Senate Floor

Will the Senate of the 23rd Legislature of the State of Hawaii please come to order? And right on time, we have the Chief Justice. So, before we get to the Chief Justice, we're going to open our 2026 session this morning.

And we are honored to welcome Mr. Rath Puahala for the opening protocol, followed by Sherry Nakamura to sing the national anthem and Hawaii Pono'i. Will the members and guests please rise, if you are able to do so?

[Singing]

[Singing the National Anthem]

Thank you, Mr. Puahala, and Ms. Nakamura, and more—well, please be seated, I'm sorry—and more than you needed to know, but our original invitee called Mr. Puahala at 11:00 PM last night to say that due to being under the weather, she couldn't perform. And at 5:50 AM, Ms. Nakamura responded that she would be able to do it.

So, we appreciate, on such short notice, her being here and doing such an outstanding job. At this time, I'd like to call on Acting Chief Justice Sabrina McKenna of the Hawaii Supreme Court to administer the office to Senator Rachele Lamosao, who is appointed by the Governor to represent Senate District 19 on December 3rd, 2025.

Senator Lamosao, will you please join us at the roster?

Mahalo Nui for inviting me to be here today. Senator Lamosao, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I do solemnly swear.

I do solemnly swear.

That I will support and defend.

That I will support and defend.

The Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution of the United States.

And the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

And the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

And that I will faithfully discharge my duties.

And I will faithfully discharge my duties.

As a member of the Senate.

As a Member of the Senate.

Of the State of Hawaii.

Of the State of Hawaii.

To the best of my ability.

To the best of my ability.

Congratulations.

Before Senator Lamosao goes back to her seat, we would like to take a moment to make a special presentation to our newest member. In conjunction with our 55 years of statehood anniversary in 2014, Senator Kim, who was Senate President at the time, commissioned a pin for members who have served in the Hawaii State Senate.

And we present a very special lapel pin to current and past Senators. This pen is a symbol of the members' service in the Senate and to the people of the State of Hawaii. Under Senate Rule 92, the Senate pin shall be only worn by current or past members. At this time, I'd like to present the pin to our newest member of the Senate.

We need to capture the moment. I'm sure her family in the gallery has got all the pictures done though.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Are there any introductions this morning, Madam Clerk?

We have a number of honored guests seated in the gallery this morning. We kindly ask everyone to hold their applause until all guests have been introduced. Governor Josh Green, and First Lady Jamie Green; Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, and Second Gentleman Michael Luke; Acting Chief Justice Sabrina McKenna; United States Senator Brian Schatz; United States Senator Mazie Hirono.

Mr. Kekoa Kaluhiwa, Deputy Chief of Staff for United States for Representative Ed Case; United States Representative Jill Tokuda; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair Kailii Kahele; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Vice Chair Keone Souza; and Trustees Kalei Akaka, Keliʻi Akina, Luana Alapa, Brickwood Galateria, Carmen Hululindsey, and John Waihe IV.

We also have Mayor of the County of Kauai, Derek Kawakami; Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Rick Blangiardi; Mayor of the County of Maui, Richard Bissen; and Mayor of the County of Hawaii, Dr. Kimo Alameda. Please join us in welcoming all of our honored guests.

Senator Lee.

Thank you, Mr. President. In addition to our guests here this morning, we have longtime colleagues and friends here with us in the gallery. Hawaii has had a long partnership with Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan, so long that it goes back to 1981, which is actually the year that I was born.

But I’d like to introduce them and welcome them back. They join us each Opening Day. And with us here, on behalf of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, are Masashi Haranaka, Tokuhiro Kabashima, Susumu Tobota, and Mika Moroya. And with them, our staff, Tomoki Imahashi and Chikage Ariyoshi. Aloha, and welcome. Thank you for joining us again.

Senator Lamosao.

Thank you, Senator President. It’s an honor to introduce my family and friends here today, joining us. Family and friends, if you could please stand, and audience, I’m going to also say their names, so please hold your applause.

