House Standing Committee on Finance

Aloha. We are convening the House Committee on Finance. It is Wednesday, February 252026 and it is our 2:00pm agenda here in room 308 at the State Capitol. Welcome and thank you all for being here, especially those of you who maybe this is your first time at the Capitol. It's always good to have new people here.

And we have a request today for an ASL interpretive service provider for HB 2005 HD2 relating to language Access, which will establish a statewide Language Access education and workforce development program at the University of Hawaii. So to accommodate them, we will be taking that Bill, HB 2005, out of order and hearing it first.

And then after that, we will be actually holding decision making on that Bill prior to getting to the rest of our agenda. We have any questions on that? Okay. Okay.

Okay, and then after that, we'll reconvene the hearing for the NIL Bill, which is HB 2384, and then we'll proceed with the rest of the hearing after a brief recess. So without further ado, we're going to open up with HB 2005 HD2.

First up, we have the University of Hawaii in support.

Dear Vice-Chair, the university will stand on its submitted testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the State Health Planning and Development Agency, SHPDA, in support. Paula Don for John Lewis. Not present. We have the Office of Language Access in support. Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, in support. We have the Legal Clinic in support. We have Aloha Care on Zoom. Not present. Do we have Roots Reborn Maui in support?

Not present. Pride at Work Hawai‘i, on Zoom. Do we have Jake Fotai in support? Thank you. And Christine Andrews in support, on Zoom. Sorry, I think now we have the Commission on the Status of Women in support.

Yeah, sorry. Yasmine Cheney, Executive Director for the Commission on the Status of Women. I stand on my written testimony in support of this measure, and I appreciate your support and consideration.

Thank you. That's all the individuals who indicated they would be joining us today. We also have additional testimony, all in support from 23 other individuals and one person providing comments. Is anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay. Members, do you have any question on this measure for the sole test of our. Well, we have a couple that are actually in the room. Any questions? Okay. Seeing none. We're going to move. We're going to recess very briefly to allow Members to be here for decision-making.

We'll recess and then reconvene for decision-making on this first measure. Recess.

Aloha. We are reconvening for the purposes of decision-making on HB 2005 HD2, relating to language access. Before we get into decision-making, just want to thank our ASL provider here for their service. And our recommendation to the Committee will be to move this forward as is. Members, are there any questions? Okay, seeing none, Vice Chair for the vote.

Voting on HB 2005 HD2. Recommendations to pass unamended. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. [Roll Call]

Recommendation is adopted.

Thank you very much.

next item on our agenda. We have HB2384HD2 relating to student athlete compensation. First off, here in support we have Matt Elliott from uh.

Good afternoon, Chair Todd. Good afternoon, Vice Chair Takenuchi and Members of the Committee. My name is Matt Elliott. I'm the athletics Director at the University of Hawaii and I'm here in support of HB2384 on behalf of our university. We are in support of this Bill because it does two main things.

One is it creates a structure and a process for NIL to function. And our state and name, image and likeness is the new reality in college sports. It creates a process and a system for student athletes to be able to benefit from all of the effort and value that they add into college sports.

And then, number two is that we have asked for funding to be able to create this NIL program and then do it in a way that it really reflects the incredible effort that our student athletes put in on behalf of our student athletes who are in the room, our coaches who are in the room, both from our women's volleyball program and football program.

We believe, and I think we've seen over the course of the, especially in this last year, the amazing things that college sports can do in this state. How it can bring our communities together, how it can create amazing joy. And when we invest in our programs, we can have outstanding results.

The Sheraton Hawaii bowl on itself was something where we were able to present our state and our teams to the rest of this country. 2.7 million viewers watch that game. And we just got some of the additional information this past week on viewership that one in seven Hawaiian homes were watching that game.

Who had the TV on while the Game was on. Just a reflection of the value of college sports in our state.

So we are so grateful for the support that we've received, and we ask this Committee to continue to support us so that we can invest in our student athletes, invest in nil and make our programs even stronger to represent at our state. We're here for questions. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next. I know we had received testimony from a number of both coaches, staff and student athletes from the University of Hawaii athletics. If any of them are in the room and would like to step forward, just state your name for the record and you're free to share testimony in person if you like.

Members of the Committee, thank you for having me. I'm head coach Timmy Changa of the University of Hawaii football team in support of HB 2384. You know, your support means everything to us and to our community.

If you listen to the testimony and our players and when they talk, they talk about playing for the state, playing for the community, representing the state the right way. You know, we believe we have the future leaders in our program and our athletics program that we're building.

And with your support of this Bill, we think that we can be a premier team that represents the state the correct way. And so I just want to thank you guys again for putting this Bill forward. And we are in true support of it.

Our staff is here, our players are here, and we just want to thank you guys.

Thank you. Anybody else with the university wishing to share testimony with the Committee? Okay. We also received testimony from Michael Iasua and support. That's everybody who indicated they would be with us to provide testimony in person. We also received comments from the Grassroots Institute of Hawaii, opposition from two individuals, and support from four additional individuals.

Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on ZOOM

Members? Any questions on this measure? Revokos and then Rep. Carcio to follow.

Coach. If you're looking at the Hawaii players and some of the good players that we get, we're losing them to the mainland with the support. You know, first of all, congratulations on a good season that you had. Thank you.

And, you know, I remember when you was playing at University of Hawaii, we brought the crowd out there, you know, and I still would like to see that big crowd coming up and supporting Hawaii and bringing in the funds and the money.

So do you think that we could be that big, like, filling up that stadium before, you know, like how it was if you had funding?

Yes, I. I do truly believe so. Rep. David I think. I think that's that's, that's the goal of ours is, is one to recruit and retain our players, our Hawaii boys especially. We don't want to lose them to things as monetary, but we also understand that there is only so much we can give.

So we try to create a culture of care, love for each other, playing for each other, and that's why a lot of the guys stay. You know, I really believe that with the support, you know, with the, with the financial support, you know, I think all our programs can succeed.

I think as you see the momentum moving within our programs, within our teams, watching the current spring teams, watching what we have done in this fall, I think it's only going to get better. And I think the time is now. You know, as we, as the, as the landscape of college athletics is changing.

But, you know, University of Hawaii has always been that as you brought back the past and filling up the stadium, it has always been competitive with the national stage in athletics. And we are very fortunate to have such competitive young communities and kids and families that excel in athletics.

You know, there's not so many times and not so many communities that can say that three NFL quarterbacks start and then in a given week in an NFL at a time. And we have that type of talent here. And so, you know, we're going to benefit from great coaches, great leaders in our programs, great, great student athletes.

The school benefits from that. Now it's about us maintaining them, growing them, developing them, and then when they're done with their, their college experience and putting them out as leaders in our community.

But the time is now when we can get the support, you know, we feel that we can be a premier national recognition type program, you know, in

multiple sports, and keep up the good work and hopefully we can get the boys staying at home. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you. Chair for University of Hawaii. Anoha first of all, I want to say that I appreciate the intent of this Bill. An alumnus of the University of Hawaii, I go and I support as many games as possible. That being said, in your opinion, how much money is necessary so that this can be a successful program?

And it's. Sorry, it's multiple questions in one. General questions. So how much money, how much money do you anticipate from other sources of revenue and how much money is the request from the state?

All right, so making sure I get all the parts correct. But we've made two financial requests this year that focus on the budget, the core budget of athletics. And the way we got to these numbers was to try to Identify what we thought would give us the best chance to be successful in the conference that we're in.

So really benchmarking ourselves against the Mountain west peers. And the two requests are for $10 million for the operations budget of the athletics Department.

That would go to increase nutrition, to give our student athletes more food, better performance opportunities, to have better healthcare, mental health care, be able to get the equipment that we need for our teams, technology, things of that nature. So that was the $10 million ask. The $5 million ask is specifically for name, image and likeness.

