Hawaii State Government

... HB526 and SB1329 ....

... Oahu residents now have an additional 19 months to get the REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and state identification cards before they will need it to board domestic flights and enter some federal buildings ....

... Chow believes there is “a good chance that the feasibility study will be funded in Federal fiscal year 2022 by the application of Congress’ Community Project Funding (CPF)” and asks for support from the harbors’ group “convincing Congress to fund the Honolulu Harbor feasibility study.”….

... a “potential catastrophe” enabling “abuse of discretion… (which) …will promote and enable favoritism and/or corruption in public procurement.” ....

... In accordance with State law, Democratic Party officers from the fifteen precincts in Senate District 7 will convene to identify three names that will be transmitted to Governor Ige for consideration. The Governor has sixty days to fill the vacancy ....

... and he pulls no punches ....

... HGEA BU13 and UPW BU10 rejected contract proposals ....

... the spotlight is moving toward Gov. David Ige .... 

... $31.17 billion through all methods of funding (MOF) for the fiscal biennium beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2023 ....

... the state released more than $278 million for Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) in the month of March ....

... the report spends lots of time reviewing the Auditor’s recent actions involving the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ....

... the private Government Accounting Standards Board is considering rule changes that would make it easier for governments to ignore long-term liabilities when crafting short-term budgets .... 

... Many of the reductions are hopefully made up with federal stimulus funding ....

... The House voted for a suspension running through December 31, 2022 ....

... Scathing ‘audit’ of Hawaii state auditor Les Kondo is met with scathing rebuttal ....

.... Speaker Saiki and Senate President Kochi have until April 28 (Adjournment Day) to rectify the situation if they so desire ....

... we warned you about SB56 ....

... for the most part, Hawaii lawmakers are just guessing about how their proposed bills will affect Hawaii’s economy ....

"...Hawaii increased the cap on its film incentives and decoupled from federal restrictions on research and development tax credits...."

... options to buy crypto are very limited at the moment. That’s because of a little-known rule from a little-known government organization ....

"... The Aa2 rating on the State of Hawaii's general obligation bonds recognizes the significant fiscal challenges posed by the current health and economic crisis...."

... Keli’i Akina says House members should have aimed to pay off more debt instead of go on a record-breaking spending spree ....

... Hawai‘i’s statute contains a single major check on the executive’s delegated authority: the “automatic termination” provision ....

... do people in high-tax states receive superior government services ....

... We are less than 30-days to "Sine Die," if we are lucky, the good will outweigh the bad when it's over! ....

... Hawaii's Legislature is about halfway through its 2021 session, and if we're lucky, the good will outweigh the bad when it's over ....

... The $1.6 billion in federal funds allocated to the State in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides a temporary reprieve for the State's financial crisis. ....

... Title IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extends key unemployment insurance and assistance provisions of both the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) as well as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ....

... Establishes the ALOHA homes program to develop low-cost homes on state-owned and county-owned land in urban redevelopment sites to be sold in leasehold by the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation ....

...Translation: Wage hikes coming on June 30 ....

... We reviewed 75 House and Senate bills proposing 51 special and revolving funds during the 2021 legislative session. None satisfied the criteria set forth in Section 23-11, HRS, for proposed special and revolving funds ....

... SP18 requires an agency that relies on the suspended deadlines to acknowledge receipt of “UIPA Requests”  ....

... Sunshine Law requires notice of meetings of state boards to be electronically posted on the State Calendar at least six calendar days before the meeting ....

... Lawmakers are planning to increase taxes and regulations this year, but there are better ways to help Hawaii's economy prosper ....

... upcoming hearings ....

... When it comes to budgets and accounting, politicians have successfully convinced voters that the ordinary rules of fiscal accountability shouldn’t apply to government ....

... flawed government accounting standards allow lawmakers to spend more and sweep debt under the rug ....

... The Governmental Accounting Standards Boards is considering letting states count loans as "revenues" to balance their budgets ....

... DLIR announced that it has completed system updates for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program that was extended by the Continued Assistance Act ....

... upcoming hearings ....

" ... I don’t remember a legislative session that began with so many bills worthy of our support .... "

"...By requiring legislative approval for the extension of an emergency past a 60-day time limit, the bill would take a positive step toward protecting the balance of powers and the public trust...."

... JAN 27–LAST DAY TO INTRODUCE BILLS ....

... Hawaii's economy is on the ropes right now, but that hasn't stopped some legislators from going all in with new tax-increase proposals ....

"... Soliciting, selling, or otherwise engaging in a substantial financial transaction with a subordinate or a person or business whom the legislator or employee inspects or supervises in the legislator's or employee's official capacity ...."

... all Legislative employees working in the Hawaiʻi State Capitol will be able to be vaccinated as members of its prioritized vaccination system's Phase 1b (i.e., individuals essential for government operations), on January 28, 2021 ....

... This is made possible with the issuance of a “no action message” by DFI, which will not take any action against these companies during the two-year period of the program ....

... 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 ....