Remy Lamosao, my mom, Romolo Lamosao, my dad, Rufino Lamosao, Abun Ponsi Ponce, Clarina Esteban, Catherine Esteban, Emmy Espiritu, CJ, my son, Justin Cadiz, my husband, Ariel Cadiz, my father-in-law, Romulan Navarrete, my sister—I'm sorry—Kenneth Navarrete; my brother-in-law, Gretchen Pansy Pansy, Korkandia Gako, and my friends, Justin Tanoy, Teddy Barbosa, Sky Virtuz, and Wayne Perrin. Thank you for joining us today, and welcome to the Senate.

Senator Gabbard.

Hello, my kakou. It takes a Kaiaulu, a community, to bring a vision to life. This school year...opened its doors at Kapolei High School, marking the establishment of the first high school Hawaiian immersion program on the leeward side of Oahu. I'm honored to introduce the haumana of this first class.

Please stand when your name is called and please hold your applause. First is Aali'i Glover. Next is Kahuli Au Machado. Next is Kanui Keli'i. Next is Makakoa Torres and Malamanui Tehiwa. These young kane are supported by a committed and united school community comprised of Kapolei High School leadership, Pokumu Wesley Shinkawa, Hopi Pokumu Moane Nahulu Mahelona, dedicated Kumu parents, and community members whose collective mission is to create a world class academically rigorous K-12 Hawaiian immersion school.

Eola Kaolelo, Hawaii. Please give them a big hand. Mahalo.

Are there any further introductions? If not, the Chair would like to offer a few remarks on this first day of the 2026 session.

I left the office last night and said this will be short because everything that was a priority last year is this year and we're still dealing with the uncertainty of Washington, D.C., and the increase in health insurance premiums and how that may have a devastating effect on our community.

And I got up this morning, and a friend of mine, former Major League baseball player and manager, Clint Hurdle, sends out inspirational leadership email to people he's met over the course of his career, Monday through Saturday, and on Wednesdays, he sends out a message related to legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, who is famous for writing the book, "The Pyramids of Success," which describes how not only he built his dynasty at UCLA basketball, but the principles by which he lived his life and leadership.

And this morning, he talked about Jack Clark, who has been the University of California's Varsity Rugby Head Coach since 1984. His teams have won 28 national championships, compiling an overall record of 758 and 96 with five ties. His program has had domestic win streaks of 115 games, 98 games, 70, 63, and produced 135 all Americans.

In an interview with Jan Stenker for Unconditionally Strong, he discussed his definition and system of leadership, which includes everybody. We say that the definition of leadership is the ability to make those around you better and more productive. It's a skill to us. Leadership isn't a rank. It's not only for the coach. It's not only for the captain.

It's not only for seniors. It's a skill. We open up the leadership model. It's not just the conventional model of a minority of team members leading the majority of the Members. I just don't happen to think that's all that powerful. If I'm the leader, that means everyone else is a follower, and I'm not happy with that.

I think where people get that mixed up is they confuse rank and how you make decisions with who's the boss with the leadership model. On this team, the leadership model is open for everybody. Over time, you look at leadership as a skill, not as a rank.

When we really get it right, we have a lot of people on this team contributing to the leadership of the team. That gets pretty powerful. That's magical, almost to see a bunch of people trying to make each other better and more productive.

I think in a culture that values leadership as a skill, a person can ask himself at any point in time, am I demonstrating leadership characteristics now, or am I lost in my own little world? As Coach Wooden liked to say, it's amazing how much we can accomplish if no one is concerned who gets the credit.

Authority, chain of command, and rank are needed on any team, but they don't fine—they don't define—the limits of who can contribute to leadership and helping others be better and more productive.

And as I read that, I realized that this is what I have aspired to, over the last decade, as the President of the Senate in the creation of a team and empowering each and every one of the members to make the maximum contribution that they can, to not be a top down, and I told you what you're going to do, so you better do it or, or else. But what is your great idea? How can I help you? And toward that end, I would like to talk to you a little bit about my team.

We have the Chair of Agriculture and Environment, Senator Gabbard, and we've talked a lot in the aftermath of Lahaina about what do we do to mitigate against wildfires. Well, the best prevention is to have active crops in the ground.

