House Standing Committee on Finance

Aloha everyone. We are opening up our 2pm Thursday, March 52026 agenda in Conference Room 308. It's the House Committee on Finance. We have some bills on the agenda. If you are on zoom, try your best to stay muted unless called upon.

We'll be sticking to a two minute time limit for individual testifiers to provide everyone an equal opportunity to speak. And we would note that the deadline for us to file legislation is tomorrow. So as best as we can, if we could try and rein it in a little bit.

By all means, exercise your First Amendment right, but it will make it harder on our staff. So when possible, try to constrain it a little bit today. Okay, we're going to open up with HB 1977 HD1 relating to health.

We have the Department of Health, with comments on zoom.

Good afternoon. My name is Matt Shim. I'm Chief of the Family Health Services Division. We will stand on our testimony providing comments and I'm available to answer any questions. Thank you.

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

The Commission stands on its written testimony in support of this measure and appreciates the committee's consideration and support. Thank you very much.

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

Members questions on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to move on to Our next Bill, HB 1764 HD1 relating to music accessibility pilot program.

We have the Hawaii State Public Library System in support. Now there is Fujitani for the public library system standing on our written support. Thank you. Thank you. We have the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra in support.

I'm Amy Iwano, President and CEO of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Books and knowledge feed our mind and music feeds our soul. Thank you for your consideration of this Bill.

Thank you. Hawaii Youth Symphony and support.

Aloha. I'm Randy Wall. I'm the President CEO of Hawaii Youth Symphony. I just wanted to say thank you for considering this because both the libraries and the Hawaii Symphony are just incredible resources for our youth.

In addition to what we submitted in testimony, we'd be more than happy to to provide any support or resources to the White Symphony Orchestra. Since HYS has already been performed in the libraries and we think this is a great project, not a pilot. Definitely go forward. Thank you.

Thank you. As everybody who indicated they would be joining us today, additional testimony and support from the State Foundation on Culture and the arts, four organizations and 83 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom

Seeing none. HB 1934—oh, actually, Members, questions?

I'm sorry, Chair, one quick question for Hawaii State Library System. I'm excited about this Bill and if it gets passed, I just want to know where do you envision the public concerts occurring?

Besides—I think we would have to figure out which locations. We do have community meeting rooms at most of our libraries, but not every library.

And so, we would need to work with the symphony folks to partner and figure out where they would like to go, where we have members that perform. I think it's a collaboration.

All right, thank you so much. That's it, Chair. Thank you.

Okay, anyone else? If not, moving on to HB 1934, HD 1, relating to libraries.

Hawaii State Public Library System in support. Thank you. Friends of the Library of Hawaii in support. Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they would be joining us. Additional testimony in support from two organizations and 15 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Please just state your name for the record and proceed.

Chair, Vice Chair, my name is Sergio Altabilio. I'm here at my personal capacity and I just want to provide my testimony in support. As a parent to two young children, this was one of the things that we struggled with.

Every day, I was taking our kids off the devices and telling them to read a book and one of the things they would tell me is they don't have a book. So, I hope that this Bill is something that can address that and really appreciate the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Anybody else in the room? Anybody on Zoom wishing to testify? Okay, please just state your name for the record and then you may proceed.

Hello everybody. My name is Scott Herrick. I'm the State Relations Director for the US for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and I would just like to thank everybody and voice my strong support for HB 1934 which would establish the Imagination Library Program in Hawaii. Our mission is to inspire lifelong love of reading.

And so, we provide a high quality, age-appropriate book to all children from birth to five. And it's regardless of family income. And since its inception, we've gifted over 300 million books globally. And now, in the United States, one in six children in that age range of zero to five receive a book from us across the country.

We believe that we are a very cost effective way to get ready for kindergarten and we are very scalable and I think it's probably one of the best programs children can access to go to school with prepared foundation for literacy. Thank You.

Thank you. Anybody else on Zoom?

Members, questions on this measure? Go ahead.

I have a question again for Hawaii State Library System. Thank you. I appreciate the services that the library provides. And if this Bill passes, would it be possible to make sure that we have local artists, local authors, and their books offered as a priority or is it pretty selective?

...We help run the program, the existing program.

We run the existing program. So, it's a set book list that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library provides for all affiliates. So, it's, there—we could discuss with the foundation whether they could add local authors, but I believe that their setup is to provide the same book across their entire.

Okay. All right. Well if that's something you could discuss and consider, I believe that would be a benefit it to the children in our state. Mahalo.

I can if it's all right, I can speak to that a little bit as an employee of the Dollywood Foundation. We have a blue ribbon.

Your call.

You need to, you need to ask him.

Oh, okay. I, I'll ask you the, the same question, the testifier on Zoom. So, go ahead and you can answer.

