House Standing Committee on Economic Development & Technology

Okay. Good morning. This is the Economic Development Technology Committee. We have a light hearing this morning. It's Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 10:30am and we are in Conference Room 430 and Standard disclaimers apply. If you run into problems with your Zoom connection, the problem might be on your side.

We can't take liability for that for any problems on our side. And if the hearing goes long, we're going to have to adjourn in order to make sure that we attend floor session at 11:30. But I don't think that's going to be a problem this morning. The first Measure up is SCR121. And we have see Mr.

Tokioka from DBEDT in support.

Good morning. Good morning, Chair. Good morning, Vice Chair and Members appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of this resolution. And you know, we, we've supported it from the beginning. And I want to make it clear for people to understand why we're doing this is I don't think we can make a bad decision with too much information.

And so what you guys will be doing for or against in the community, it'll be a group that will be reaching out to the communities, getting information, making sure that the communities feel like their input is accounted for. And, you know, that's how we want to move this forward.

And we appreciate this opportunity to share this with you. And if you have any questions regarding our testimony which we submitted, we'll be here for questions. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Prosecutor in opposition.

Good afternoon, Chair Iligan, Vice Chair Hussey, Members of the Committee. I'm Steve Omhal, prosecutor. I'm strongly opposed to this. There are red flags all over the country. I mean, it's even on John Oliver's show like three weeks ago where they had. And Marcus o' Sheure wrote a very strongly worded column this morning in the Star Advertiser.

But some of the red flags are that online gambling in particular is going to hurt lower income folks more. It's going to create more problem gamblers because having a casino in your hand 247 is light years away from having to go to a casino or something like that.

And they make their money disproportionately from the problem gaminers, the people that lose a lot. And that really would mean Hawaii is in the addiction for profit business. And I don't think that's where we want to be. The Legislature has resisted it for years.

Just two weeks ago, the mayor and City Council of Baltimore sued Fanduels and DraftKings for unfair and deceptive labor practices. Research shows that 96% of online betters lose money. Only 4% win. And they typically are going to either get banned the winners or they're going to get their bets reduced to a few bucks.

Because you don't have a right to gamble. That's a business. Department of Taxation testified in February that with a 10% tax, the take for the state would only be $5.3 million in 2026 and then 5.5 in 2027. I think that the industry has said it's 10 or $15 million, but that's not what our Department of Taxation says.

And as far as, you know, tourists, they can gamble anywhere on the mainland. So if they come here, they have set amount of money to spend. If they gamble, that means they're not going to Kyotaku, they're not going to Roy's, they're not going to Alemona center, they're not going to Polynesian Cultural Center.

And finally, people in Hawaii love sports. So do we want to have fans at, UH football or UH volleyball, watching cheering on the team or on their phones betting? Is the guy going to make the field goal or not? Or is the serve going to be inbound?

So I urge you not to promote legalized gamblings where our citizens will lose 96% of the time, where native Hawaiians and other low income groups are going to be targeted with this, and where the state would only see $5 million in revenue. It could tarnish our love for sports. So thank you very much for listening. Thank you.

Any questions for Mr. On? Actually, Mr. On, real quick, I have one quick question before you sit down. You mentioned that there were suits filed. What was the jurisdiction in which those suits were filed? Baltimore. Baltimore. Okay, thank you.

And it was like the beginning of this month.

And what are the, what are the damages that they're looking for?

I don't know. Okay. It's. I think it's injunctive relief. I see. Primarily to stop the operations.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay, up next we have Christine Autoza from Hawaii. Good neighbor in opposition on Zoom. Okay, thank you, Mr. Carr.

Morning. Chair. Vice Chair, Stanford Carr, Development. I mean Stanford Car on behalf of Aloha Halawa District Partners in support of this measure. You know, this measure seeks to explore a comprehensive gaming policy framework to drive economic growth, job creation, investment and tax revenues for the State of Hawaii. It's a working group.

So let us form this working group, do our homework so that we can come back to the Legislature with the report so that the Legislature can vet this further with an informed decision with community input. Thank you. Thank you.

Any questions for Mr. Carr? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Up next we have Christina Everett in opposition, in person.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and all those who are here. Christina Everett with project name Maya Hawaii. Yes, I strongly oppose this bill. Is it safe to say that those who are supporting it are being pushed to support SCR121? Yes, absolutely.