And if we have a productive agricultural community, then we are providing for our school children through the school lunches, state hospitals, and prisons, better and more nutritious food. We're supporting our economy. And boy, did we all get a real lesson during COVID about the food security issues that we face in Hawaii.

And Senator Gabbard will lead this charge. Senator Wakai is the Chair of Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs.

We face some of the highest energy costs in the nation and to continue to try to get that cost down and to do it in a more renewable, sustainable way will not only be good for business with the lower cost, but good for our environment. And I look forward to Glenn's contribution in this area.

Senator Chang chairs Housing and we all know housing and the high cost is the largest impediment to retaining our people here in Hawaii or recruiting talented people to come here and collaborate and work with us. And we need to continue to fund the money into the pipeline.

We have been putting record sums of money the last several years, but the permitting and the building process takes so long. We are now starting to see results, but we need to continue this commitment so our pipeline continues to produce year after year, and we can keep our young people home.

Senator Inouye is going back to her familiar transportation company. And as an island state, whether it's inter island travel for us personally, the delivery of goods and services and on our highways, it's critically important and we are happy to see her back in this capacity. We have Senator Keohokalole, Chair of Consumer Protection and Commerce.

And one of the big things he's been working on the last few years is the cost of insurance. But there is so much in consumer protection. He's dealt with the Hawaiian electric issues. He brings a steady hand and a wealth of knowledge and look forward to what will be on his agenda this year.

Unfortunately, this year, we're going to say goodbye to Senator Rhoads, our long serving Judiciary Chair. And Karl has been unwavering in standing up for what is right and standing up for the small person. And he has received death threats and put his own personal safety at risk for doing what he's always believed to be right.

I appreciate having worked with you, Senator Rhoads. You will be missed when you retire after this session. Senator Lee is going to switch with Senator Inouye and he's going to take the lead of Waterland.

And in Waterland, you know, you have discussions of the leases, the protection of our natural resources, where some of the green fee money is going to be spent.

A lot of controversy is there, but I appreciate him willing to step forward and trying to work with Senator Inouye and the rest of us to put the best team we can in the right places for the Senate to succeed. We have Senator DeCoite, the Chair of Economic Development and Tourism. She's worked tirelessly in this area.

And what is amazing to me is that she resides on Molokai, she does not have a hotel in her district, and yet much of her work is working with the hotel industry and she has done a lot to learn about that industry. I personally believe we need to have a vibrant film tax credit.

We see the cancellation of series. We aren't Hawaii and they're just coming anymore. And I would just share a brief story from my Kauai experience. I went out to West Kauai, the Waimea Plantation Cottages, which is a hotel that operates with refurbished old plantation homes. So, it's not a traditional hotel.

I commented to the manager, boy, this is February and you're full. Well, she told me that it's incredibly cold in Canada at the time.

And this is like maybe eight years ago. In February, they watched Hawaii Five-O until television, saw the son of Hawaii good airline rates because February, you know, happened to be slow and that the cottages were greatly discounting the rooms, hoping to get guests to come, and they were filled up.

And that isn't measured in some of the economic statistics when we look at the film credit, but that's the result of, you know, getting our message out to the world. So, I look forward to the work that Senator DeCoite will be doing.

Senator Richards, the Chair of Hawaiian Affairs—that Committee is always exciting, and we thank you for your service. You know, some of the things that have been happening in the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and Activity, there are some who have been critical of Director Watson and the 600 million.

I am appreciative that there is action that we can debate about and not being critical of inaction. And so, I appreciate the efforts that you put forward, Senator Richards. Senator Elefante kind of holds a special place for me.

We're going to ease him in last year and he was going to chair public safety and then the tragedy of New York years happened and all of a sudden he was thrust in the spotlight for his work at the time on public safety. And he did a great job in getting fireworks legislation, among other things passed.

We had a much better New Year's this year, but he's now going to take over the Labor Committee from Senator Aquino who has retired and we look forward to his contributions in that area.