Okay, thank you. I'm sorry. We have a blue ribbon book selection Committee that meets in Tennessee at the headquarters of the Dollywood Foundation and they meet yearly and people can submit their book for consideration and often, in areas like Hawaii, which have specific needs for their children, we can definitely work with you all to try to integrate selections and topics and books that would be well, I think just well received in your area.

So, I can talk to the people within the Dollywood Foundation and make that urgent request.

All right. And thank you. We're trying to increase literacy, especially for our Native Hawaiian families. And so, if we had books in olelo...thank you so much.

Okay.

Thank you. Additional questions? No? Okay, moving on to HB 2533, HD 1, relating to education.

Have the Department of Education with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee, Sean Bacon. On behalf of the Department, we stand on our written testimony offering comments and available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony and support from three organizations and 15 individuals. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on ZOOM

Members questions? Moving on to hbo. Go ahead Department.

Thank you for coming for your testimony. It says that. Sorry, let me take that back. So this is amending hrs 300, 302A630 with two paragraphs completely excised from the next the next statute60631. So that affects teachers in this Bill, but pulling it from the principals and vice principals in the next statute, exactly the same.

So do you guys. Sorry, are vice principals and principals part of a collective bargaining unit?

Yes, they are part of bargaining unit six.

Okay, so since you do not support. Compensation put into law, do you also not support the exact same compensation given to principals and vice principals in 302A631? Should we remove their compensation too, to make it equal?

I would need to go back and look at 302A631. I don't have that in front of me. But, you know, we support compensation for all of our employees. And you know, we would just say that any type of additional duties that teachers are doing, you know, we would recommend it be subject to collective bargaining.

Currently, right now, in the collective bargaining agreement for teachers, if they are doing additional duties such as grade level chairperson, choral band Director, those types of things, those have all been negotiated as supplementary pay for teachers right now. So we would, we would recommend that it go through the collective bargaining process.

Okay, but for principals and vice principals or educational officers, they are in statute to say that they can get paid these. These things, not teachers. So what do they get paid for?

Well, principals and vice principals, right now, they are paid based on the level of the school that they're at. Each of the, you know, principal, high school principal, elementary principal. It's all really been determined on the student enrollment at the school, determine the level of where they're placed on the salary schedule.

Okay. Because in 302A631, it says, Educational officers with special assignments at the state, district and school level where their duties and responsibilities are greater than the duties and responsibilities falling within the scope of their ordinary duties shall be provided additional benefits. So what are those additional benefits and to whom are they provided?

The.

What duties do you have?

You have to go back. I do not. I don't have 630-2631 in front of me. I'd have to go back and look at that and get that answer.

Okay, so could you tell me that. And then also for the last paragraph of the Bill, it's also excised from the next statute. Exactly word for word, except changing it from. From principals, vice principals, and EOs to teachers.

But for that, it talks about how principals and vice principals at special needs schools are provided additional benefits and it gives definitions of special needs schools. Can you tell me about the additional benefits that the principals and vice principals are getting per 302A631 for special schools.

Again, I would need to go back and look at that for 631. I know that we do have two special needs schools are Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind and then also Olomana School. But those principals are also. It's based on the enrollment of the school and the level of how that they are paid.

Okay. Because special schools by statute is defined as schools that have a relatively large proportion of students exhibiting low performance as indicated by such factors such as low standardized achievement test scores, a high retention rate and a low graduation rate for the area. I think.

Do you agree that there are schools that could fit in that definition that are outside of Oluwana and the Hawaii School for Deaf and Blind?

Yeah, there may be. There may be, yes. Okay, so could you get that to us too? I can look into that information and then.

Thank you. And then lastly, who is supposed to be advocating for teachers regarding their pay or things like I think a day before we talked about getting paid for clubs, you know, that have to be done. Who should be advocating for teachers for pay for that, for additional pay for additional duties?

I think, you know, it was talked about in a previous hearing regarding that, you know, regarding different clubs and things. Money is allocated to the schools and it really is determined by a principle how the money is allocated.

There are different types of funding sources and based on those funding sources there may be special needs and how or special requirements on how those funds are used.

Okay, but who should be advocating for that? Should that be the Department to tell the principals or where should the advocate the advocacy come from for to make sure that teachers are paid for duties outside of the school? They're normal.

I think again, it's this. Each school has their own individual and their communities have their own individual and unique needs. Weighted student formula money does come down to each school. There are also special funds for each school. The school does have a school community council.

Based on the school community councils, they can help to determine how some of the funding is spent, you know, and what are the needs of each individual school.

Okay, so there are. There is compensation that goes to teachers that are outside of collective bargaining.

There are, yes, we do have some of our casual employees. They are paid outside of the collective bargaining. They're paid, you know, as our part time teachers or paraprofessional tutors that, you know, there are different ways that individuals outside of their normal collective bargaining time can be paid.

But that really is a school level decision that can be made based on Funding and the way that some of the funding can be used.