There's many especially I believe is under immense pressure from lobbyists and corporate interests, including the mainland gambling companies like DraftKing and B BET NGM. Tourism developers and stadium investors eyeing profit from gambling integration. Economic advisors promising quick revenue without raising taxes. This pressure clouds moral clarity, especially when the messaging is wrapped in the illusion of economic growth.

Are you compromising character over power? Because it's hard to see it that way. When leaders know the harm and still move forward, it shows a willingness to trade long term community well being for short term financial wins. Ignore the pain of vulnerable for the promises of corporate success. Abandoned core values for political convenience.

And the most dangerous part, they often convince themselves it is for the greater good. How they can support something that will hurt the vulnerable. We're out there on the streets, in the streets, in the community, in vulnerable pockets and witness. We're not just looking on the computer and looking at the statistics. We are the statistics. Because why?

You see the statistics, not the stories. You hear budget projections, not the cries of families that are torn apart. Rely on reports, not real life testimonies. Think that they can regulate addiction. How can you regulate addiction? You cannot.

Nevada and New Jersey are examples, prime examples of highest rates of gambling addiction, death and suicide, increased need for public mental and social services, more crimes, theft and financial fraud tied directly to gambling losses. There are so many stories that we can go over and over and again.

Isaiah says in the book of Chapter 10, verses 1 to 2, woe to those who make unjust, unjust laws. To those who issue oppressive degrees. For every $1 gain in gambling revenue, taxpayers spend 3 to $7 giving just to fix the fallout. Come on, numbers don't lie.

If you pass SCR121, you are not just supporting policy, you are writing a check for someone else's suffering. You're inviting addiction into our state like a welcome guest and letting it sleep in the homes of the vulnerable. We ask you, what will you say when a keiki dies because their father gambled away their roof?

When a mother overdoses trying to numb the shame of her Addiction. These are not exaggerations. They're previews of what is to come. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Everett? Okay, thank you very much. Amy Agmayan is on the wreck. Is. Has submitted testimony. She gonna be. Is she on online? All right. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Just checking. Brandon Maka.

[Unintelligible] Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Brandon Maka'Awa'Awa. I'm the Vice President of the Nation of Hawaii, and I stand in strong opposition to SCR121. This resolution proposes forming a working group to explore the potential benefits of legalized gaming in our islands.

While I agree that this is a conversation we must have, it's one that should start within our island Ohana, not with industry stakeholders who stand to profit from our decisions. There are 48 states across the country that have gone through this process.

Many have formed working groups, held hearings and debated legislation, but none have included gaming operators as part of the initial formation discussion. Why should Hawaii be any different? Why are we giving those who seek to benefit the loudest voice in a conversation that could fundamentally impact our ohanas, our communities and our future?

We need a robust, honest discussion that considers all sides. The profits, yes, but also the pitfalls, the social costs, the community impact and. And what this means for our kiki and our future. The nation of Hawaii has spent the past four years studying these impacts firsthand.

We sat with leaders from the Seminole Nation in Florida, the Pechanga Nation in California, learning not just how to build casinos, but how to protect communities, preserve culture, and center the voices of our people.

This is the kind of insight that belongs in a working group, not the operators who are ready to pitch their best case scenarios just to open up shop. Let us have this conversation as an Ohana first. Let us, the original people of this land who have. Who have the most to lose, lead the way.

And when the time comes for technical expertise, the operators can be called upon, but not before that. This is why I oppose scr121. Mahalo.

Thank you very much. Any questions for Mr. Maka Abaaba? Okay, up next we have testimony from Claire Tamamoto with comments. And on Zoom, we have Kehao Lani Lum from the Ali'i Pauahi Hawaiian Civic Club is, I'm sorry, present. Okay, wonderful. Thank you. Keolani.

Aloha Mai Kakou. Aloha to everyone on this day. Aloha chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. I am Keha Lanilam, President of Ali'i Pauahi Hawaiian Civic Club and we have submitted our comments in writing.

I just wanted to call to stress the importance of representation for the Kamaina of Aiea in which a potential project may be seeded.

The composition of the working group includes six Members who come from over eight miles away, two Members who are 2,758 miles away, one Member who is 5,079 Members away miles away and none from the Ahupuaa where it will be built if so recommended by the group.

This despite the fact that over 23,000 residents live in the immediate area, most of whom support the stadium and want to be part of a solution. The Aiea Community Association has decades of experience in developing community based spaces that are beloved and their insight is valuable to achieving success.