And again, by looking at what is happening in the group of five or Group of six conference level, again benchmarking against our peers, we think that budget would allow us to do NIL deals for our football program, also for our Wahenia volleyball program, our basketball programs and our baseball program.

Those six programs together is where NIL would really be utilized the most effectively. So that's why we made that request this year. We didn't have any funding to do that. So for 2526 we are able to spend about, across the entire Department, $3 million in nil.

And we are doing all of that independently, trying to raise that from the private sector.

So the request is essentially to be able to give us a budget for next year for 2627 to set that foundation for nil so that then we can continue to go out into the private sector, raise additional dollars for all those operational needs we've talked about.

Anything that we can't cover through our core budget, we will go out and continue to fundraise. So in years past, for example, we've raised about $4 million total from a philanthropic sector. This year, I think we're already over five after seven months. And that is directly attributable to the incredible performances of our coaches and our student athletes.

I think absolutely. When the teams are doing well, business leaders, community sponsors want to be a part of it and are willing to invest more. So if we can get that foundation right, as Coach said, in this moment, when NIL is really taking off, it gives us the opportunity to establish something really successful.

Okay, thank you. I appreciate that thorough answer. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Reply for athletic Director and potentially Coach Chang as well.

If you have anything to add afterward, if this Bill does not pass, if you are not funded, could you educate the Committee a little bit about what that means, not only to be competitive in the many sports that we have, but also from a university perspective in terms of how many people are attending the school, what that looks like, Give us a Picture of what happens if

this does not happen.

Yeah, I will pass it to Coach Chang about the nil and recruiting piece because he certainly can speak to that. You want to do that and I'll jump in on the business side of it.

Yeah. In recruiting now, it was cookie cutter where we would know if you weren't paying kids, you would recruit a kid in December or February. You'd have certain signing days. They would be, you know, they would be with you for four to five years. That was the model five years ago.

In this landscape now, you deal with talking to the kids about how much money, in essence is my value worth? What do I bring to the team? How much value am I worth? How much value am I worth to one of the other 138 FBS football teams that are out there?

So they live in a market now where they can go get shopped around. There's a transfer portal window that's open January dispatcher was January 2nd to January 12th. And because of that, the window of word was you've seen college football move coaches out. Coaches in the recruiting landscape changed.

And so if you don't have, you know, money to recruit players, it becomes problematic in a lot of situations. We've been fortunate enough to, you know, four years ago we started with freshmen.

We, you know, there's, there's guys in this room that, that are, that are standing here now that I've been, you Know1234 year guys, fifth year, like a profelli ashlock coming back when he has $800,000 on the table to go to another school. But we are keeping them for X amount of dollars.

But the, but the young man wants to be here and play here. And so the reality of it is, and there's a, there's, there's another guy that played receiver on the other side of him that, that left to another school to get paid, you know, the same amount of money.

And so, you know, we think that we can be competitive within the marks and what we're asking for, but you do need to have some value, a monetary value to be able to compete in recruiting. In the current landscape of what college

athletics is, I would just add to it that, you know, we are in a special place. There is value, enormous value in being a Member of our teams, our institution and earning our degrees here because these guys are going to be the future leaders of our state.

And with those degrees, with these experiences and with their community ties, there is so much upside to improving our overall community. But if we don't have Nil. If we don't have funding from the state, we will work tirelessly. We will never give up to get every dollar we can to try to Fund these programs.

So that's true no matter what. But if we can't compete even at the level that we're at, in the conference that we're at, then you're going to see that we can't retain the student athletes that we would like to retain, the ones who have shown such a commitment to this place.

We won't be as successful competitively, as hard as our coaches will work, as hard as our Department will strive. If we can't retain these student athletes who want to be here and we want to have here, our performances won't be as strong. We know that.

And I think the real risk, the real downside is what does that mean overall for our community, for our university, if we can't sustain programs that are competitive at that level? You're always looking at the possibilities of realignment, conferences changing. How does the Mountain west look in three years or five years?

And if Hawaii is performing at a very high level, we're going to have all the opportunities in the world in front of us to be at the best conference for us. If we don't, then that could be held very much against us.

If our performance is the solid and the funding that we're getting right now, the private funding, the corporate sponsorships, the television rights deals, all of that can go away if your team is not successful and that the the greatest risk to us overall again is a community. What does that mean for our Kiki?

What does that mean for our next generation who want to come and not even be UH athletes, but just go to UH and, and feel that this place is a really special one for them. We want this to be the story of excellence. Absolutely incredible performance across the board at the university.

And UH athletics can be a part of that and the funding will help us do that. We appreciate the leadership, stability and predictability, most of all the opportunities to keep local kids home.

So thank you.

Thank you. Before I come back to Repos a second time, do we have anyone on this side would like to ask a question? Anyone over here?

If not, wrap up, Go ahead. What is the competition that you getting these other college is receiving? So the Mountain west, you know what these colleges are getting from their community and bringing in? So I see some, maybe some guys getting 50 million. You know, I'm not sure if that's a fact.

I'll just give you an example. Every state does this differently, whether it's with the Legislature, with the university system. But this week or last week, the state of New Mexico came out and said, we're going to inject an additional 12 million into the University of New Mexico Athletics Department and 11 million into new Mexico State.

So they came up with an additional 23 million, not just for nil, but to help the programs be able to compete at this level. That's a peer of ours. New Mexico is in the Mountain West with us. Wyoming's going through the same conversations, and at the higher level, at the power four level, they stepped up right away.

Even the schools that are losing money year after year said, we're going to do a full 20 million for their nil. And those are almost all state institutions. So you're seeing across the board, across the country, this is a new investment that states are making to say we want our teams to remain competitive.

And in terms of how you see what's the competition in the recruiting landscape, Coach would be better to answer that.

Yeah. In the Mountain West, looking at teams ranging from anywhere from $5 million to $1 million of last year's budget with their roster only in football alone.

And so the high end being the most competitive, the, the best teams in the conference being at the high end of the 5 million and then the low ends being in the 1.

I think we were less than 1 last year as a 9 and 4 team that you saw playing that Cal team, which I would speculate would be over $10 million. Thank you.

Okay, go ahead, Rick. Or either of you, actually. What is, what's the average nil compensation that you've seen or for athletes here in Hawaii or, or like in General? Here in Hawaii and then in General, Sure.

I think, I think then if you just for, for football specific, only quarterbacks can get paid from $5 million all the way down to a 100,000 dollars. And they are the higher end of the deal. I think in other positions, you know, there's, there's, there's really a creep.

There's no, there's no like, plan for it because it's so new. And you know, the, the different positions will require different ranges. Wide receivers will, you know, from 1.5 million all the way down to $40,000.

And so it's, it's just really the value in which you think a player can add to your team and what you're willing to pay for and, or have the resources for.

You know, Hawaii is a child care desert anyway, and when you're up here, they've been like,

While trying to manage being a mom, you know what I mean? And just.

All. She has three kids that are all on the spectrum, and so she goes to the school.

We've been hacked.

We're hacked.

zero, good. Yeah. I could follow up, but if that's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Anything else? Okay. If not, what we're going to do is we're going to. Well, first off, thank you for being here. We're going to recess briefly in case you feel like not being here for the rest of this. Thank you very much for your time. And we're going to recess and then reconvene recess.

Aloha. We are reconvening the House Committee on Finance. We're going to be Moving on to HB2489HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii.

First we have the University of Hawaii with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice chair, Committee Members, I'm Peter Arnotta. I'm the dean of the College of Arts, Languages and Letters in which there are Department of Linguistics is located. I'd like to thank you for considering this Bill.

I'd like to affirm that I stand on the testimony that I and the interim provost have submitted that you have before you. And I'd like to thank our interpreter, Sabina Wilford, who's doing such an outstanding job. And it's because we lack critical interpreters at that skill level that this Bill is before you.

I'm happy stand on my testimony and happy to answer questions should they come up. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women in support.