Okay, so a full time Unit 5 teacher who's paid as a regular, regular teacher can also be paid in a different capacity, meaning outside of their full time teaching capacity. You would also classify them as a part time teacher for payment for other items.

Correct. So they could work their full seven hour day as a salary teacher. And depending on the needs of the school, there could be after school clubs, get after school part time tutoring and there could be opportunities for them to receive additional compensation outside of their normal salary contract.

So is that collective bargain?

That is not.

Thank you. Thank you.

Additional questions.

Hi, I'm late. Is I, can I still speak on 2533? Sorry. I'm a public school teacher and I just got out of an Iep.

We need a Member to ask a question though as the time for testimony has passed. Members, you got a question? Anyone got a question? Sure, go for it. Yeah, go do your thing.

Is there something you would like to tell the Committee?

Hi, I'm Chris Castillo. I mean, I guess technically I'm not really testifying, but I'm answering the question. I'm a public school teacher on the coast and I teach in one of those EOL preschool classrooms.

And when we talk about like extra duties, like especially for the youngest learners, like I'm kind of upset that I have to be here to make this testimony rather than my union standing up for me.

But when we talk about those extra duties and I heard the last guy talk about like clubs and stuff, I'm rather than prepping and planning for tomorrow, I'm disinfecting toys, wiping up things, repackaging pull ups and making sure that I have sanitizing materials for my kids. And if I'm not mistaken, that's janitorial duties and not mine.

Within the scopes of a doe. I know it is in the scopes of that. That's what's happened with early childhood care. But it's outside of what the DOE teacher is supposed to be doing.

And I used to teach sixth grade and so I think that when you look at it like this Bill should be there to compensate us for all the extra duties.

Like I can talk about it from the side who are spending hours and countless hours outside of their times and days, as well as me myself in the preschool world who is trying to reorganize my room, the hurricane of sick kids and consistently disinfecting, right? Like it takes hours.

Like I don't leave here until like 4:00 clock and what contractually is what, 7:45 to 2:45.

And if I think if we can give a pay raise to the superintendent, but also like pay people within their districts to based upon their school and population, we should also be able to pay the people who have those extra duties the same amount or if not, compensation for what they do within their spaces. Thank you.

Can I ask another question?

By all means. Sorry, Mr. Bacon, if you can do round food with me. Thank you. The, the Bill also talks about changing the term for Hawaiian Immersion from may be paid to shall be paid. Right now, the Hawaiian immersion teachers are considered a differential pay.

Can you tell me if that differential pay is collectively bargained and in the contract?

So currently, right now that additional pay is a differential that that has been paid out. We worked closely with the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board on a criteria and then we went to the Board of Education and the board approved it and then the Legislature helped to Fund those differentials.

Okay, and that differential is paid for a teacher during their normal duties as a full time teacher. That is correct. So there is the ability to pay teachers compensation during the workday in their full time capacity outside of collective bargaining and outside of their contract. Because this, what you're telling me is outside of the contract,

if it was funded through statute or through the law, you know, we would follow the statute and we would pay the additional amount as required.

But the Department really, you know, Chapter 89 talks about wages and it should be negotiated and that is the avenue that, you know, we would recommend that these types of compensation be addressed through.

So that differential at 1.0 was a, was a MOU in the contract and it isn't now. Right.

For the, for the differentials. So there was differentials for the hard to staff locations. That was part of the contract. And we've expanded on that through the. Through the differentials.

Yes, but not in the contract. That's outside of the contract and outside of collective bargaining to pay the teachers

for the differentials that we currently have. So there's a set of differentials that are in the contract. We've expanded on that beyond that. That is outside of contract.

But we have negotiated, we have worked with it with the union and we brought it to the Board of Education for the final approval, which then also the Legislature, like I said, helped to Fund that.

Okay, so if Legislature funds things, we can Fund things that are not in the contract for pay. Because this is what you said.

If there was something that was put into statute, the Department would comply with the statute and would pay with the intent of what the legislation was.

Okay. So we are allowed to do that. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Anything else? Okay, moving on to HB 1790 HD2 relating to policing.

We have the Honolulu Police Department in opposition. On zoom.

I'm actually written testimonial.

In opposition. Sorry.

Thank you.

Okay. We have ACLU of Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice chair, Committee Members. My name is Josh Frost. I'm a policy advocate at the ACLU of Hawaii and we are in support of this Bill. You have our testimony, so I won't regurgitate it for you, but I just wanted to comment.

The police do a lot of important work for the community and we feel that part of their responsibility to the public is to be transparent and open on the work that they do. So this Bill would help help that by creating systems that collect data. Right. Right now, the state is not very good at collecting policing data.

Good data leads to good decision making. Good data leads to good policy making. We feel this Bill is long overdue and we are in support. So we appreciate your consideration.