It is also being represented on the stadium authority already. So the impact of this bill will resonate in the area and.

And to ensure transparency, clarity and to invoke the spirit of Aloha as invoked in Chapter 575 of HRS, we respectively respectfully request that one of the seats be assigned to a Member of the Aiea Community Association so that the community can engage proactively rather than reactively. Mahalunuiloa, thank you very much.

Any questions for Ms. Lum? Okay, Malo. Up next we have Puahonua, Bumpy Kanahele. Not. Not here. Okay. We have testimony and opposition from John Kealoho Garcia, Mr. Sula from the ironworkers.

Well, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Cody Sula with the Iron Workers Stabilization Fund. We're in support of SCR121 as we were from the beginning because we believe that this working group is an important part in considering something like this type of legislation and gambling.

So the working group we believe bring voices from people who support and oppose gambling in Hawaii. We think it's an important part to start and have a conversation with regarding something that would impact policy, economics, our culture and also our community as well.

So we're in strong support of this to look at all aspects, whether negative and positive and just really come together and have real information that we can comb over and go through to make sure that what people are saying, whether it's negative or positive, that it's true, that they have records of it, that they have data to make informed decision making.

So we're in support of the working group, especially the part where you represent Member from labor because we know it's going to affect a lot of our working class. The reason why we support legislation like this is because we're Losing our working class. They're moving to Vegas. They're moving to California, Texas now.

And our population is getting smaller. So we're in support. They. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Sula? Okay, thank you very much. We also have testimony and support from Boyd Gaming. And then we have testimony in opposition from Michael Older, Coralie Matayoshi, Gabrielle Tio Ganco, Linda Rich, Ellen Godby, Carson, Lorraine Robinson, Kathy Fay, Evelyn Hao, Cheryl Ho June. Look.

Gail Yoshioka, Eva Hubbard, Richard Tillotson, Galen Fox, Robin Ventura, Roxanne Bell, and Edward Romo. Is Edward Romo in person?

Okay.

Yes.

My name is Edward Romo. I'm a senior pastor of International River Life Christian Center out in Waianae Coast. I'm against it, and I believe because I'm against it, it's just like the, he had said Hawaii. You come to Hawaii to enjoy, not to gamble. And Hawaii is the State of Aloha.

And when you're bringing that in, what else are you bringing in with it? They're not gonna. It's like he said, they're not gonna give us any revenue. And everybody says we're gonna look out for who's gonna build it. The locals, Are they gonna bring mainline people to build it, who's building the rail?

So those are the things that we have to look at. Who's going to be doing everything and who's going to bring everything. And I believe it's not going to be a good thing. Honestly, I'm originally from the State of California, and it didn't do us any good. You know, they start the scratcher started off at a dollar.

You go back there, now there's 510, $20 just for one scratcher. And the thing is this, is that they went up like that so that they think they have a better chance of winning. There's no win. There's not a win win situation here. I. I'm against it. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Romo? Okay. We have Stella Romo submitted testimony in opposition. We have testimony from Kathryn Mundy. In opposition, James Eno. Dwayne Bautista is in person. Dwayne, thank you.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, I'm in support as a citizen, even though I'm employed at the Ironworkers Stabilization Fund. Today, my testimony is on behalf of myself. I support this bill, SCR121. Hawaii needs this bill. But the working group is we're putting our thoughts and all our policy making to make this work.

This is the time that Hawaii is giving the current absence of legalized gam. Legalized gaming in our state. And this is the time that we can use this working group to figure out and make the policies that we can help out this state. So I'm in full support of this bill and thank you for the time.

Thank you. Mr. Bautista. We have testimony. I'm sorry. Any questions for Mr. Bautista? Okay. We have testimony in opposition from Cheryl Brzanka, Michael Kainoa Wilson, Jermaine Myers and Linda Miata. Christy McpPerson offers comments. You have testimony. Opposition from Aaron Hahn, Arden Fontanella, Joy Chenen, Doreen Morimoto, and Sheila Medeiros is in person. Thank you, Sheila.

Aloha. Aloha. My name is Sheila Medeiros and I'm here to urge you to protect Hawaii's families by opposing the legalization of gambling in our state. Gambling invites addiction, human trafficking, corruption and criminal activity. Dangers we cannot afford to bring into our communities. Legalized gambling isn't just about slot machines or card tables. It's a gateway to devastation.