Good afternoon again. Yasmine Cheney for the Commission on the Status of Women. I stand on my written testimony in support of this measure and ask you to Fund this critical service to enable access and full participation for every Member of our society. Thank you very much for your consideration and support.

Thank you. We have the Disability and Communication Access Board in support.

Aloha. Good afternoon, Chair Todd, also Vice Chair, Representative Tokiyoshi and also the Committee. Thank you so much. My name is Christine Hagano and I am a deaf person. I work for the Disability Communication Access and this Bill is crucial for our deaf and hard of hearing community.

Also for deafblind Members in our community, There has been a drastic decrease in interpreters. And I was born and raised here in Hawaii. I've seen the decrease. There's been many interpreters and the numbers have. And it's been just scary to see that. I'm very concerned for the children who.

For deaf and hard of hearing, deafblind children, because there will not be interpreters available, you know, because there's no interpreter training program at all. So to expand and replenish the pool of interpreters. Right now the interpreters there are about maybe 2025 maybe 2530.

I'm looking at my colleague here and maybe 30 sign language interpreters, maybe even half of those will be retiring very soon, within the next five years. And if we get an interpreter training program, however, then in four years, a four year program, then we will have the pipeline ready to replenish those who are retiring.

So on behalf of the Disability Communication Access Board, we support this Bill. And we just ask your consideration, your support as well. Thank you so much.

Thank you. We also have Dari Cho in support on Zoom. Not present Members. We. That's everybody who indicated they would be here with us today. Also, testimony and support from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, as well as third, 32 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay, we're gonna proceed. Yes.

Yes, actually, there is somebody on Zoom.

Please state your name for the record and then please proceed.

Aloha. My name is Jan Fried. I am a professor of American Sign Language and English interpreter education at, uh, Kapeela Community College and a professional sign language interpreter in private practice. And I had submitted my testimony in support of this Bill. I just really.

And thank you, by the way, chair and vice chair and Committee Members for the opportunity to be able to testify today. I do stand behind my testimony, and I just.

As Christine Pagano had just mentioned, I really want to emphasize how critical this program is and the fact that it will ensure that interpreting students have a consistent pathway and mechanism to be appropriately prepared to interpret with specialized knowledge of American Sign Language, the local community, and Hawaiian and deaf cultures and to remain in Hawaii while doing this.

And that's critical. We definitely need to be able to have a way for our folks to stay here. Otherwise, we will experience the brain drain that many programs have experienced where people are staying on the mainland and the continent, and they stay and they don't return. And we are, as Christine mentioned, facing other challenges.

We've had quite a bit of attrition in our community just for various and sundry reasons because of illness of retirement, family Members that need attention on the continent. And we have lost a number of interpreters, and we're really, really hovering between 30 and 40. And with the.

With the notion that we'll be losing more soon, so we need to always have some on the pike. We've had that through Cape Line Community College. But our program has been on hold and will start up again in the fall. But we need to be able to have that mechanism on the bachelor's level and the master's level.

So we just. I just cannot emphasize enough how critical and how important this particular program is and that your funding will ensure that it will be. Have a chance to establish and be sustained. You have any questions for me? I'm happy to answer them. Thank you so much.

Okay, Members, any questions? Okay. If not, we're going to roll straight into decision making on this measure. HB2489. HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii. The recommendation from the Chair is to vote this out as is. If you have any questions or comments seeing None Vice Chair for the vote

voting on HB2489HD1 recommendations to pass Unamended Chair and Vice Chair vote. I represent Hartsfield. Aye. Representative Plessy is excused. Representative K. Kyokaku Loy Aye. Representative Kitagawa, Aye. Representative Kush Aye. Representative Lee Aye. Representative Miyake Aye. Representative Morikawa, Aye. Representative Peruso Aye. Representative Templo Aye. Representative Yamashita is excused. Representative Alos Aye. Representative Gideon Aye. Representative Re Soda, Aye.

Chair Recommendations adopted.

Okay, thank you very much. We're going to recess briefly to allow our ASL provider to transition out, and then we'll reconvene at recess.

All right. Thank you for your patience. It's been a little bit of a disjointed start, but for a good cause. We're going to open up now with HB 812 HD1 relating to agriculture.

First up, we have the State Procurement Office with comments on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair. Members of the Committee, Bonnie Kahakui, Administrator, State Procurement Office, will stand on our written testimony providing comments.

Thank you. We have the Department of Education in support on Zoom, in person.

Aloha, Chair Todd, Vice Chair Takenouchi. Members of the Committee, Sean Tajima, Assistant Superintendent, testify on behalf of the Department of Education. Department stands on our written testimony in support of this measure. We stand by for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the Hawaii Farm Bureau in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. You have our written testimony in support. Our apologies, Chair. We didn't include. Well, first of all, we appreciate the price adjustment clause that's in the current draft.

What we should have included in our testimony is we would request a force majeure clause also for a five-year contract. There may be times when natural disasters, pests, or other production disruptions may not allow the farmer, the rancher to supply the amount based on what the five-year contract is.

Again, farming and ranching is susceptible to different disruptions. So we would just ask the Committee to consider a force majeure clause also. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. That's everybody who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, testimony and support from one individual and opposition from one individual. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

Okay, Members, any questions on this measure, if not before we proceed to the next measure? Just as a thing. So we have a long agenda, as much as possible. If you're just going to be reflecting your written comments, please stand in your comments or provide, you know, like a very brief summary or some context.

And then we are going to be enforcing a relatively firm 2-minute cap on individual testimony so that we can get through our agenda today. Thank you. Next on to HB 2017 HD2 relating to agriculture.

First we have the Department of Hawaiian Homelands in support.

Good afternoon. Charlie Watts for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, we stand on our testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii Department of Taxation with comments.

Good afternoon. Gary Suganuma for the Department of Taxation. Department stands on its written testimony, offers comments. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii Farm Bureau in support.

Thank you, Vice Chair. The Hawaii Farm Bureau was down on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. That's all the people indicating they'd be joining us. An additional one individual in support and one individual in opposition. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay, Members, any questions on HB2017? Seeing none. Moving on to HB 2113 HD1 relating to natural resources.

First we have the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity with comments. DAB with comments.

2017.

Thank you. Cedric Gates here on behalf of DAB. We stand on our written testimony offering comments on this measure. Here for any questions.

Okay that's everybody who indicated they'd be joining us. Additional two individuals in support with written testimony. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay, Members, any questions on 2113 HD1? Okay, seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 1605 HD1 relating to human and community resilience.

First we have the University of Hawaii with comments.

Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. I'm Parwinder Grewal, Dean of CTAHR and we stand on our written comments in support. I just want to highlight one or two key items here that the food insecurity in Hawaii has not come down even after the pandemic. It's over 30%.

That means one out of, you know, three out of 10 people or households are feeling it really bad and it affects children's development, student performance in the school and worker productivity. And we do need to address it.

And we propose a plan that will take a more data driven and sustainable approach to uproot the causes of this food insecurity and especially nutritional insecurity. And I'm here to answer any questions.

Thank you. We also have the Hawaii Farm Bureau in support.

Hawaii Farm Bureau will stand on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. An additional four organizations and four individuals all in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to be Moving on to HB2139HD1 relating to invasive species, the Department

of Agriculture and Biosecurity in support.

Thank you. Dad. Written testimony in support of this. Thank you.

Thank you. Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife and support not present. University of Hawaii on Zoom in support.

Yes. University of Hawaii, Rebecca Ostertag. In support and happy to answer any questions if needed.

Thank you. Hawaii Farm Bureau in support.

Farm Bureau will stand on its written testimony in support.

Thank you and we also have coordinating group on alien pest species Sea gaps in support.

Hello Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee, My name is Stephanie Easley with a coordinating group on alien pest species. To just to provide a little more context, this is another beetle, invasive species beetle. This one has more than 20 known host species. Agriculturally important species, naturally important species and culturally important species.