We have Hawaii Crime Lab in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee. I'm Dr. Ashley Rubin of the Hawaii Crime Lab. Thank you for the opportunity to speak speak with you today. I have written submitted written testimony in support of HV 1790. But I have a few points to add. I wanted to address some ongoing confusion about funding constraints.

The federal funds this Bill would allow us to apply for a section 1906 grant would Fund the training and technology needed to implement the new data collection system.

I would work directly with law enforcement agencies under the Hawaii Crime Lab to design that system, specifically the data collection process to ensure data collected are as reliable as and that the data collection process is as seamless as possible for law enforcement officers.

In doing so, I'd be following the well established model used in Connecticut as described in Dr. Ken Brown's written testimony from the University of Connecticut. I also wanted to emphasize that collecting the data required in this Bill should not measurably prolong encounters.

As noted in Dr. Barone's written testimony, Stop data collected in Connecticut typically takes less than one minute per stop. They're able to do this because nearly all of the information can be input after the incident has been terminated. Finally, there's also concern about officers reporting perceived race or ethnicity.

The text of the revised Bill says that self identified race or ethnicity should be sought whenever possible. But the revised Bill inadvertently left the word perceived in before the demographic categories listed. So I refer you to the police and project's written testimony. They suggest a technical amendment to make

clear that just like with arrests, officers should ask for voluntarily disclosed demographic information. This should address law enforcement and advocacy groups concerns about requiring self identified, not perceived race whenever possible. So thank you very much. I'm available for questions.

Thank you. That is everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony from the Office of the Public Defender in support. Office of Hawaiian affairs in support.

Comments from the University of Hawaii, opposition from the Kauai Police Department and the Maui Police Department as well as testimony in support from five additional organizations and one organization providing comments. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom

Members questions? If not HB2181HD1 relating to the judiciary.

We have the judiciary with comments.

Good afternoon. Dina Nakasato on behalf of the Habeas State Judiciary ITSD application provision. We stand on our written testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to comment and I'll stand by if you have any questions.

Thank you very much. Thank you. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and support.

Hi. Aloha. I'm on Zoom. Hi, sorry. Good afternoon Members of the Committee. My name is Kelsey Makai. I'm the Acute Division administrator for the intake service centers and I'm testifying today on behalf of the Tommy Johnson who's unable to be here today.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stands by our written testimony supporting the intent of this Bill and I appreciate the time and opportunity to testify. I'll be standing by for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We have Community alliance on Prisons and Support.

Aloha. Kat Brady testified. Aloha Committee. Cat Brady is testifying on behalf of Community alliance on Prisons in strong support of this measure. So many of our families are really struggling. So I cited the Alice report from 2024. That's Asset Limited, income constrained and employed and along a lot of the warrants are for traffic violations.

So I'm asking that the Committee support this Bill and give grace to people who are struggling to meet everyday needs. Thank you so much.

That's everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony, one organization providing comments, three or four organizations and six individuals in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on zoom?

Okay, Members, questions on this measure?

Hi. Thank you. Chair for the Judiciary. Hi. Thank you for your testimony. Yes. Your testimony or the Judiciary? Judiciary's testimony noted that there is a current notification program where participants can do so voluntarily. Correct.

I was wondering if there's any data to demonstrate the effectiveness of that program in terms of decreasing the number of non appearances in court.

Okay, let me just clarify real quick. We do have an opt in E reminder system that we actually launched back in January 2019 and that has been in place for several years now.

Unfortunately, it is very challenging for us to be able to get data points on whether or not we're having any non appearance changes in those rates. As a result of that, I also have Deputy Chief Credit Administrator Michelle Acosta on Zoom.

She is our operational resource and so I'm not sure if Michelle wants to weigh in on the question regarding the non appearance rates.

No, it's okay. If you have that information, you can provide it to the Committee data. My follow up question is because it's an opt in. Yes. What would you say is the rate of people opting in?

I don't have that information. We pulled some statistical information and for all of our court case events or appearances in 2025 we had approximately 400,000 events. And so we don't have the information right now on how many of those events actually triggered a text or email.

We because it's an opt in system, we also allow non parties to the case to opt in. So for example, reporters, media, interested family Members, they can go ahead and opt in to subscribe to get messages about a particular case or event. It doesn't have to be someone, actually a person part of the case.

So right now we don't have that kind of information, but we can see if we can pull some of that for you.

Okay, thank you. Now I'm curious, if this pilot does occur, how many? I mean it seems like it's going to be a voluminous amount of notices that will be sent out electronically. It can be.

Right now for our E reminder system, we send three reminders ahead of time and also the morning of the event. So depending on the frequency of the reminder, that's one aspect, the number of people on that case, that's another one. And then of course the length of the message.

Right now we aren't able to include all of the verbiage in a single segment for the text message and we have to segment that out into two or three segments. So if the verbiage is very voluminous, we could be looking at 55 or six segments per message per reminder and each one incurs a cost.