Look at what's already happening in illegal game rooms across Hawaii. Just recently, at 4am on School street in Kalihi, a violent confrontation outside an illegal game room led to an attempted murder investigation. A group of men left the game room, confronted occupants of a silver sedan, and gunfire erupted.

Both parties fled before police arrived, leaving our community shaken. This isn't an isolated incident. These illegal game rooms breed violence, addiction and crime. Legalizing gambling would amplify these dangers, inviting more corruption and human trafficking into our neighborhoods, tearing apart families and exploiting the vulnerable. Our keiki or. And our kupuna. Sorry. And our kupuna. Our families deserve better.

Gambling addiction destroys lives, pulling people into debt and despair. It fuels criminal networks that prey on our communities. From trafficking to organized crime. Hawaii is a place of aloha, where we are, where we protect one another. Not a place where we open the doors to predators and profiteers. We've seen the harm in places like Kalihi.

We cannot let this spread statewide. I implore you, reject legalized gambling. Protect our families, our values and our future from addiction, violence and corruption. Kipova is safe. Mahalo.

Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Banderos? We also have testimony in opposition from Roquillian Letua, Stephanie Correa. Neil Mcpherson offers comments, and Rachel Robinson in opposition. Any other testimony? Cliff.

Good morning. Good morning. Chair, Co-Chair and Vice President and Committee Members. My name is Cliff Laboy. I'm with the Ironworkers Union Stabilization Fund. I'm also here on behalf of the Hawaii Building and Construction Trade Council. The Hawaii Building and Construction Trade council consists of 18 affiliates totaling 34,500 Members.

We are all in support of this measure. We encourage to move this SCR121 further. You have heard today a lot of negative stuff that's involving gambling. Why? Because it's not organized. It's not being done right. It's all illegal. What we're trying to do is create a new industry to bring fresh money into the state.

We need to bring fresh money into the state. Unless any one of you that's sitting up there can tell us today how can we go about bringing fresh money into the state to keep our families from leaving the island.

Again, just to give you some facts of what we lose in every month, we have six airlines that fly to Vegas per week, a total of 17 flights a week. We're losing on airfare alone per week, $13,739,000 per week. In one month, we're losing $54,959,520.

Now, these figures are just based on an airfare of $475 round trip, which is special. That's the lowest this thing goes. We're losing so much money every week, every month, going to Vegas. This is just our people.

We're not talking about tourists coming in, being able to enjoy the sunset, the beaches, and do a little gambling at night. We're not talking about other industries.

We're talking about millions and millions of dollars that's flying out of the state when we can have it here, doing it the right way, with rules, laws, working with hpd, working with all of the agencies to make sure we can line this thing up the right way.

Then we can turn around and get rid of all illegal gambling houses in the state. Right now, we probably get about 16 out there. It just keeps going. We need to shut them down. Again, we support this issue. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Any other questions for Mr. LeBoy? Okay. Any other testifiers on this measure?

Hello, everyone. My name is Nelson Sua. For some of you guys that came in that front door, you seen a postal board of my family? Those are me and my siblings. We've done over 230 years of prison time. So that darkness, we understand it fairly well. And I just. I hear everybody's arguments, and both. Both valid.

But what you guys don't see is what's going to happen. There's already criminal organizations around the world that are reaching into my family and letting. And they're keeping an eye on this, on these bills that are happening in Hawaii. What's going to happen is that you're going to see an increase of crime.

I don't care what you, what they say or think, it's going to happen. Politicians will be paid off on the Federal Government and county levels. Kids. And if that doesn't work, your families are in danger. You don't pay your bill, you're in danger.

Kids will be taken and turned missing, put on a, on a train around the world to make money. And at the end of their life, they will return to you broken. And if not, their body parts will be sold on the black market and they will be labeled as runaways.

For those adults that end up at the bottom of the ocean, you guys will just be labeled missing. And this is the reality of it. I would suggest a better alternative. You know, I have an idea that I think might work.

You know, why not create a state owned enterprise, a hotel casino and have it placed in Vegas, right? More people Visit Vegas. There's 100,000 people from Hawaii in Vegas. There's already a connection. The underground infrastructure is in place. The security side is already taken care of. Right.

And what will cost a dollar to build there is going to cost $10 to build here. You know, and yeah, we do need the money, but at, but at what cost? The state is called the Aloha State. When you legalize gambling, that all gets destroyed.