We have Senator Kim who is not only chairing higher education, but we decided to do K through 12 with higher education, which used to be done in the past. And it's clear whether it's through pre–K or K through 12. And our not just four year university system, but the community college system.

If we want to create better opportunities for our children here in Hawaii. education creates the ladder of opportunity and the Senate has been focused on creating pathways that lead to jobs. We don't want an academy diploma or certificate that you put on your wall and then you can't find process.

And we want you to have vocational opportunities if that's what it takes because of where your interest and skill lie, because we need a host of federal level, whether it's SNAP or premiums on the Affordable Care act, delivery of health services.

You know, with the job ahead of her, you know, I know we have a good leader on behalf of the Senate who will help make sure the most vulnerable in our community are protected. And we have Senator Fukunaga who is going to now take over for the Public Safety and the Military Affairs Committee.

I guess I should have said with Senator Kim, Senator Fukunaga and I'll get around to Senator Ihara, they are our longest serving members in not only the Legislature but also in the, in some instances Honolulu City Council. So she will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the new assignment that she has agreed to undertake.

And we look forward to seeing her continue the work that was started by Senator Elefante, especially in the fireworks area, to ensure our community stays safe. And then I savedWell, I'm going to talk about Senator Morwocki. The Vice Chair of Ways and Means also is responsible for capital improvements.

And so, we are looking at how do we deal with a slowing tourism market. Well, one of the areas is construction and there is so much needed in the way of improving schools, getting pre K classrooms, supporting other infrastructure that has been aging.

And so, the work that she will do in her role as Ways and Means Vice Chair will be vital to keeping our economy vibrant and strong and I look forward to the job that Senator Moriwaki is going to do.

Of all the Committee chairs, I was going to say, of course, I saved the best and most powerful for last, Senate Ways and Means Chair, Donovan Dela Cruz.

You know, it was reported that maybe I shouldn't say he's the most powerful guy in the Senate, but everywhere I talk, I say he's the most powerful guy in the Senate. He controls all of the money. But most people don't remember when you first got here and thought you were chairing Ag and wound up in Waterland.

The mission was to acquire land, acquire dole land, acquire land so that we could save it for future generations, so that we could pursue an agricultural future. We could work on our food security issues. Some of the land eventually could be used for housing or to provide other facilities that we need to deliver the services.

Senator Dela Cruz was one of the first when we were here in 2011 to talk about transit-oriented development and how we should be maximizing the opportunity that the rail was going to provide. In recent times, he's been a leader on the pathways that lead to jobs and not certificates.

He's got the Innovation Center at Leeward Community College, which he's looking to take out to the other islands. We've discussed the central kitchen for the Department of Education as a way to hopefully buy more locally produced food to deliver better, more nutritious meals to our student. He is a true visionary.

And in all of that time, he has continued to show fiscal restraint. And while we have been criticized, at times, for not using more of the rainy day fund—it has really rained on us a lot. We've had the flooding or storms in April of '18 for Kauai and west—I mean east Oahu.

A month later, the lava flowed in Puna and destroyed communities. We've gone through Covid. We've gone through the events in Washington, D.C. that have had tremendous impact on our budget, and yet, we remain on what is solid fiscal ground.

And we are able to continue to keep our eye forward to, again, protect the most vulnerable in our community. Vice President Kidani, who also handles the communications of the Senate, has been a partner and a mentor to me since I got here in September of 2010. The whole time I've been the President, she's been the Vice President.

Her collaboration and support would not allow me to do what I've done. So, I truly appreciate working with you, Senator Kidani. And then we have Senator Ihara, who's the longest serving member in the Senate. He is our policy leader, and he reminds us of what happened even before I was here.

Make sure we stay on the straight and narrow and his steady voice is appreciated in our leadership. And then, we have the children. We have Senator Kanuha. He's actually old. He's 41 now. And Senator Hashimoto is 38. Senator Kanu is the majority and caucus leader.