So right now we're trying to see what the recurring costs would be. We work with a vendor called Twilio, they help us with the text messaging and they also have an email system which also has a cost.

So not only would there be some software change costs to our current system if it were to become mandatory opt out rather than the current opt in, which is voluntary, we would also be looking at recurring costs based on the number of text messages and emails.

Okay, thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you. Additional questions

she talked. I think you were just questioned about the cost of sending these, but if I can ask it the other way. What is the cost of failure to appears?

That's. Thank you for the question. That cost, I really don't have data on that in terms of consequences for that particular person that I don't have that information.

So if somebody has a failure to appear and they get a bench Warrant, whether it's $50 or whatever the dollar amount, and they get retaken, can you explain to us what happens in a failure to appear when somebody gets a bench warrant?

I may have to ask Michelle Acosta, our deputy chief court administrator, to weigh in a little bit more on that. That's more on the operational side. I'm on the IT side. I believe Michelle Acosta is on the zoom.

Good afternoon, everybody. Michelle Acosta, I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear all of the question. Could I get that one more time, please?

Sure. Sorry, the mic doesn't pick me up. Well, do you happen to know how much a failure to appear is and when somebody. And can you tell us what happens in appearance? Failure to appear, meaning like they get a bench warrant and what would happen after that?

So for the first part of the question, I'm not sure what the cost is for a failure to appear. However, for the process, if a person is cited, for example, and they are summoned to come to court, and they don't come to court, the court may issue a bench warrant.

It could, like you state, I think I heard you say, anywhere from $10 to $5, the defendant who has been summoned can either pay the bench warrant to have that removed. So $5, $10, they would then be provided with another hearing date.

So that's the process in terms of that, if the bench warrant is not taken care of, there is a warrant for their arrest. So for example, if a person was then who had a bench warrant for failure to appear, jaywalks, for example, they could be arrested because of an outstanding bench warrant.

In the last judiciary hearing, I think Chair Tarnas said the participation rate for the opt in was 3%. Do you happen to know if that's a correct number or if not for today? Sorry, I think I have to talk this way.

I'm sorry, I don't know about that particular data point.

So I think I can. I was at the last hearing when the question from Representative Tarnas was posed because the process right now isn't on. So it's a voluntary participation in the system. The data that I had shared at that hearing with Representative Tarnas showed that there was a low percentage rate of people currently participating.

So because it's an opt in, people voluntarily opting in based on the data that was presented at the hearing, it does show a low percentage of participation.

Additional questions? I don't think so right now.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

We're on to HB 1870 HD2 relating to protected community locations.

Department of Education with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair Todd, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Shantajima, Assistant Superintendent testifying on behalf of the Department of Education. The Department stands on his written testimony which provides comments on this measure. This issue is very important to the Department because of its importance. The Department rolled out guidance on this in March of 2025.

The guidance covers all law enforcement coming onto campus, not limited to immigration enforcement. We're currently in the process of adding to that guidance to provide procedures for staff and students to follow if they see law enforcement enter campus without reporting to the front office.

We're also in the process of adding guidance for school bus drivers and for school events that occur off campus. The Department does have concerns about the protected perimeter in the Bill extending 1,000ft beyond campus as the Department does not have jurisdiction beyond the school campus. I thank you for this opportunity to testify. We stand by for questions.

Thank you. University of Hawaii with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Debbie Halbert, Vice President for Academic Strategy. We'll stand on our written testimony with comments, but I'm happy to answer questions. Thanks. Thank you.

The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and Support.

Good afternoon again. Yasmeen Cheney for the Commission on the Status of Women. The commission stands on its written testimony in support of this measure to ensure access to services and opportunities. We've had reports of gender based violence victims not seeking services or evidence collection out of fear of immigration. And so we appreciate your comments, consideration and support.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. ACLU of Hawaii in support on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Mandy Fernandez, on behalf of the ACLU of Hawaii. We strongly support this measure. Under a Biden era piece of guidance, federal immigration enforcement was not conducted around some of these protected and sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, churches.

This was repealed under the federal under the Trump Administration and at the state level we can't impose that same guidance on federal agents.

We can't guarantee that they're not going to show up at these sensitive community locations but what we can do is what this measure is seeking to accomplish and adding these like civil rights safeguards around these especially vulnerable locations.

When you think about it allowing unfettered access to non private areas or non public areas to federal immigration enforcement not only puts those who are seeking care at risk at a hospital for example but also forces our healthcare workers, our teachers to interface and navigate these really complicated and nuanced immigration statuses with agents who have shown really aggressive tactics across the country.

We can train our state funded entities to require a judicial warrant rather than an administrative warrant to enter these areas and do everything we can do at the state level to protect our residents and those seeking care. So we strongly hope that you that you pass this measure. We're available for any questions.