And what was called the State of Aloha was, will become Martha's Vineyard, only for the elite. So I just wanted to share that with you guys. I'm not coming from one who thinks or believes. I know, I know what's going to happen. And it's our descendants. They will push drugs.

Anybody that cannot pay their bill or loses their home, they will end up on the street and then they will end up taking drugs. They will start doing crime. You'll make good people turn bad. So it's not worth it. There are all other ways to be creative.

I think that's what we need more now, but not to sacrifice our state like this. So I thank you.

Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Sua? I have one question, which is I think the idea of the State of Hawaii establishing its own casino somewhere else is an interesting idea. My question is, if we do that, are we not just exporting all of the negative parts of having a casino to someone else, to another jurisdiction?

Well, the thing is, you're not going to stop people gambling. You're not going to stop people going To Vegas. Right. You're not going to stop it. You know, I spoke to a friend who's a GM at, in La, at a hotel, the Hilton.

He has a friend that is a tribal chief and they're willing to work in hand with the state, with the people of Hawaii to create a casino or a hotel in tribal land. Right. You can see a lot of people that cannot come to Hawaii because of they can't afford it or they're scared to fly.

They can go to these places, they can drive. You can have entertainment like PCC in there. Right. You can have other things. You can showcase the aloha. You can bring it to the people, you know, which is a, which is a benefit for us.

People are making money off of the, off of the Aloha state and the state ain't getting any money for it. You can name the hotel the Hawaiian. I mean, there's, you know, it's, there's a lot of benefit, I believe.

But like I said, you cannot stop people from gambling, you know, so you're just more like capitalizing off the opportunity.

Thank you. I had a question for Mr. Alm, if I could.

Yes.

Across the various kinds of gaming, like, you know, I think there's a bunch of things which gets lumped together, right? There's lotteries, there's casinos, there's cruise ship gambling, and then there's digital gambling, which would be pretty pervasive, which is what we're about talking, talking about for a lot of this. What are the risks?

Like, how do those rank in terms of risk factors and liabilities?

I think by far the online sports bookmaking is the most dangerous. It's only been around since 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court said states other than Nevada can do it. So I think 38 or 39 are doing it because it seems like such a good way to make some money right off the bat.

But it's creating more problem gamblers than any other type. This idea you can do it in your home is scary. Going to a casino is going to have its problems. You know, you are going to have some problem gamblers at least with that. It gives the construction guys a chance to make some money building it.

There will be some jobs with it. I just. And a lottery, you know, they often, they say, okay, we'll give it to education. We usually the legislation cuts the legislation, money for that.

What I'm afraid of is if any one of those things is legalized, the money from the gambling interest is going to pour into the state and it'll be hard to stop with anyone. But sports bookmaking, by far is the scariest.

Okay, thank you very much. Okay. Any other questions? Move on to the next mar.

Daniel, I did have a question for the DB Director. You know, that was a pretty creative yet, Director Tokioka, I do appreciate the idea for Mr. Sua, is that something that we could potentially look at for? What are your thoughts?

Thank you for the question. And thank you, Mr. Su, for the idea. Absolutely. That's why in my testimony, I said earlier, that's why you want to do something like this, to flush out all the types of different creative ideas that can come out. And did, I think, did that come up before when I was in the Legislature?

Somebody else brought that up before that we should purchase a casino in specifically Las Vegas. It didn't go very far, obviously, but that's the type of ideas that I think is critical to have this working group go flush out ideas.

And, you know, some of the comments that were made before regarding the dangers of a casino being there. We know just recently people were killed at these illegal gaming houses. And so when you have a situation like a casino in an Entertainment District at Mr.

Carr's development, you're going to have cameras, you're going to have security, you're going to have all of these things at a place where now these. These gaming houses, and it's hard to stop them. You don't have any of that.

In fact, the only security you have is, you know, letting people go in there and rob and people that are bodyguards in there to protect the property inside. But with a situation like a casino, we've all seen it in Las Vegas. There's security all over the place, there's cameras all over the place. And it's.

It's a relatively safe business opportunity. So again, I just think that this working group can flush out a lot of ideas and concerns that the community will have. So thank you for that opportunity to answer his question.

Cool. Thank you. Anybody else? All right, let's move on then to the next measure, SCR 31. We have Mr. Tokioka. Don't go too far. In support. Okay. All right. You're delegating. Smart. Smart man.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Member of Committee. My name is Timothy Tiu, the economic development specialist with DBEDT. We, on behalf of DBEDT, we stand our written testimony in support of the resolution. And I'm here for the, any questions.