We really hope that this one will continue moving forward so we can get a treatment to stop this from spreading before we have it in other areas and other islands. Thank you for your time. I'm here if you have any questions. Thank you.

We have Lila Shapiro in support on Zoom Aloha.

My name is Alice Fitzro and I'm from Sina, Hawaii. I work as Deacon okay under industrial ostriches where my focus is on TRG and renew community as a biochemical.

As we all know these islands are extremely special places home to an extraordinary amount of biodiversity and within my own Lifetime of 24 years I have witnessed invasive species spreading over longer fiber ecosystem.

It feels like we are already too late to stop minimum basins but that's not the case with CRV and we have a chance to act and we actually know what works.

And so this Bill is super important because it will allow us to continue research on the toad and to this bio control offers an opportunity to be proactive about managing kilb populations before it

spreads to other islands and causes widespread deforestation. Like we've seen with the coconut cry not. I have seen firsthand the devastating impact QLB has on our forest. At our restoration site many canopy trees have been lost to QLV and this reduces shade and then worsens the encroachment of plants.

And with this nematode treatment I've seen trees go from being covered in oozing infection and losing all their leaves to completely recover. It is really remarkable and exciting to have a tool that's working for an invasive pest and I think we shouldn't take that for granted.

One of the most rewarding parts of this work has been working with farmers and community Members who have had devastating losses because of Clb. I'm seeing their release when they learn about this treatment, just how urgent this crisis has been and how much this solution means to our community.

We have led treatment workshops at OK Farms and Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as working with middle school and high school students. And I've gotten to hear the excitement in their voices when they report vaccinated and their expenses doing better. And so this is giving them direct experience in science and Aloha in our work.

However, we need more funding in order to continue to do research and research. And so HD 2139 would allow us to continue outreach and community involvement in this project. And along with that we really need to do more research if we hope to control the spread of this in Budo.

And we would like to research different methods of applying to Infective to make this application less time consuming and more effective so we can scale it up for farmers with hundreds if not thousands of cities taking action against answers for environmental health, local food security and cultural heritage. Follow me.

Thank you. We have Carrie Yost in support on

Zoom Aloha Chairman Todd and fellow representatives of the Finance Committee. I am one of the farmers who actually has been dealing with QLB. We first had it in 2000 just before the lockdown. We noted it.

We have been using the nematodes on and off as funding has made them not a consistent option for farmers, but a very good one once we get it. We do have fallow orchards in our area so we keep getting reinfested.

So the long term is that we will be constantly treating our orchards as long as there are fallow orchards supplying the pest. As I noted in my late testimony, we know that these have been around. We know that they have spread in 2023 they were linked into Honoka' A and above. They have probably spread more.

Stacy Chun has noted that cut Wood stored in their facility has sprouted out from nematodes into the actual adult beetles in his office facility after months of being stacked. So means any firewood, any smoke meat Wood is actually method of infestation.

So I think all of us can see that that could infect not just other sides of other islands, but it can be transmitted from island to island. The host include native canoe, culturally significant, agriculturally significant, and ornamental trees that are used around Hawaii.

So anybody cutting Wood as we increase the host list every year could be actually spreading it without even knowing it.

I have included a list on my testimony of all of the hosts that are known as of 2025 that includes also references for all of the native that have been noted up to 2025 that is orders of magnitude greater than CRB. That's not a hyperbole.

Literally there are over a dozen orders of trees and plants on that list that's way greater than most generalist pests and it has to be taken seriously to Fund on and off is ridiculous.

I think all of you know that with each reinfestation we have the potential of actually increasing the host and increasing the spread to not Fund this would be a slap in the face of all of our agriculture. Mahalo for listening and if you have any questions, I will be here to answer any. Mahalo.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us, another six organizations and 26 individuals all in support on this measure. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on ZOOM like to testify? Yes, please just state your name for the record and proceed.

Aloha Chair, Vice chairs and Members of the Committee. My name is Emma Stearhoff. I'm a psychological technician at the University of Hawaii. I've been working with Lila and Becky researching this nematode biocontrol and I submitted written testimony. But I just want to reiterate how essential it is that we be proactive.

This is a pretty low cost solution and we have a unique opportunity here to be proactive that we don't have with a lot of other invasive pests that are out of control at this point. Right now, QLB is still isolated to the east side of Hawaii.

And so it's really critical that we invest in a solution that we already know works to be able to scale it up and offer this to farmers who are dealing with it on their crops and to prevent the spread of this pest across Hawaii island and potentially to other islands too.

So I just want to reiterate how important it is that we invest up front in that proactive prevention because it's going to be orders of magnitude more expensive to deal with this if we let it get out of control. And so we really need to invest. Mahalo for your time.

Thank you. Anybody else on zoom?

Okay. Members, any questions on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 2340 HD1, making an emergency appropriation to the University of Hawaiʻi.

First, we have the University of Hawaiʻi in support.

Chair and Vice Chair. [Inaudible]. We will stand on our testimony in support.

Thank you. Hawaiʻi Community Health, in support, on Zoom.

Aloha, can you hear me?

Yes.

Aloha, Chair and Members, Hawaii Community Health stands in strong support of HB 2340. We did submit written testimony, but I'd like to add a brief comment. My name is Dayna Moore. I'm a Kanaka Maoli Nurse from Maui.

Our organization pivoted from pandemic response directly into wildfire recovery and I have supported MauiWes since the beginning while living amongst the affected communities. I have experienced this recovery both professionally and personally. And what we are now seeing is the disaster after the disaster. Delayed illness and mental health impacts are surfacing as families rebuild.

On Maui, it can take months to access primary care and mental health appointments. We face a critical shortage of healthcare providers, so early screening and referral are essential. At MauiWES Clinics, we provide health and mental health screenings and specialists and community partners are on hand.

We train nursing, medical and mental health students in real time, real time community care, and strengthening local workforce capacity. I've heard participants say this program has saved their life. I truly do not know where many of our community would be without MauiWES. It's also very good for our organizations that are partnering.

Early screening and proactive intervention saves lives, protects health, and conserves public resources. The return on this investment will be immeasurable. This is fiscally responsible prevention and our Kuleana to protect future generations. I respectfully ask for your support of HB 2340 and welcome any questions related to community and healthcare impact. Mahalo.

Thank you. We have Roots Reborn in support, on Zoom. Not present. We have Christopher Knightbridge in support, on Zoom.

Hi, can you guys hear me?

Yes.

Okay, cool. Thank you so much, Committee, for calling this to a hearing. This is kind of like my first time in Lege, and apparently, getting the thing called is half the battle. So I'm very, very grateful for you calling for this hearing. So first of all, my name is Dr. Christopher Knightsbridge.

I serve as dual roles. I'm one of only two Clinicians at our Lahaina Community Health Center. I live in Oahu, but I fly out every week to treat fire survivors at the clinic in Lahaina. I also work with Maui Wildfire Exposure Study. I'm the head of our mental health team.

The main thing I want to get, the main point I want everybody to understand, is that we are not just research. We do arguably just as much intervention as we do data collection and research.

We don't miss a single opportunity to get every single participant that comes in all the help they and their families and their kids and their communities need. We do this like Monday through Monday, right? It's like an everyday kind of job for us.

It's like a super passion project and probably the most important work all of us will ever do in our lives. But what I keep on hearing is when people say research, it's like they just focus on that part. But it's not, we do so much intervention.

As far as like being fiscally responsible, I mean, it's a real no-brainer. Everybody knows prevention is infinitely cheaper than treatment, right? So like, every dollar that you guys will grant us, I mean, it's going to come back 20 to 50 to 100 fold in the future.

What we need this money for, and I think the ask is 1.5 million. I personally think we need like 3 for this fiscal year and for the next. But I mean, that's up to you. We'll take whatever we can get, right?But we have to expand for the kids.