Thank you the legal clinic and support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice chair and Members. I'm Tina Sablon here on behalf of the legal clinic and our board President, Amy Agbayani. TLC is a nonprofit that works for immigrant justice statewide through legal services, education and advocacy. We did submit written testimony and strong support of this measure. We want to thank you for hearing this Bill today.

Restoring protections for sensitive locations like courthouses, like school schools, is important to the legal clinic, to the immigrant families we serve, and to the many community organizations and agencies we work with.

As to the 1,000 foot perimeter that's provided in this legislation, our reading is that this Bill would limit state and county participation in civil immigration enforcement within that 1,000 foot perimeter. And we support this provision as well.

Limiting state and county participation in civil immigration enforcement and protecting access to essential services, strength and safety for everyone in Hawaii. We urge the Committee to advance this measure.

Thank you Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Support on Zoom.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Aparna Petrie. I am a private immigration attorney based in Maui and also the legal advisor for the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights testifying in strong support of this measure.

The institute that are targeted in this measure need to be safe havens for people. They have to be places where children, congregants, community Members can access basic needs. For many years the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security had a policy that designated these locations as off limits.

It is because that policy has been rescinded that this is now needed and that we as a state have to step in and ensure that people can continue to access services without fear. We have seen enforcement in the state in schools and we've seen enforcement on the continent in emergency rooms.

So this is something that has been happening since this policy has been rescinded.

This Bill would provide clear statewide protections for schools, hospitals, healthcare facilities, places of worship and would ensure that even though we cannot control what private actors do, even though we cannot control what the Federal Government does, we can control what state actors do and what state contractors do. No child should be afraid to go to school.

No patient should hesitate to seek life saving care. And for these reasons, we strongly urge you to support this measure. Thank you.

Thank you. We have Roots Reborn Maui in support on Zoom.

Hi everyone. Buenos tardes. To chair, vice chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Veronica Mendoza. I'm the founding Executive Director of Roots Reborn here on Maui. I'm also a founding coalition Member of El Pueblo Inaccion Maui which translates to the People in Action Maui, we stand on our written testimony.

We work directly with the immigrant and migrant families who are still recovering from the 2023 wildfires and and who are now navigating overlapping crises of housing, employment and now, most recently, the fear of enforcement. EPAMAUI is a rapid response network and community tip line that residents use to report possible immigration enforcement and ask for help.

Both at Roots Reborn and at epamaui. Our phones light up whenever someone thinks they may see immigration enforcement. More than half of those tips turn out to not involve any enforcement at all.

So they just happen to be parents who are dropping their kids off at school, workers who are out shopping, families who are attending services at local churches, who are afraid that any unfamiliar car or uniform feels like a threat. That constant fear undermines wildflower recovery. It undermines public health and it certainly undermines community safety.

Our community is living with a constant level of fear of enforcement and it's shaping their everyday decisions about where they feel is safe to go. HB 1870 provides the guidance our community's need and limits state and county participation in civil immigration enforcement in or near community locations.

Requires a judicial warrant for access to non public areas, safeguards personal information and ensure staff are trained and communities are informed. It does not block lawful federal action. It clarifies state responsibilities and keeps essential public spaces safe, trusted and accessible. For all who call Hawaii home. We respectfully urge you to pass HB 1870.

Thank you. We have Samuel Mitchell in support on Zoom. Present. Christine Andrews in support on Zoom.

Hi Committee Members, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I'm Christine Andrews. I'm an attorney on Maui and a Member of the Upper Maui Coalition as well. I just wanted to give my perspective. As somebody who conducts Know youw Rights trainings statewide.

I've spent a lot of time conducting kind of rapid response Know youw Rights trainings for schools where enforcement activity has taken place statewide and also at churches here on Maui where we have seen enforcement activity also take place.

Um, I feel like as somebody who trains people on this, it like requiring a judicial warrant for non public areas is kind of the minimum. I feel like our Constitution and our conscience requires we should be standing up and ensuring that people's constitutional rights are protected.

And that includes not allowing access to non public areas without a judicious warrant.

And then as to the 1000 meter perimeter, I know that is a concern but also one of the things I teach people is that Ayes will come or federal agents will come and they know where they can or what the optics are, but they often are in these areas.

They come when children are being picked up at school because some people are getting out of their cars. They're not within a building. And so there's very vulnerable spaces, the areas around an emergency room. So we want to make sure that our community Members feel safe for their children to go to school.

We want to make sure people are feeling safe to get necessary health care. And these are the minimum. I feel like the requirements that we're trying to put into this Bill to protect these areas are the minimum that we should be doing as a state for our Members of our community. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everybody who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony from the Office of the Public Defender in support. The Hawaii State Board of education in support. 11 organizations and 44 individuals all in support. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify?

Anybody on ZOOM Members questions on this measure? No.

All right.