Thank you so much. Okay, thank you. Any questions for the DBEDT representative? Okay. Department of Agriculture in support.

Aloha, Chair. Aloha, Chair, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Cedric Gates here on behalf of the Department of Agriculture. The Department stands on its written testimony in strong support of this measure. Here for any questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. Any questions for Ag? Okay. And then we have testimony in support from Nicole Wang and Michael Olderr. Anyone else would like to testify in this measure? Okay, next measure, SCR 58. We have testimony in support from Bryan Mick from Disability and Communication Access Board. Is Mr. Mick online? Great.

Yes. Hi. Good morning, Chair and Vice Chair. Thank you for hearing this resolution. We are in favor of... Again, I am Bryan Mick. I'm here on behalf of the Disability and Communication Access Board and our Executive Director, Kirby Shaw. Accessible playgrounds are very important to children with disabilities.

But they also help teach important lessons to all children and adults about the importance of being inclusive. Earlier this session there was a bill, House Bill 867, which also sort of tackled this issue. It had several hearings, ultimately did not advance.

In its initial draft, it would have required the DOE and DLNR to install, as they called, special needs equipment, including wheelchair accessible swings, at all their playgrounds. It became clear at that very first hearing there was no easily available data on what state departments currently have or are considering playgrounds or how many playgrounds even exist right now.

There also was not a clear consensus on what sort of equipment should potentially be required to be installed and what their potential costs were. There is equipment that is designed for kids with disabilities other than mobility, and those absolutely should be considered as part of this process.

It's also noted that many public playgrounds are county owned and those are open for everyone's use, not restricted for students, and are open seven days a week. So this led many of the stakeholders to think that a working group would really be a good idea. They could do a survey and study of all the state departments and come up with some recommendations.

However, since we do know now that DOE has hundreds of playgrounds, it does make sense for them to be one of the lead agencies in our opinion. SCR 58 has amended calls for DOE and DAGS to lead such a working group. And we thank the prior committee for making the amendment to that. So in summary, please pass this reso. Thank you for the chance to testify.

Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Mick? Okay, up next we have Daintry Bartoldus from the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities in person.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair. My name is Samaya Gorham. I'm an intern at the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities here for my boss, Daintry Bartoldus. So we just want to say that we are in support. We want to say thank you for replacing the term special need recreational playground equipment with accessible recreational playground equipment.

This just makes a difference because there really is nothing special about a person needing something different. Everybody deserves the same rights and access to everything. So for those reasons, we are in support, and we thank you for the amendment.

Thank you. Any questions? Okay, up next, we have testimony support from the Hawaii Self Advocacy Advisory Council. And then next we have Louis Erteschik from the Hawaii Disability Rights Center on Zoom.

Yes. Thank you. Good morning, Chair. I'm Lou Erteschik, the Director of the Disability Rights Center. Thank you so much for hearing this resolution. We really appreciate it. You know, it may seem like a small point, but the whole trend in the disability movement is inclusion. And that starts when you're a child playing with your classmates when you go out to recess. So this really is a very important concept.

And I've worked closely with Bryan on this issue, and I want to echo what he said, that during the hearing on some of the actual bills, there were legitimate questions raised about how many playgrounds are there, where are there, what are the costs. And so I think this working group was an excellent idea to kind of get some stakeholders together.

And let's come up with some information that would be really useful to you folks as policymakers so that next session some decisions can be made. So we support. We support the amendments. We support. We support the reso as is, and we urge you to pass it. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions? Okay, thank you very much. Up next, we have testimony in support from Michael Olderr and Katrina Fenner. And then finally, we have Tanya Pimienta on Zoom in support. Not present. Okay, is anyone else who would like to testify on this measure? Okay, with that, we're going to recess.

Okay, thank you.

We're back for decision making on these measures. First item is SCR121. Representative Tam, do you want to.

Thank you. Oh, no. Go say your amendments for a minute.

Okay. So my recommendation is to pass this measure with an HD1. And there are several items to change. So there's some items, minor changes in the purpose language. I'll just read it out for simplicity's sake. And I have hard copies here for anyone who is interested.

Want to indicate that whereas the Legislature requires information on the costs and benefits of legalized gambling, including different gambling operations, to evaluate and properly consider gambling for Hawaii.