We have 200 kids in our cohort right now. I want 2,000. That's the most vulnerable population I see at the clinic because children don't like to disclose their mental health. And the stigma, especially in Hawaiʻi, is real when it comes to that. Any support you can give us is super appreciated.

I don't want to take up too much time, but you can ask me any questions you want. Thank you so much, everybody, for all your support.

Thank you. We have Ruben Juarez in support, on Zoom.

Hi, Aloha. I'm Ruben Juarez. I'm Co-Director of the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, and I stand on my written testimony and happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. We have Alika Maunakea in support, on Zoom.

Aloha mai kākou. Aloha, Chair Todd and Members of the Finance Committee. I have submitted a written testimony, but I'll just clarify amongst our other supporters here. My name is Alika Maunakea, Hawaii resident and Co-Lead of the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study at the University of Hawaiʻi. I'm in strong support of HB 2340.

As you all know, the 2023 Maui wildfires were among the deadliest natural disaster in our state's history and their impacts are still being felt today and still unfolding. Through the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and Health Registry.

More than 2,000 residents have received lung testing as well as toxic exposure screening, mental health assessments, and clinical referrals, all integrated in a community based approach. And we are seeing measurable improvements in providing that care.

But we're also seeing, unfortunately, measurable high prevalence of lung impairment, elevated toxic metal exposures, as well as high rates of depression and post traumatic stress disorder impacting our community even now. And this type of information won't appear in hospital data until they're more severe and more costly to address, as Chris mentioned earlier.

So this bill supports early detection, prevention, and coordinated care, as well as our data collection capacity to help inform decision makers like yourself to really optimize our approach in terms of addressing and mitigating further harms from this disaster. So this is both a compassionate and fiscally responsible bill.

Reducing the long-term health care costs while strengthening our local workforce, as Dayna mentioned. Disaster recovery is a long-term health commitment, so this bill helps us to ensure that we can respond proactively and protect our community's future. So mahalo for your time and happy to take any questions if needed. Mahalo.

Thank you. We have Stephanie Villalobos in support, on Zoom. Not present. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us, an additional 5 organizations and 19 individuals all in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on this measure? Nice. Okay, next we're going to be moving on to HB 1676 related to artificial intelligence.

We have the Department of Education in support.

Good afternoon. Heidi Armstrong, Department of Education. We stand on our written testimony in support. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the University of Hawaii in support.

Aloha. Stephen Schatz from Hawai'i P-20 on behalf of Vice President Halbert at the University of Hawaii, we stand on our written testimony in support of this matter.

Thank you. We have the Hawaii State Youth Commission in support. Present. That's all the written testimony we've received. Also testimony and support from the state public school- State Public Charter School Commission, four organizations and one individual. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay, Members, any questions on this measure? No. We're moving on to HB 1872 HD1 relating to an early learning apprenticeship apprenticeship grant program.

We have the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and Support.

Hi again. Yes. Being for the Commission on the Status of Women, I stand in strong support of this measure on my written testimony. Thank you very much for your consideration and support.

Thank you. We have the Executive Office on Early Learning in support. Hi. Yuko Arikao Kress, Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning. We stand on our written testimony and support. Thank you. Chamber of Commerce Hawaii in support. Aloha. The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii stand on its written testimony as. Thank you.

We have Keiki Oka Aina Family Learning Centers in support. Not present. Hawaii Children's Action Network speaks in support.

Hello, my name is Malia Tsuchiya speaking on behalf of Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks. Want to thank you very much for hearing this Bill. Also wanted to add a few comments. In addition to my role at HCAN, I was also a preschool teacher for about 20 years, child care provider, family child care provider.

And that route to get there was varied and segmented and expensive. And if I had had this program, the apprenticeship program when I was going through the education and getting my degree while raising my family, it would have made a tremendous, tremendous difference.

Everything from cost saving to time saving to be able to actually learn the job, on the job and get credits for competencies because childcare and early learning is not something you can learn from a book. You really need to have that hands on training.

So the mentorship that comes with this program, the added financial supports and again the on the learning would just be so invaluable and would have really changed my life if I had had this available.

So I humbly request that you please support this Bill and pass it and help us to increase the early learning workforces which is really the workforce behind the workforce. So thank you very much. Thank you for hearing this Bill. Thank you.

We have Hololua Collaborative in support, Matt

Proberg on behalf of Hololua Collaborative who stand on our written testimony and strong statement support.

Thank you. We have Joel, Joel Edwards in support on Zoom

Aloha Chair Todd and Members of the Committee, thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Joel Edwards, I'm a resident of Waha here in Kauai, a small business owner and also a community organizer with Hcan and I stand by my written testimony. But something happened earlier this week that really speaks to this Bill.

In rural communities like ours, access to child care is not just limited, it's sometimes non existent. And families are driving long distances, piecing together informal care, adjusting their work schedules.

Just this last week we saw firsthand the struggle of lack of childcare that our employees and services in our own business, one of our long term employees, a mother of three and wife of a local TARO farmer, had to make the difficult decision to stay home because of the cost of child care, which was located over 20 miles away because that's the only place that she could find.

The cost of the care combined with the cost of gas to drive to the nearest available provider made working financially unsustainable. And when the math doesn't work, families are forced into impossible choices. This investment could be transformative.

It would strengthen local workforce development, expand Capacity and build stability for families who want to work and raise their keiki here at home. So please, I respectfully urge you to pass HB 1872. Mahalo.

Thank you. That's everybody who indicated they would be joining us. Also comments from the University of Hawaii and support from the Department of Human Services, the State Public Charter School Commission, the County of Honolulu, the county of Hawaii, 12 organizations and 30 individuals, as well as one individual in opposition.

Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on ZOOM

Members, any questions on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 1952 HD1 relating to agriculture at the

University of Hawaii with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair and Committee Members. My name is Brenda Hernandez. I'm a professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and with the Hawaii Tumor Registry. I just- We submitted written testimony.

That's actually the next measure.

Yeah, all good. I appreciate the enthusiasm, though.

Oh, okay.

Chair, Vice Chair. We do stand on our testimony for Vindeval Dean Setar. I just want to highlight only one thing, that this is the only functioning research station we have on Kauai and several buildings are very, very old and not ADA compliant. And this is really important.

Thank you. Hawaii Farm Bureau in support.

Thank you. The Hawaii Farm Bureau will stand on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Another five organizations and three individuals all in support. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on 1952? If not, we're going to move on to HB 1970 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

University of Hawaii in support.

Sorry about that. So we did provide written testimony, but I just wanted to reiterate the reasons it's important to support this Bill. We're asking for funding for our cancer surveillance program, which is mandated by state law.

We are at a critical shortage in terms of federal funding, which has been the majority of our funding for the last 30 years. Cancer surveillance is critical in Hawaii.

I just want to underscore some recent trends in statistics that we are seeing that was generated from the registry, including the fact that we are seeing an increasing trend of colorectal cancers among young men and women in Hawaii.

And we are also seeing an increase in both the incidence and death rates for endometrial cancer among Hawaii women that is seen across all ethnic groups. Where we're seeing it particularly high rates in Pacific Island women. We are also seeing increases in prostate cancer rates and Native Hawaiian men.

We are seeing that they have the greatest proportion of advanced tumors. These are some of the trends that really underscore the importance of having a robust cancer surveillance system in the state. I respectfully ask for your support. Support for this Bill. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the state Health Planning and Development Agency, SHPDA, in support.

Good afternoon, Chair Todd and Vice chair and honorable Members. SHPDA is in strong support of this. As just mentioned, we have a lot of needs in really modernizing our cancer care here. This would be very helpful to the university and we need to bring in more oncologists and so forth.

But this is our means of seeing how we're doing with the tumor registry, which is been a victim of federal fund cuts. So we would encourage you to please help restore that service.

American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network in support.