Okay. We're Moving on to HB2140HD2 relating to essential permitting positions.

We have the State of Hawaii Office of Planning and Sustainable Development with comments.

Hello, ... Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Diana Setnas with the Office of Planning Sustainable Development. We stand on a written testimony in support of the intent and offering comments. And I'm available for any questions. Thank you. Thank you.

Nobody else indicating they would be joining us today, but additional testimony and support from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, as well as comments from the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Human Resources and Department of Budget and Fiscal Services. Additional five organizations and one individual also provide testimony and support.

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

Thank you. Members. Questions? Seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 2468 HD1 relating to internship programs.

Department of the Attorney General with comments.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Todd, Vice Chair Takenouchi and Members of the Committee. I am Deputy Attorney General Lauren Sugai. With me is my supervisor, Li-Ann Yamashiro. Our Department has provided comments with the proposed HD2. A key aspect of our testimony is clarifications of contracts with sponsors under the private sector internship program under Section 390.

Sponsors can either be an employer who pays, trains and supervise an intern, or they can be like a union, which functions more like a trade organization. Our suggested amendments clarify the two different contracts under this internship program. The first is with an employer.

So if a sponsor is an employer, they should contract as such and receive reimbursement for an intern's wages for on the job training costs. The second is if they function more like a trade organization then they should contract under subsection 39410 subsection H by providing admin support to employers and helping with internship placements.

Our testimony includes other suggestions to help clarify this Bill. Thank you. And we're available for questions.

Thank you. Department of Labor and Industrial Relations with comments.

Good afternoon Chair Todd, Madam Vice Chair Takenouchi and Members of the Committee. I'm Jade Butay, Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations stand on our testimony in support of intent provided it does not adversely impact the priorities identified in our supplemental budget requests.

We appreciate the partnership with the Legislature in refining the program and ensuring the that it can effectively support the workforce development in Hawaii. Thank you.

Thank you. We have the Department of Human Resources Development in Support

Chair Vice Chair Members Brian Furuto, Deputy Director DHRD, we stand in support of this measure. We do ask for amendments and so we ask for your consideration. Thank you.

Thank you. Department of Education in support.

Hi, Good afternoon. Chair Vice Chair Members of the Committee Heidi Armstrong, Department of Education we stand on our testimony in support. Thank you.

Thank you. University of Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon. We'll stand on our testimony in support as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, that's a they be joining us. Additional testimony and support from three organizations. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Thank you. Members, questions? Seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 2358, HD 1, relating to retirement.

We have the Office of the Governor in support.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Will Kane, Office of the Governor. So, we submitted our written testimony along with multiple amendments. I'd just like to highlight a couple things that—the intent of the amendments that we're proposing for the HD...HD 2, excuse me, is essentially to provide parity among physicians to do two things.

One is to provide parity among physicians within the Department of Law Enforcement, which we need to strengthen so we can have stability, recruitment, and retention ability.

And it does this by moving certain members, investigators and the Director Deputy and these folks, as Class A members of the ERS and providing for the continuation of retirement eligibility and benefits for other members.

In addition, it also extends these retirement eligibility benefits to the Fire Marshal, the State Fire Marshal, the Deputy Fire Marshals, the tag, sorry, the Adjutant General for the State Deputy Adjutant General so that they can align with these roles.

So, folks that come from the county or vice versa, you know they're not losing benefits as they're moving into different positions. So, we offer multiple amendments that are listed there, as well as removal of Section 2 in the previous HD 1. I'm here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. Department of Law Enforcement, in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I'm Deputy Director Ernest Delima of the DLE. We stand in strong support of this Bill, and we have submitted written testimony. Thank you for this opportunity.

Thank you. The Employees Retirement System of State of Hawaii, in opposition.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Calvert Young for the Hawaii Retirement System. We submitted testimony. Our position is related to Section 2 of the Bill and is in opposition.

The ERS has consulted with External Tax Council. The Section 2 provision in this Bill is significantly impactful in that while it may benefit each of you and only elected officials and your future you's, it would become at the expense of the value and benefit and tax security of the Employee Retirement System for every single employee retiree and taxpayer in the state of Hawaii.

So, for that reason, the ERS—we have provided you some recommended language for amendments in, in the current statute that relates to this violation and we're asking that the Section 2 provision you should strongly consider removing from the Bill. Thank you.

Thank you. That is everyone who submitted testimony on this measure. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify?

Anybody on Zoom? Members, questions on this measure? Rep. Hartsfield.

Thank you, Chair. For ERS. And thank you for your testimony. My question is if the amendment is adopted, would that resolve the concerns regarding the tax issue?

Okay. Thank, thank you. No further questions, Chair.

Yes.

Thank you. Anything else? If not moving on to HB 1688 HD1 relating to a General excise tax exemption for aircraft maintenance. Oh, I bet I'm ahead of myself. HB 1588 HD1 relating to the Department of Transportation

Department of Transportation in support on Zoom.