And then going into the purpose language, we're suggesting that it should say research that the purpose then is to research gaming Programs and experiences of legalized gambling states, including, but not limited to revenues generated, cost of Administration, preventative education, gambling counseling and treatment, regulation and enforcement. Part 2 or item 2.

Review gaming legislation considered by the Legislature and of other states to determine whether any proposal has the potential to be implemented in the state. 3. Examine the potential for gaming activities at the Nualoa Stadium entertainment district and onboard vessels operating with Hawaii's exclusive economic zone, which is 200 nautical miles out from our shores. The next item is.

Should we say four is develop a comprehensive tourism gaming policy framework that addresses economic growth, job creation, capital investment, tax revenues and cost of Administration, regulation, enforcement and social programs to educate, counsel and treat problems gambling. Be it further resolved that the following individuals are designees.

So indicating that it should, you know, that the directors who we will request their participation are allowed to designate someone to take their place, are requested to serve on the working group.

And then we're suggesting that instead of it just being a representative from the various agencies that it specifies specifically the Director, and then we're adding additional Members, including the Director of the Department of Health, the Director of the Department of Human Services, and the Executive Director of the of uhero, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

And then also deleting the three gaming corporations which are in the Senate version of this measure. Okay. So the corporations themselves will not be named. They're welcome to participate in the meetings of the working group.

And then also adding that all of the new Members that we're adding in this house version would receive certified copies of the resolution. Those are my recommendations. Any discussion? Please Representative Tam.

Thank you, Vice Chair. And I appreciate the work that you've done to make this reso better. I'll be voting in support. I think that there's a lot of conversation and a lot of controversy when it comes to gaming.

However, the one language that I really appreciate that you put in was the idea of allowing cruise ships to gamble. I think that that's an excellent path forward if we ever want to entertain the idea of gambling here. You know, they have already. They already do this.

They have their regulation and we will be able to tax it to generate revenue for the state to provide more services while not raising taxes on the people of Hawaii. I also think that I look forward to working, seeing what this working group produces in terms of that area. Thank you. Thank you.

Any other further discussion? Representative Holt.

Thank you. And you know, I echo a lot of the comments of the representative from Waikiki.

And, you know, I understand the concerns of the community Members and I do believe that, you know, putting a legal method forward for people to gamble will allow a safer, you know, method of entertainment than as you guys described what is currently happening. And this working group is important so we can get the information.

As been noted, you know, numbers have been thrown around of 6,000 jobs and $250 million in revenue. And I don't know any other industry which can provide us with those types of jobs in revenue currently. So I can't just take that for, you know, for truth.

We need to continue to work and figure out what is the actuality and I think this working group will help us get there. So thank you for moving this forward.

Thank you. Any further discussion? Okay. I also wanted to add. I'm sorry, I forgot to add two things. One is I'd like the Committee report to please reflect the testimony of the prosecutor and his concerns that online gambling is probably the most dangerous of the various types of gambling that the working group might consider.

And also for the HD to add designee for the House and Senate representatives that that the leadership might designate other individuals. Okay, any other discussion?

Chair, if you don't mind, would you be able to also add the Chairs of the Standing Committee on this Senate and the House of Representatives under the purview falls matters of economic development who are also requested to serve as co chairs of the willing group to have the ability to assign a designee?

Absolutely. That makes a lot of sense.

Thank you. Anything else? Okay, that's the recommendation. Chair for the vote.

The Chair's recommendation is to pass with HD1. [Roll Call] Representative Matsumoto will be excused for this resolution as well as the remaining resolutions for this hearing. Thank you. Chair your resolution has been adopted.

Thank you. Next item is SCR31 Recommendations to pass as is.

Oh, Chair, just. Just so the the body knows it's SCR121 that we just voted on. Thank you.

Thank you very much. The next Item up is SC31 SD1 Recommendations to pass as is any discussion. Okay, thank you. Chair for the vote.

Sheriff's recommendation for SCR3.1 is to pass as is. Any Members wishing to vote with reservations? Any Members wishing to vote no? With all Members voting Aye. Chair your resolution has been adopted.

Thank you very much. Last item, SCR58. The recommendations to pass as is.

Chair's recommendation Is to pass SCR5.8 as is and any Members wishing to vote with reservations. Any Members wishing to vote no with all Members voting, I chair your resolution has been adopted.

Okay, thank you all. We were adjourned.