Thank you. Cynthia Au, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Members. We stand in strong support of this Bill. The Hawaii Tumor Registry really provides information that allows Clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to monitor trends, guide prevention strategies, and investigate potential clusters and respond quickly to emerging issues.

Dr. Hernandez talked a little bit about how she's seeing that colorectal cancer is increasing. An example comes from a recent report from the American Cancer Society which shows that since 2005, every year the mortality rate for colorectal cancer nationwide has increased by over 1.1%.

Now in 2023, it is now considered the fastest growing cancer threat for working adults under the age of 50 in Hawaii, colorectal cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer deaths for women and men combined. And we know this because of the data that comes from the tumor registry.

So the Hawaii tumor registry is a backbone of cancer surveillance in our islands. And I thank you for supporting this Bill.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, testimony and support from the Hawaii Medical Association and 12 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Please come forward. Just please state your name for the record and then give us your testimony.

Thank you, Chairman Todd and Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Linda Asato. I'm a patient advocate for the Cancer Center and I have had cancer three times over 30 years.

I participated in the clinical trials and I always found that the tumor registry was very helpful to us who had to deliberate over the clinical trials that come into the state so we would know the kinds of drugs that were needed or the kinds of programs.

And I worked with my church and lions clubs to put on an event in December for children with cancer and their families. So I have had firsthand contact with children with cancer, and we thought there was a trend towards less cancer for children.

But it seems to be with the funding cuts from the Federal Government that a lot of research is being terminated. So I really hope that you will consider funding the tumor registry for us so that we can continue to see what's happening in this community, especially now with the Pacific Islanders. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

Thank you. Members, any questions on this measure? Go ahead.

Dr. Lewis, just a quick question. Would this program be a candidate for funding through the Rural Transformative Healthcare grant?

It was not part of the proposal. In the future, it could be, but I think we would lapse by the time we get to it because we, you know, we put that proposal together in three weeks, and a lot of things that are worthy did not make it into the first round.

So in future years of the funding.

It's a possibility. It's a possibility. Although the competition's pretty stiff, certainly it pertains to urban as well as rural patients. Thank you.

Thank you. Anything additional? Seeing none. We already heard HB 2005 HD2. So moving on to HB 2159 HD2 relating to the healthcare workforce. Relating to healthcare workforce development.

University of Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon, Chair Todd. Vice Chair Takenouchi, Members, Sam Shoemaker, Dean of John A. Burns School of Medicine. We stand on our written testimony in strong support of 2159. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. State Health Planning and Development Agency in support.

Chair. Vice Chair. We stand on our testimony in strong support as well. This also relates to oncology needs, addiction and behavioral health and other great needs in terms of training that we need. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii Association of Health Plans in support.

Thank you. The Hawaii Association of Health Plans stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Navian Hawaii in support. Not present Members. Additional six organizations and 17 individuals all in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

Okay, Members, any questions? Okay, we're going to be Moving on to HB 2161 HD2, relating to pharmacy.

First, we have the University of Hawaii in support on zoom.

Good afternoon. DKICP and the University of Hawaii stands in support. Stands on our written testimony in support of this Bill. We also support the amendments that were proposed by the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. DCCA Board of Pharmacy with comments.

Vice Chair my name is Adrian Stinardo. I'm an Executive Officer with DCCA, testifying on behalf of Christopher Fernandez, who is testifying on behalf of the Board of Pharmacy. He couldn't make it today, but the board is in support.

Okay. Thank you. State Health Planning and Development Agency in support.

Chair, Vice chair, Members, I promise not to testify on every single Bill on the agenda, but I would say that this is an important measure because we measure for doctors and for nurses and other professionals, the workforce numbers, but we don't for pharmacists, this is just a startup request.

The actual cost of maintaining this will be included in the licensing fees for pharmacists. So it's just really a one time startup to allow us to really assess the workforce issues, especially now that pharmacists are really going to be part of the clinical team and really work closely with doctors, nurses and others to really round out a much better care model. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii Pharmacists Association in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Corrie Sanders, Executive Director of the Hawaii Pharmacists Association. Just some clarifying comments. There is a line about appropriations from the Legislature to start the center for Pharmacy. We do not need those at this time.

We can completely sustain that just from increasing the licensure fees of the four entities that are overseeing from the DCCA that relate to pharmacy licensure. So we've spread out the cost. I included the amendment proposed testimony between pharmacists, pharmacy wholesalers, manufacturers, and those that have a miscellaneous permit.

But as Dr. Lewin said, we're really hoping to just advance the profession by being able to determine where our workforce can best be leveraged to help support our healthcare system. And I'll stand stand by for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We have Moloka'i Drugs in support on zoom.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, we can. Please proceed.

Okay. My name is Kimberly Mikami Svetin and I'm the President of Molokai Drugs. We're one of the oldest independent pharmacies in Hawaii.

We've been around for 91 years and what we've had to do over the last couple years is recruit people from off island and the mainland to work at Molokai Drugs because we didn't have the workforce here.

The one thing that I did not mention in my testimony, which was submitted by submitted, is that this new center for Pharmacy will help pharmacies like us who are trying to recruit pharmacists, who are trying to grow our own and at the same time, we write a ton of scholarship letters for our employees.

And so one thing I want to emphasize is in state, tuition with room and board is over 35,000 a year. I wrote the wrong amount in my letter. I said 120,000 a year. That's not correct. But I have right now two halftime pharmacists who both have over $120,000 each in debt. And they are.

One's a Molokai girl that came back home three months ago to work for us, and the other is an Oahu girl with a lot of Ohana here. This center will not cost the state any money.

Little pharmacies like ours are willing to pay the fees to establish a Hawaii Center for Pharmacy similar to the centers for medical doctors and nurses. I appreciate the time and I wish I could be there in person, but I could not get a flight. Thank you.

Thank you for joining us. We also have testimony from CARES in support on Zoom not present. Members, also testimony and support from KTA Pharmacy, 22 individuals and 22 individuals as well as one individual in opposition. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom Members?

Any questions on this measure? Seeing none, we're going to move on to HB 2171 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii.

First, we have the University of Hawaii in support on zoom.

Hi, Chair. Vice Chair. My name is Denise Yoshimori-Yamamoto. I'm the Associate Vice President for the Community Colleges. Apologies for not being able to be there in person, but we stand in support of this measure.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. One other individual also in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Any questions on this measure? Seeing none, we're going to move on to HB 2338 HD1 relating to the Hawaii Community College Promise Program.

We have the Department of Education in support.

Yes, Good afternoon. The Department of Education stands on written testimony in support. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the University of Hawaii in support on zoom.

Aloha. This is Kahele Dukelow, the Interim Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. We would like to clarify that we strongly support this measure and to emphasize that the outcome we are looking for is to make Hawaii Promise a last state and federal dollar scholarship.

And we also suggest that we make a minor change on page four of the Bill at the top in the first sentence, it's a part of a sentence that reads the student from Pell Grants and other scholarships we would like to change the words Pell Grants and other scholarships to federal and state aid.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. And we're available for questions.

Thank you. We have Hawaii Kids Can in support.

Vice Chair Erica Nakanishi-Stanis with Hawaii Kids Can, we stand on our written testimony in strong support of this measure. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Two other organizations in support, as well as one individual, one other individual providing comments. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on the Promise Program?

I have a question, for University of Hawaii, please?

Yes.

Thanks for joining us on zoom. Just a quick question. So with this change, how much would the. I read your report. You know, the average award is just under $3,000 per student. That was in the report that you guys did at the end of the year for last school year.

What do you think the new award amount is going to be per person based on, like, what you're kind of seeing with this?

I think it will probably be the same. So we.

This doesn't impact how much you guys will be doling out to the students?

No, because so how it works is a student has a direct cost as indicated in their FAFSA, and then federal aid is awarded first. So a Pell Grant and then whatever is left to meet their direct cost is what Hawaii Promise would cover.

Okay, but the amount per student should be the same.