He and Senator Hashimoto, along with Senator Ihara, handle the referrals. For the Senate, they bring energy to our leadership team and you know, greatly appreciate their contributions. And last, the person who has nothing is new Senator Lamosao. She has Committee assignments, but in the Senate, when you come here brand new, you start at the very bottom.

But it has normally happened after the one session, you rise up quickly. She is an incredibly talented, bright young lady. I have enjoyed working with her in her various capacities before she's come to the Senate and I look forward to seeing how incredible she's going to be in the years to come.

I would briefly say that I have enjoyed working with the minority. And while it is not our job to see eye to eye, it is our job to make sure we come to work to do the best job we can for the people of Hawaii. I forgot someone? And Angus, your name is right here.

Chief of Governmental Operations. You know, I never read these things. This is the first time I've read it. And then I omit you, who made the middle tier list of influential members of the Legislature. To Senator McKelvey, he's a former Consumer Protection Chair in the House.

And so, although he's chairing Government Operations here, he has been wealth of knowledge and experience to assist Senator Keohokalole as he has chaired his Committee. What Senator McKelvey brings that nobody else has in the Senate is he lost everything in the fire of Lahaina.

And so, while he's here as a problem solver and trying to get the results for his community, he is also able to share with us the other side.

And while we may think we know what they want and how we should help them, he can tell us, you know, you're missing the mark because it's someone who has lost everything. These are the things that are important to me. These are the things that are important to others and at this time that we work to continue to support Maui.

That vision and perspective that Senator McKelvey brings with his experience is invaluable. So, I apologize, Angus. I really had nice things to say about you and appreciate you very much. With that, I will conclude my remarks. Senator Awa.

Mahalo...

I gotta fix this. Cameras is rolling. I believe Hawaii will one day reach a moment where most will no longer judge each other off the color of their party, but by the character of the person they are and what they do for people.

It is our intention today to take a first step towards that moment and hopefully educate along the way. Aloha.

Aloha.

Last time I stood here, I asked, why me? When I sat down to write. This time I said, why not? It could be the last time I get to give an opening day speech on the Senate floor. Few get the honor. Even less get to speak freely when they have it.

These days, speaking truth automatically comes with being attacked. It can cost a person their job, their reputation, or in politics. Speaking of the latter, where they stand on it. I started writing and then realized, well, if I say this, you know, this lawmaker might get offended.

If I say it in a certain way, the state ethics might throw me another fine. And if I say too much, lawyers might try to hit me with another lawsuit because of the information I'm about to give to you today. Listen, after getting into the Senate, I took 35k, but it wasn't in a brown paper bag.

Imagine if I stopped the story right there. I can see some people texting already. I knew it. He did it. Can you believe he took it? I see one of the. I thought I saw one of the guards doing the Hawaiian haka, looking for the cuffs. Thoughts jump into conclusions these days. That's automatic.

That brings us to lesson one. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Or for those of you who grew up with the kupuna giving you the line when they're pulling your ear, hey, boy, why God gave you two ears and one mount to listen two times more than you talk.

The 35K I took came from three checks they're hanging on my office door from a settlement with my former employer. And now we're at the part where I told you earlier, could cost me, could cost thousands.

But I'd like to think the value of what I'm about to tell you guys and you hearing it for your own knowledge, is worth the money. At the peak of my career as a news anchor, my teleprompter would often be filled with wrong information.

The jammed up part was, instead of addressing the problem, I was looked in the eyes and told a line I'll never forget. They said, Brenton, if you see misinformation in your teleprompter, read it with extra confidence because 95% of people here will believe it.

What's worse is I went to the GM at the time, confirmed I had to read it because that's what corporate pays for. I ended up getting fired, like everybody knows, a few weeks later for refusing.

The point is, when it comes to the information that we hear in the media, to play off a quote from Anchorman, 60% of the time, it's accurate every time. In other words, don't listen all the time. Just to add, I later learned something few journalists are even aware of. Darrell, get the notes out. We're back here again.

In the eyes of the courts here, journalists give up their First Amendment rights when they sign their contracts because the station also have rights over what their employers can or cannot say. There's also a kicker.

