Hawaii State Government

...Sen. Malama Solomon’s office has turned in the most for allowance reimbursements at more than $21,000....

Vaughn G. Sherwood sentenced to 57 months for stealing $200,000 in government benefits....

...the name of Okimoto's interim replacement, Ford Fuchigami, pops up on page 14 of the sex-harassment lawsuit ....

The Hawaii State Senate today adjourned the 2014 session passing more than 240 bills....

...Measures relate to state budget, minimum wage, TAT, Health Connector, seniors, invasive species, mandatory kindergarten, police misconduct, abuse of minors....

The budget, which provides $6.189 billion in general funds and $12.147 billion in all means of financing, was characterized by House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke as measured and prudent....

VIDEO: House Republicans speak out on Hawaii State Budget during final debate today....

...Design funds for plans to modernize the case management system for the Social Services Division. The current system is approximately 25-years-old....

...bills up for final reading in the Senate and House on Tuesday, April 29....

A quick glance at the table below, and you see how powerful the money committees are....

"It would be an opportunity for us to within the existing resources acquire the easement." --Ige

...the lack of meaningful competition between political parties can be stifling to new ideas, regardless of the underlying ideology....

...Abercrombie today announced the release of more than $335 million for various capital improvement projects....

Representative Aaron Ling Johanson, Minority leader and Representative Beth Fukumoto Chang, Minority Floor Leader address the House of Representatives Budget at Mid-session in 2014.

HB1866 HD2 SD2 is one of a number of bills that originated in the House, was amended by the Senate, and now goes to the Governor for his review....

...the governor and the mayors of Kauai; Maui; Hawaii; and the city and county of Honolulu, encompassing Oahu, are authorized to use all services, materials and facilities owned by partnerships, corporations and small businesses, including media outlets....

Bullies get pushier; dealers posture; trouble-makers know just when and where to light the match....

The government watchdog group called this a “huge improvement” for Hawaii, because in the past the state received an “F” grade....

The 2008 Legislature amended the Auditor’s governing statute to require follow-up reporting on recommendations made in various audit reports....

The majority of these bills, along with House bills passed by the Senate, will go into conference committees where House and Senate conferees will negotiate differences in the measures and determine which will be presented for final consideration....

Here is a complete list of the bills under consideration for Third Reading before Crossover....

...Grassroot President Keli’i Akina and Policy Director Malia Hill consider the relationship between think tanks and the development of free market solutions....

...the Kobayashi Group is an investor in a hui that plans to build one or more luxury developments in Kaka’ako....

...sometimes the Legislature feels like a Whack-a-Mole game, where you knock down a bad bill, only to find the contents pop up again in another bill....

...The new (to the State) application is expected to save money, improve security, and enhance sustainability (everybody else has been doing this for years, but hey) ....

$38,213,000 – Honolulu Community College Advanced Technology Training Center, Oahu....

...highlighting those bills that champion taxpayers and residents; and bills that affect our rights and freedoms....

...highlighting education proposals, spending, and reforms....

Constitutionally, the state can only engage in annual deficit spending as long as there are enough cash reserves to absorb these deficits....

Video traces a bill through Hawaii's legislative process....

Two dozen civil lawsuits have been filed during the past two years in what state lawmakers initially intended as a one-time opportunity....

If they do not have the votes, they will keep deferring the bill until they get the right mix of senators to pass the bill....

We also found instances where multiple funds were combined as a single fund in reports and did not include specific details of individual funds or accounts....

Representatives Aaron Ling Johanson, Minority Leader and Beth Fukumoto Minority Floor Leader present a mid-session legislative report for 2014....

The downward forecast means that the state has now fewer projected revenues that could be used to fund some of the proposed spending initiatives....

$27,695,000 – Kamamalu Building Renovation, Oahu....

...both the Governor and the House budget drafts are not in balance....

...$64.7 million for various capital improvement projects (CIP) that will help stimulate....

The House of Representatives today approved HB1638 HD2, appropriating $161,137,650 for operating expenses and $50,590,000 for capital improvement costs of the Hawaii State Judiciary....

...At this point last year, the House had reduced the Governor’s budget by almost $600 million....

The council projected zero percent growth for the fiscal year that ends in June, down from 3.3 percent....

Meanwhile: Get Medicaid? Lose Kupuna Care....

...Senate Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Finance will conduct a joint informational briefing on Chapter 42F, HRS grant applications....

"If it is confirmed by me that a future incident of this nature has occurred, whether at the Capitol or elsewhere, I will immediately remove you from all committee assignments...."

The governor may not be following the legislative process closely....

This is the same worthless job Abercrombie gave to shut Gary Hooser up back in 2011....

In preparation for the first crossover deadline Thursday, the Senate today held a long floor session to move bills out of its chamber so that it may crossover to the House of Representatives....