I mean, it depends on the student. Right? But yeah, it shouldn't. That shouldn't change dramatically.

Okay, thank you.

Anything else? If not, we're going to move on to HB 2339 HD1.

We have the University of Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members. INAUDIBLE. Stand on our written testimony in support.

Thank you. That's all the written testimony we've received. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on that measure? I didn't think so. All right, we've already covered HB 2384 HD2 and also HB 2489 HD1. So we're moving on to HB 2519 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii.

Have the University of Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members. [inaudible]. Thank you.

Thank you. State Procurement Office with comments on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Bonnie Kahakui, Administrator, State Procurement Office will stand by a written testimony providing comments. Mahalo.

Thank you. We have the Attorney General with comments on Zoom. Oh, in person.

Good afternoon, everyone. Deputy Attorney General, Candace Park. We just want to make a technical recommendation that the sentence with respect to the special fund being established, a sentence that reads, monies in the fund shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year.

That sentence is ambiguous, so we're recommending that you just delete the sentence and everything would be fine. I'm available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, comments from the Department of Budget and Finance. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions on this measure? If not, we're going to move on to the next item on the agenda, which is HB 2547 relating to corporate bonds.

zero, no. Testimony received. Anybody?

Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

We're going to move on to the next Item. We have HB 2280 relating to the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund.

First, we have the Department of Education in support. We have the Department of Budget and Finance in support.

BNF stands on this written testimony and is available for questions.

Thank you. And we have the Office of the Governor in support. Okay, also- That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, testimony and support from the Hawaii Primary Care Association- Primary Care Association, and one individual. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

All right, thank you. Members, any questions? If not, we're moving on to HB 1565 HD2 relating to child welfare services.

We have the Office of Wellness and Resilience in support.

Aloha. Naomi Leipold with the Office of Wellness and Resilience. We stand on our written testimony in support. Thank you.

Thank you. We have HI H.O.P.E.S Initiative Epic Ohana in support on Zoom.

Aloha. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Yep.

Awesome. Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Patricia Chin. I serve as the HI H.O.P.E.S. Initiative Manager at Epic Ohana. Our statewide initiative works with young people ages 14 to 26 who have experienced foster care, ensuring that they have the necessary necessary relationships, resources and opportunities that they need to thrive.

I stand on our written testimony and strong support of House Bill 1565, while also stating that we are seeking an amendment to include a former GAL as a working group member.

While we understand the Judiciary's concern from previous hearings and testimonies about potential conflict of interest for an active GAL. We believe that the working group would be strengthened by the inclusion of a former GAL. In states that already provide counsel for youth.

Young people are 40% more likely to exit foster care within six months, 45% more likely to reunify with family and experience far fewer placements in school moves. Those numbers truly represent something deeper, which is stability, healing and hope.

The most powerful evidence, while I just shared some of those numbers with you, comes from Hawaii's young people themselves, many of whom would like to testify today but are unable to due to school, work and family responsibilities.

I'd like to uplift their voices in this room and share with you that they have shared with us that they've often felt lost and did not feel represented. Another young person shared if they had a lawyer they could have afford, avoided four grueling years in a placement that wasn't right for them.

Another young person also told us that I had a guardian ad litem, but still felt like I wasn't a part of the decisions that impacted my life. And a 17 year old currently in the foster care system shared that important decisions are still being made about my future without my full understanding or involvement.

As a former foster youth myself, I know exactly what they mean and I didn't understand the decisions that were being made about me and my life or had the support. Legal representation would truly change that. This bill would truly change that.

Hawaii has the opportunity to lead the way in honoring young people's voices, protecting their rights and building a system where they truly feel seen, heard. And it ensures that no young person has to navigate the system in dark or rely on chance to be listened to. Mahalo. We stand very firm in our support of this bill.

Thank you. We have Miala Matsumoto in support on Zoom.

Hi, my name is Miala Matsumoto. I'm a social working student at UH Manoa and I also volunteer at Rise, which is- which is a youth runaway shelter or a youth wellness shelter. We do a lot of outreach out in Waianae, the East side or even town side.

And I believe that because it could have saved a lot of prior adolescents would help the youth that claims they were never really properly informed about their own cases and would allow these children to be safe and to be heard.

As a child who did feel, indeed feel lost in their own cases, I think that this bill would really help a lot of people who claim they feel like a lost child. And a lot of research shows that there is when there is legal representation given it has impacted many children's foster care experiences.

Even helped improve unification with the children's families. Therefore, the bill could help fulfill the needs in the child welfare system thanks to the Malama Working Group this time experiences and took that- took that time to create an idea for trauma informed care and a child welfare system that focuses on our youth. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Members, that's everybody who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, testimony and support for from the judiciary, three organizations and 21 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay. Members, any questions? If not, we're going to move on to HB 2310 HD1, making an emergency appropriation to the Department of Human Services.

First, we have the Department of Human Services in support.

Good afternoon. On behalf of the Department of Human Services, Trista Speer. We stand in strong support of our testimony, which includes our support of the governor's additional request of $16.5 million to support those who have lost their ACA enhanced tax credits at the end of 2025. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the Hawaiʻi Food Industry Association in support, on Zoom. Not present. We have Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute in support.

Aloha Chair, Vice-Chair, and Committee Members. Kris Coffield from the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute. Very briefly, we just wanted to say thank you to the Governor, to DHS, and to the Legislature for all the creative work that you did to make sure that emergency funding went down during the shutdown last year.

It was a vital lifeline to 140,000 SNAP recipients across our state that allowed us to meet hunger needs at a time when they needed it most. So thank you. Mahalo very much, and we hope that this never happens again. We look forward to supporting this measure as it continues to move forward. Thank you so much.

Thank you. That's everybody who indicated they'd be joining us. Also, testimony and support from the Office of the Governor, 4 organizations, and 3 individuals. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify?

Chair, Vice-Chair, Members. We did not have time to submit testimony. We strongly support this very important, urgent measure. Thank you.

Support from SHPDA, thank you. Anybody else in the room? Anybody on Zoom?

Members, any questions? No.

Members, any questions on this measure? All right, seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 2329 relating to the conformity- relating to conformity to the Internal Revenue Code.

We have the Department of Taxation in support.

Good afternoon. Kristen Sakamoto, Deputy Director of Taxation. We are in support of this Administration measure, which is our annual conformity bill. I just wanted to point out that we do have one amendment which we identified in our testimony starting on page eight. Thank you. I'm available if you have any questions.

Thank you. We have Tom Yamachika with comments on Zoom.

Hi. Tom Yamachika representing Tax Foundation of Hawaii. This is a very complicated bill as all kinds of things in it. We have attached to our testimony a partial section by section analysis of what's in there.

We're about two thirds done with it, and we will be sending the full analysis with this complete to the- into both money committees. We do have some high level comments in our testimony and I'd happy answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Also testimony and support from one individual. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

All right, Members, any questions on this measure? Seeing none, we're going to recess briefly to allow Members to be here for disabling recess.

Aloha. We are reconvening for decision making on our 2 PM Wednesday, February 25th Finance Committee agenda. We are going to be opening up with HB 812 HD1 relating to agriculture. The Chair's recommendation is to send forward as is. But we will note the Farm Bureau's concerns in the Committee report. Members, any questions on this measure?

If not Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay. Voting on HB 812 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. [roll call]. Recommendations adopted.

Thank you, Members. Next, we're moving on to HB 2017 HD2 relating to agriculture. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward amended as an HD3. We're going to be inserting some necessary clarifying language and also language so that it can't be interpreted as someone collecting a double credit on this measure. Any questions? If not HB 2017 with amendments.