The same law firm that represented the station that cut my settlement checks are the same lawyers who trained every single lawmaker here on ethics. As you soak that in, a side note for the critic, sure to ask where that 35k went. I paid off most of my debt at the time.

Now, right now, if you're easily offended, might be the time to hit mute, unfollow, or go watch the House's speech for everyone else. No, none of this is personal.

Unless you're a REIT or one of the many outside developers who've flown in, bought our land, hired some of our friends and neighbors, pay them well to work on projects that drive up the prices in our communities and we don't want. Before I go further, I want to point out everyone has that inner voice.

I've said this before. The voice that narrates your thoughts. When I started writing this speech, my thoughts were coming from the heart. It was meant to uplift. It was meant to be funny. It sounded like a mix between Island, Magic Mike and Tumua. But when it comes out, I realize it sounds more like Joe Moore.

Did you know the state is preparing to investigate one of its own in hopes of finding out what influential lawmaker took $35,000 in a paper bag? For the record, wasn't me. I wouldn't put it past Senator DeCorte, but she wasn't elected yet.

And it couldn't have been Senator Fevella, because if you read Civil Beats article, apparently he's not influential enough. Kurt, that was their words, not mine. Look, we have a resolution asking for the Senate to investigate. Kurt was on the news saying that's kind of a waste of time.

We kind of agree, so we brought in the polygraph test. That's what this is. Over here. And don't worry, all you Senators, it's not about you guys. Because what I realized was the news yesterday. The Attorney General said they're gonna investigate. So thank you for that.

We won't have to put everybody on that, but after seeing the briefings, I don't know, Senator Kim, you might agree here. We might want to put the Department of Education on this thing. I might keep it around. You know, I told myself, I keep this positive. We passed a clean bill through the Senate last session.

I'm not sure if the Senators liked it or they just wanted to sic me on the House. A simple bill. We recognized the coconut tree as a food source. It's currently designated as a landscape item. And that matters because right now we're chemically injecting trees without knowing the environmental consequences.

Now, because the Senate passed it untouched, the House had a rare opportunity to fast track the bill into law. Instead, they chose to edit the bill just to keep it stuck in the system as par for the course with what we deal with as a minority.

Worse, the lawmaker who handcuffed the bill agreed it was good for Hawaii. No changes were needed. But she had to amend it because if not, she feared her leaders would catch wind that she passed the Republican bill and she'd get the boot from her Committee. That's that latter I was talking about. Lesson learned.

Lesson two here in government, it's not who you know or even what you know in here, it's you get ahead by what you have on the person telling you no leverage equals action in government. Here's a real example. Most know we've been trying to ban foreign ownership of property since we got into office.

We want a Hawaii where residents don't have to compete with the rest of the world when it comes to finding a home to live. Most people who followed the About Time bill know what the state told us in year one. Unconstitutional. So we watered it down. We came back, year two still unconstitutional.

By year three, we stopped playing mental gymnastics. We let a Democrat introduce the bill. I traded one of my votes with Senator Rhodes, and what do you know? A bill to ban foreigners passed the Senate. Nobody was talking about its constitutionality. Of course, the House, they held it up, trying to protect what little power they have.

We see that everywhere. The elections Commission, our health care system, or the wealth care system. No offense if you guys are in the system, but it could turn into the next monopoly where CEOs making millions of families. Here, we can't afford to even pay the bills.

All the bills that come in the mail after you take the visit new red light cameras. They're funded by projected fines from the current ones. Speed limits designed for safety, implemented for profit. Renewable energy was supposed to be cheaper. Instead, our bills keep going up.

Home prices, like the President said, the highest they've ever been in Hawaii's history. It doesn't need to be this way. On the federal side, programs that helped Hawaiians are disappearing. The rub with this one is the very leaders here complaining about it.

Some of them, not you guys in the Senate, are the same ones that call Hawaiians racist. When we push for more Hawaiians in leadership positions in government at this time, I want to ask my colleagues and anybody in the room who's Hawaiians to please stand up for an applause, nothing else. If you guys can. And.

