|
Senators can attend floor sessions in the Senate chamber or virtually on Zoom. There are two TV monitors to accommodate Senators coming in on Zoom. All of the Senate floor sessions and hearings are live streamed on YouTube.
|
|
|
The Hawaii State Legislature is nearly 2/3 over as the somewhat abridged 2021 session continues. Instead of the usual 60-day legislative session, this year’s legislature is only meeting for 55 official days. The session started on January 20 and will adjourn Sine Di on April 29, a full five days short of the traditional 60.
The First Crossover deadline passed on March 11. By that date, the Senate passed 428 bills on to the House. The House in return sent the Senate 310 bills. A total of 738 bills are still alive as we head through the second half of the session. 2820 bills were introduced at the start of this session.
Now each chamber is conducting public hearings on the other chamber’s bills. Re: Senate hearing House bills and vice-versa. The deadline to complete this phase is April 9 (second decking) after which all bills go back to the original body by April 15 (Second Crossover).
Among the bills we passed out of the Water and Land Committee are the following:
SB 178 SD1 – Pilot program which prohibits vehicles from driving on the beach at Polihale State Park (Kauai) without a permit.
SB 255 SD1 – Commercial marine licenses
SB 257 SD1 – Lease extensions on certain public lands.
SB 474 SD1 – Seller disclosures on real property transactions, sea level rise area
SB 510 SD1 – State Historic Preservation reviews; DLNR, OHA
SB 795 SD1 – State small boat harbor fees
SB 1179 SD2 – Conveyance Tax, funding for Conservation and Resources Enforcement
SD 1423 SD2 – HCDA Stadium development district, appropriation
The Hawaii State Capitol remains closed. All public hearings as well as the Senate and House floor sessions are closed to in-person participation. People who wish to interact with the legislature can use of Zoom conferencing (for hearings), telephone calls and emails. Every Senate public hearing and floor session is aired live on YouTube, Google’s free streaming video service.
|
|
|
Governor Appointees Confirmed by Senate
|
|
The Hawaii State Senate confirmed three Governor’s appointees to cabinet level positions on March 12. Catherine Betts was confirmed as the Director of the Department of Human Services. Anne Perreira-Eustaquio, originally from Hilo, confirmed as the new Director of the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations while JoAnn Vidinhar was appointed as Deputy Director in the same department. All three appointees were unanimously “advised and consented” in the Senate by floor vote. All three nominees were unanimously confirmed by the 25 member Senate.
Water and Land Committee Advise and Consent
Seven appointees have passed out of the Senate Water & Land Committee at a hearing held on March 3. They include the following:
- Land Use Commission – Nancy Cabral, Dan Giovanni, Gary Okuda
- Water Resource Management Commission - Paul Meyer, Aurora Kagawa-Viviani
- Legacy Land Conservation Commission – Beryl Blaich, Christiane Lucas
The Governor announced these appointments to various commissions that the Senate Water & Land Committee will be soon taking up:
- Board of Land & Natural Resources – Samuel Gon III, Vernon Char
- Kahoolawe Reserve Commission – Anela Evans, Benton Pang
- Kaneohe Bay Regional Council – Letani Peltier, Joseph Pickard
- Natural Area Reserves System Commission – Norine Hayes, Thorne Abbott
All nominees who are confirmed by the Water and Land Committee are subject to confirmation by the full Senate at a later date to be announced.