Voting on HB 2017 HD2 recommendations to pass with amendments noting the- noting the presence of all Members who will be counted as present for the rest of the agenda votes unless otherwise announced. Are there any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next, moving on to HB 2113 HD1 relating to natural resources. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. We have any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

HB 2113 HD1 recommendations passed unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next measure is HB 1605 HD1 relating to human and community resilience. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Do we have any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

HB 1605 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next we have HB 2139 HD1 relating to invasive species. This is the Queensland Longhorn Beetle Bill which I have in my yard. So very important critical bill. You don't want it in your yard. They're very ugly. Chair's recommendation will be to move this forward as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

HB 2139 HD1 recommendation is to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next is HB 2340 HD1 making an emergency appropriation to the University of Hawaii. This has to do with the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and Maui Health Registry. Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Do we have any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 2340 HD1 recommendation is to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next we have HB 1676 HD1 relating to artificial intelligence. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing none.

Voting on HB 1676 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Now we have HB 1872 HD1 relating to an Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant program. Chairs recommendation is to move this forward as is. Are there any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

Voting on HB 1872 HD1 recommendation to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes. Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next we have HB 1952 relating to agriculture. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Are there any questions or comments? Seeing none.

HB 1952 HD1 recommendations pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Next we're moving on to HB 1970 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. We will be proposing this as an HD2 so amended with some clarifying and technical amendments. Any questions for this measure? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 1970 HD1 recommendations to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Earlier in the agenda we moved forward HB 2005 HD2, so we won't be taking that up right now. Next we're moving on to HB 2159 HD2 relating to healthcare Workforce development. Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing None. Vice Chair.

HB 2159. Sorry. HB 2159 HD2 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

The next measure on our agenda is HB 2161 HD2 relating to pharmacy. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as an HD3, inserting some clarifying and technical amendments and ensuring that the means of financing that's included in the bills is blanked out as that be need a little bit of work and figuring out down the road. Any questions or comments? Seeing None. Vice Chair.

HB 2161 HD2, recommendation's to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Next we have HB 2171 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii. HR's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing none.

HB 2171 HD1, recommendation is to pass, unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Now we have the Hawaii Community College Promise Program Bill. HB 2338 HD1. Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Oh, sorry, I didn't do the thing. Members? I don't know. There's a lot going on. Members, questions, comments? No. Very. Okay.

HB 2338 HD1, recommendation is to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you.

Next we have HB 2339 HD1, relating to the University of Hawaii revenue bonds. Recommendation from the Chair is to move this forward as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing none.

Voting on HB 2339 HD1, recommendation's to pass, unamended. Any reservations? Any nos? Recommendation's adopted

Okay. Next we are taking up the NIL Bill relating to student athlete compensation. We have HB 2384 HD2. I know that you know people are gonna have some mixed feelings on it, but just encourage your patients as we work through what this will look like.

And I think ultimately a lot of this will come down to later in the session and navigating who pays for what and what that amount is. So recommendation will be to move this forward as is as it's largely blanked out in terms of financing and dates. Any questions or comments on this measure?

I'm also a little bit. I also have mixed feelings, but I did want to remind everyone that the University of Hawaii at Manoa is Hawaii's only R1 research university. the flagship university of our state. Maintaining R1 status requires funding, top faculty and strong national visibility. In today's landscape, NIL is structural, not optional, and falling behind visibility.

It weakens UH's brand and limits its ability to attract students and researchers as well as to secure both research and educational grants and sustain donor support. Supporting, in my opinion, is not about professionalizing sport as many people have mentioned, but it's about protecting the long term competitiveness and national presence of Hawaii's only R1 university serving our local youth. It is a tight fiscal year. I do feel that passing this, maybe even partially is critical to supporting our local. Thank you, Chair.

All right, thank you. Any additional comments? Rep. Alcos?

This is, this is like our professional sport here in Hawaii. You know, we don't have much professional sports, but University of Hawaii would be the biggest one that we support here. So for people of Hawaii, for kids in Hawaii, supporting the Hawaii and having a future for them, you know, something great to look at.

Okay, thank you. Anything else? No. If not, Vice Chair for the vote.

Voting on HB 2384 HD2. Recommendation's to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Earlier we took up HB 2489 HD1. So we're going to be moving past that to HB 2519 HD1 relating to the University of Hawaii. The Chair's recommendation is going to be moving this forward amended as an HD2 because I think there's two dates in here and one is currently not defective. So we'll just be defecting the second date.

Any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair?

HB 2519 HD1, recommendation's to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Reservations for Rep. Reyes Oda. Any other reservations?

Reservations.

Reservations for Rep. Alcos. Anybody else? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you.

We have HB 2547 relating to corporate bonds. The Chair's recommendation is to defect the date and move this forward as an HD1. Do we have any questions or comments?

Comment.

Yep.

Chair. So it just, you know, this, this is a investment grade bond that has is to somewhat degree a higher risk, but at the same time it's a greater reward. My concern is that BNF did not testify on this measure.

There was a time during the legal administration where we had these higher risk bonds that were problematic because of timing issues and I just would have preferred if we had the opportunity to question them.

I understand. Let's include a little bit of language in the Committee report kind of referencing the need for more feedback from the administration too. Anyone else? Seeing none. Vice Chair?

HB 2547, recommendation is to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to HB 2280 relating to the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund. Chair's recommendation is to defect the date and move this forward as an HD1. Which is kind of largely a placeholder bill in case things get kind of rough over the next couple months. Any questions or comments? Okay, seeing none. Vice Chair?

Voting on HB 2280. Recommendation's to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. We have HB 1565 HD2 relating to Child Welfare Services. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Do we have any questions or comments? Seeing none.

HB 1565 HD2, recommendation's to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Next we have HB 2310 HD1, making an emergency appropriation to the Department of Human Services. The Chair's recommendation is to move this forward as is. Do we have any questions or comments? Vice Chair?

HB 2310 HD1, recommendation's to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Now we have HB 2561 HD2 relating to feral animals. I understand the concerns. I think there's kind of a broader conversation to still happen down the road.

But I, but I do appreciate, you know, many of the concerns that have been raised. And we'll note, we'll note some of those in the Committee report and, you know, try to pass on some information to the Senate. Members, we have any questions or comments on this measure? Yeah, Rep. Hartsfield.

Chair, I just wanted to make a comment. I appreciated all of the testimony that was submitted. I also understand the concern in regards to the number of chickens in our community. But I do believe that based on the testimony I heard today, that there is is improvement that still needs to be made on this bill.

So although I'm not voting no, I would like to see it move forward with possible discussion. And so I'll be voting with reservations. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Rep. Alos.

Chair. I was one of the introducers on this bill. I'm going to change my vote to no, and I appreciate it. Thank you.

Got you. Anyone else? Okay. Rep. Gedeon.

I'm gonna go with reservations for the same reason as Representative Hartsfield.

Okay, thank you. Rep. Perruso.

Reservations.

Reservations for you also. Anyone else? Okay. And I would note that it does have a defective date, so it is ensuring we will have future conversations on the road should it be heard in the Senate. Vice Chair. What is that? Oh, as is. Yeah.

Okay. Okay. Members voting on HB 2561 HD2. Recommendation's to pass unamended. Noting the reservations of Representatives Hartsfield, Perruso, and Gedeon, any other reservations? And noting the no vote of Representative Alcos, any other no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. On to the last item. Well, actually, kind of second to last we have relating to conformity to the Internal Revenue code. This is HB 2329. The Chair's recommendation will be to move this forward with a defective date as an HD1. We will also be including the suggested amendment from the Department of Taxation.

And I would also note that as something that will have a defective date, this is something that will have to get negotiated down the road as to the specifics. And we look forward to some of that analysis from the Tax Foundation that was referenced earlier. Members, any questions or comments on this measure? Okay, seeing none.

Voting on HB 2329. Recommendation is to pass with amendments. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation's adopted.

Okay. And we also have one measure from, I think that's Monday's agenda, right, which is HB 1652 HD1, relating to stormwater management systems. And the Chair's recommendation will be to defer. So we are adjourned. Thank you.