winter Meeting....

The state House investigation of a challenge to former speaker Calvin Say’s right to hold his seat in Hawaii’s House of Representatives has taken a new twist....

Wednesday March 11th at 10 AM in room 229....

...Joseph Kim has been nominated to be the Deputy Director at the Department of Taxation where he will redeploy his extensive experience in training and commanding U.S. Air Force....

...Grassroot Institute has been busy tracking legislation that threatens or promotes free market principles and individual liberty....

The state paid nearly $60 million in overtime pay last year....

Opposition parties are rightfully tattletales. They are critics and watchdogs. Without this tattling, many things go on that the public does not know about....

"...we faced the risk of a complete system failure that would have jeopardized essential functions..."

On August 22, Neil Abercrombie sent a letter to Washington, D.C., urging the Federal Communications Commission to approve Comcast’s controversial proposal to merge with Time Warner....

The final three names as identified by the nominating committee will then be forwarded to the Governor....

...Ige today announced his nominees to the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA)....

Ige is nominating Leonard Hoshijo to be the Deputy Director in the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations....

Ethics Commission exposes UH and HART in one report ....

And House Republican Caucus Legislative Package Bills....

Representative Fukumoto Chang on Mike Buck Jan 20, 2015 – Audio Only....

...With ambulance chasers in positions of power, both the House and Senate are poised to advance HB189 and SB137 in separate hearings on Friday....

...the measures proposed stop short of what is needed for long-term reform and robust development of the Hawaii economy....