|
|
|
Bills Introduced by Senator Inouye
|
|
2021 Session | As First Primary Introducer | Link
Bill Number Description
SB60 SD1 Special License Plate; Polynesian Voyaging Society
SB61 Condominium Associations; Proxy Voting
SB62 Condominiums; Time Shares; Association Records;
SB255 SD2 Commercial vessels licensing
SB256 SPRBs Keahole Hotel & Suites LLC
SB257 SD1 Public Lands; Lease Extension; Development Agreement
SB 567 SD1 County Zoning Ordinances
SB 568 Tort Liability – Persons entering private property
SB 569 Condominiums – Developers, Report Requirements
SB 570 Amends definition of “historic property”
SB 571 Special License Plates for State’s Natural Resources
SB 572 SD1 Aquatic Resources – Violations, Penalties, Fines,
SB 573 Wildlife Habitat Conservation Plans
SB 688 Condominiums – Voting Enforcement
SB 689 Public Lands; Sale or Gift of Lands, Exemption
SB 690 Community Approval of Subsistence Fishing Areas
SB 691 Kahoolawe Island Reserve Transfer to OHA
SB 692 Food Security - Fair Trade; Meat Processing Industry
SB 693 SD1 Transfer of Non-Agricultural Park Lands
SB 997 SD1 Private public partnerships; wastewater treatment
SB 998 SD1 HART – Right to vote, Senate
SB 999 SD1 GO bonds for the forest stewardship program
SB 1000 Waiakea Peninsula – Banyan Drive
SB 1001 Ag park leases – non ag park leases – agriculture leases
SB 1291 SD1 Three wheeled autocycles – definition
SB 1292 SD1 Wells / E.I.S./ Dept. of Agriculture lease
SB 1293 G.E. & Use taxes; temporary suspension; exemption
SB 1357 Display of materials on vehicles
SB 1358 Activity permits, protest applications
SB 1359 Placing written materials on state or county property
Resolution No. Description
SCR 78 Audit of the State Historic Preservation division
SR 58 Audit of the State Historic Preservation division
SCR 206 Island Burial Council; SHPD; Working Group
SR 171 Island Burial Council; SHPD; Working Group
SCR 207 BLNR; Land Exch. State of Hawaii - Parker Ranch Trust
Measures with boldfaced bill numbers have crossed to the House of Representatives
|
|
Keck Astronomers Win Prestigious Award
Astronomers in Hawaii continue to be recognized for the important research that they do on Mauna Kea. I was happy to learn that astronomers from the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea were part of an international team that made a breakthrough discovery “successfully zeroing in on the precise location of a non-repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB).”
Three scientists at the Keck Observatory used their instruments to confirm the distance of the FRB’s origin as being in a distant galaxy 3.6 billion light years from Earth. They were Keck Observatory’s Dr. John O’Meara, visiting astronomers Dr. J. Xavier Procheska and PhD student Sunil Simha of the Astrophysics Department of the University of California at Santa Cruz, who were part of the team who wrote an award winning research paper that was published in the journal Science.
The paper won the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Newcomb Cleveland Prize, which is presented to the most impactful research paper published in Science.
Three Big Island Students Nominated for Military Academies
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz announced the names of three students from Hawaii Island nominated to attend one of the nation’s service academies. Student applicants were considered based on their ability to successfully meet the rigorous demands for the undergraduate education and training of officers of the United States Armed Forces, as well as their demonstrated leadership skills through athletics and other organizations, and an overall commitment to the military, the community and our country. Nominees will be considered for appointment by the U.S. Service Academies.
Congratulations to the nominees in Senate District 4 /Hawaii Island:
U.S. Air Force Academy - Jared Barrett, Holualoa, HPA
U.S. Air Force Academy – Karl Hanson, Hilo, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii
U.S. Military Academy at West Point – Emery Ramirez, Honokaa (home schooled)
Community Briefs
Condolences to the family of former mayor William “Billy” Kenoi who passed away on January 26, 2021. He was one of Hawaii Island’s most colorful mayors who had a deep sense of aloha for this community. An online virtual service is pending, but condolences may be sent to: Kenoi Family, P.O. Box 7268, Hilo, HI 96720.
Congratulations to Dr. Tom Daniel of Kailua-Kona for being a distinguished recipient of the third annual Uehara Prize for his contributions toward the development and support of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). OTEC is a process by which warm and surface ocean waters and cold deep sea waters are harnessed for conversion into energy.
Micah Kane of the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) was named as CEO of the Year (2020) by Hawaii Business Magazine. He and his staff led the foundation's efforts in meeting "the immense and unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis". HCF deployed over $58 million in COVID-19 relief statewide.