You guys can sit down. Thank you. You know, I didn't know what was going to happen. I kind of tried to gauge what the other side was going to do, but three years in, I haven't even gotten these guys to applaud when we speak. You know, how they, you know, up in Congress, what you guys see.

So the by. By seeing you guys stand up, you know, as leaders, that means a lot. Because now if we can have these moments where we can stand together against or above party lines, then, you know, maybe we can get somewhere. And as you guys saw, I think there was only about seven of us.

And I want to keep it positive. But real quick, the last passionate part that I have is this is why I believe the wait list is stuck at 29,000 people. There are not enough Hawaiians in here. No offense to everybody else who is not. This is why Hawaiian homes can cost up to $750,000 just to lease.

This is why every 10 years, 5% of Hawaiians leave Hawaii. If that continues, the math says in less than 100 years, there'll be none of us left. And for the homesteaders thinking you're safe, still no one fixed the blood Quantum issue for passing it down. Again, the goal here isn't to complain, but educate.

We've been divided by the American political system. We'll be conquered if we can't put our differences aside for simple dialogue. It shouldn't matter if you're red, white, blue, Mahu recognize we are few. And unless your name is Max Holloway, choosing to fight each other will only keep you standing for so long.

The last lesson is the powerful aloha. When the thirty Meter Telescope project tried to break ground on Mauna Kea, not many people thought it could be stopped. But people united, all kinds of people and what we saw was Kupuna leaning on aloha even when the state sent their own relatives to arrest them. Today, there's still no tmt.

We can accomplish impossible feats just by showing aloha. In other words, the next time you're feeling like chowing blows Cho aloha, use that moment. Be in that moment. And lastly, for the House, we want to share some moments with you, but for good leverage, what goes around comes around.

And if I'm in a different building next year and you need federal funding. I'm just saying I'm looking forward to this legislative session. On behalf of the Senate minority, I'm Brenton. Oah. Mahalo. Good luck and God bless.

We don't have much, but we have housekeeping and we need to change interpreters. If there are no objections, we'll take a brief recession. Will the Senate please come back into order? Thank you, Senator Awa. Madam Clerk.

Beginning on page two, Governor's message number one transmits the Executive supplemental budget for the budget period 2025-2027 and the variance report for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. And Governor's message number 502 informs the Senate that the Governor appointed Rachelle F. Lamosa to serve as as the Senator from the 19th senatorial district.

On pages 2 through 19. Departmental communication numbers 1 to 112. Transmit various reports.

File.

File.

On pages 19 to 21. Judiciary communication numbers 1 to 14. Transmit various reports.

File.

On page 21. Introduction of measures. Introduction of Senate Bill numbers 2001 to 2421.

File. Oh, Senator Wakai.

Mr. President, I move that the Senate Bills 2001-2421 pass first reading by title and be referred to Committee.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Any objections? If not, the motion is carried.

Senate Concurrent Resolution numbers one through five for referral to Committee.

Senator Wakai.

Mr. President, I move for the adoption of Senate resolution number one.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Any objections? If not, the motion is carried.

Referrals and re. Referrals.

Referrals and re. Referrals are made in accordance with the supplemental orders of the day that may be filed later today.

On page 22. Miscellaneous communication number one transmits a petition from Alexander Silvert dated January 5, 2026 to convene an investigative Committee examining an alleged 2022 incident involving a legislator.

Filed.

No further business, Mr. President.

Are there Any announcements today, Senator Rhodes?

Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to wish the Chair of the AG and the Environment Committee a belated birthday. He's always very kind and remembers all of ours. So, January 15th. Happy birthday.

Any further announcements? If not, the Chair has won. The list of Senate leadership and Standing Committee assignments was distributed to the Members on January 20, 2026 and a copy has been placed on each of your desks. The Clerk is directed to place the same in the journal. Are there further announcements this morning?

If not, Senator Wakai.

Let's rock and roll. I move that the Citizen Adjourn until 11:30am Tomorrow.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

It's been moved and seconded. If there are no objections from the Members, the Senate will stand adjourned until 11:30am tomorrow.