Free Advance Health Care Directive Workshops will be held for residents in the Kohala-Waimea-Honokaa areas on the following dates: Sunday April 11, 2021 from 3:00 to 4:15 pm and Wednesday, June 16, 2021 from 9:00 to 10:15 am. These will be Zoom online workshops. A computer, iPad or smart phone with internet access are required in order to attend. For more information or registration go to the following link:
https://www.comunityfirsthawaii.org/registration/.
Alternatively you can also call 808 443-4033 or 808 9487-4405.
|
|
|
Senate District 4 / Hawaii Island Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Update
|
|
Governor David Ige released construction fuds to build the centralized administ rative offices for Kohala Hospital. The amount released for this project is $500,000. Kohala Hospital is a 28 bed facility consisting of 6 critical access beds and 22 long term care beds that provide 24 hour emergency service to the North Kohala community. The hospital has been in operation since 1917.
$425,000 was released to finance a new USDA Inspection Building at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, Hawaii. It is part of an ongoing $11 million project.
Phase 1 funding of $2,000,000 for Hilo Intermediate School Building A renovation and replacement was released in February. $500,000 was released to finance facilities upgrades to Honokaa High and Intermediate School’s Science classroom building.
The University of Hawaii at Hilo will get $8,000,000 in funding for various projects to renew, improve and modernize facilities including the Campus Center, UH Hilo Library, the Pana’ewa Farm, and the Student Service Building.
“Minor” CIP funding of $23,248,000 was approved to support ongoing major renewal and repurposing projects at the State’s various community colleges. Another $14,500,000 of funding was released to finance capital renewal and deferred maintenance projects throughout the community colleges.
|
|
Emergency Proclamation
The State of Hawaii is still under an emergency proclamation, which was renewed by the Governor on February 12. Emergency Proclamation #18 continues most of the rules set in place from the previous proclamation. It means that wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing are still in effect for everyone in the state. As with previous proclamations, regulations are set forth in a number of areas including travel, quarantine requirements, suspension of certain laws, and enforcement are addressed. You can read the Emergency Proclamation #18 here.
Statistics
As of March 12, 2021, the State Reported a total of 28,259 COVID-19 cases, of which 2,328 were reported from the County of Hawaii. Total deaths from COVID-19 statewide were at 451 as of March 12.
While Hawaii’s 28,000+ cases seem to be a lot; overall in the United States alone, a total of 29,478,109 cases were reported as of March 15. Total deaths in the United States stood at 535,406 as of March 15. President Joe Biden ordered flags nationwide be flown at half-staff in honor of those who passed from COVID-19 from Feb. 22 to Feb 26. Governor David Ige ordered the same for Hawaii based flags.
Vaccines
The State is still in Phase 1b of the vaccine plan. The priority people in Phase 1B are seniors 75 years of age and higher. That was extended to “kupuna” aged 70 and higher in late February. Starting on March 15, the age threshold will start at 65. The two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been on the market since January. A new, single dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was recently authorized and should roll out to various communities soon.
Places in the fourth Senatorial district and nearby administrating the vaccine include the following:
Hilo Medical Center, Mon. to Fri. 7am to 4pm (Pfizer)
Kona Community Hospital, Thurs & Sat. 8am to 2pm (Pfizer)
North Hawaii Community Hospital, Kamuela, Mon. – Fri. (Pfizer)
Department of Health, various locations (Moderna)
Those seeking vaccinations required to make an appointment. Details on these locations can be found at this link: https://coronavirus-response-county-of-hawaii-hawaiicountygis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/vaccine-information.
The following areas are also doing vaccinations: Bay Clinic, Inc., CVS/Longs Drugs, State Department of Health, Hamakua Kohala Health, and Kaiser Permanente clinic. More information on these places can be found at the link.
As of March 12, 447,917 doses of vaccine have been administered.
|
|
|
I got the second of two COVID-19 vaccination shots on February 25. Have you gotten your COVID-19 shot? The State of Hawaii will be going into Phase 1c by spring. Eligibility will extend to those with various health issues and seniors aged 65 and above.
|
|
|
Contact Information & Legislative Links
State Senator Lorraine Inouye
|
|
|
|
|