I want to Chair Vice Chair Members of the Committee Director for the DOT. Thank you.

That's everyone who indicated that they would be joining us today. Additional two organizations and six individuals all in support sir, anytime the room wishing to testify. Anybody on Zoom?

Members Questions Rep. Kusch. I don't know the rules either.

Thanks for coming out. I'm just wondering. I know that last year we passed that pilot program and I see it rolling out Waikiki and are you sending out letters? Is it working? Any feedback from that?

So we installed 8 of the 10 of the pilot project and right now, like you said, we're in our pilot phase where we're just collecting the data right now we have it on our social media, you know, where the. On our website where the cameras are located.

And I do believe that we make it on the agenda to the neighborhood boards and socialize where the cameras are going to be during that time.

So you don't have any feedback? Yeah, I'm not on social media much and I'm not on any Hawaii keyboards, but I. And I'm not sure if I have a placebo effect, but I swear it seems quieter and so just curious if you had any like data feedback like that.

We had just executed the contract and they just were installed. I don't know that they're operational, but I'll get back to you. I know that eight have been installed. It's like big cameras, just keeps going.

Thank you.

Thank you, Members. Anything else? Okay, if not, moving on to HB 1688 HD1 relating to a General excise tax exemption for aircraft maintenance.

Okay. We have the Department of Taxation with comments.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair and Committee Members. Gary Suganuma for Department of Taxation. We will stand on our written comments. Thank you.

Thank you. Tax Foundation of Hawaii with comments on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Tom Yamachika from Tax Foundation. We will also stand my written comments and be available for questions.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they'd be joining us. Additional testimony and support from two organizations. Anybody else in the room wishing to testify?

Yeah, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Jacob Aki on behalf of Alaska Hawaiian Airlines. We did submit testimony. It was late, but we stand on our testimony with strong support and we'll be here if folks have any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, we did receive it. Anybody else in the room? Anybody on Zoom?

Questions? Seeing none. We're going to move on to HB 1986 HD2 relating to a clean fuel standard.

Department of Transportation in support

DOT stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Island Energy Services with comments not present. And Pump Cleaner Fuels Hawaii in support on Zoom.

Chair, Vice chair. Members of the Committee will stand on our written testimony and are available for any questions if they come up.

Thank you. We have Theodore Metros in opposition on zoom.

Sorry, I'm here in person. Yes, I'm Ted Metrose, independent. I used to work for PAR Hawaii. Handled the renewable fuels program there. That program requires a 13% reduction on renewable fuels on transportation fuels. So this is a state program that's much, much bigger. It's trying to knock out 100% of our transportation fuels.

What we have left this is the finance group. So I want to talk a little bit money. This probably looks like a bureaucratic mess and it is. But it can be real dollars that people have to appreciate the consequences of. I'm going to explain Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines dream.

They would like to have a credit for 300 million gallons worth of jet fuel being sustainable aviation fuel. They'd like that credit to be $1.50 per gallon. It'd be $450 million per year. And then on top of that with this carbon fuel standard, what would happen?

Because they are not obligated under this particular program, they could go back and sell the credits and sell the value of sustainable aviation fuel for let's say it's another dollar. So that'd be in total $750 million. That's the dream. Now, even if it's scaled back from that, this is a big drawdown on the state's reserves.

And so, you know, the question I would have is why are we letting the airlines off call. First off, this Bill gives an exemption for interstate flights. If this was mandatory, then the requirements for the clean fuel standard would apply on flights and they'd be obligated parties.

And so the request that I have this won't keep the admin people too late. One addition in here where it says fuel used by aircraft, fuel used by interstate aircraft, just like it says for marine aircraft. So they become obligated parties.

And the other thing is these clean fuel standards are supposed to be tax free, but not if they're subsidized. And so these bills need to exclude cases where they're subsidized by the state. I don't know how you put that wording in there.

I'm going to have to have you wrap up for the two minutes.

Well, this is really a big move here to characterize and capture interstate emissions and give an incentive really where there shouldn't be one. And these limits that are proposed around the carbon intensity standards are way more stringent. I'm sorry, they create so much confusion because they aren't even aligned with the existing standards under hrs 225.

So those should be struck eliminated. They are unnecessary at this point.

Thank you Members. That's everybody who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony from the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission in support as well as nine organizations and one individual in support. Two additional organizations providing comments. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Members questions? Rep Miyake.

Thank you Chair for DOT please. So this Program will establish a credit and deficit system. Correct. Would that, would the policy because of that, would that create like a new market where companies can profit from selling the credits like with the previous tests of Americana?

Okay. So you know really the clean fuel standard is really something that came out of our energy security and waste reduction plan. It is one strategy for to lower the emissions. Right now we're doing a study on affordability.

I've taken a look and I've reviewed that draft study and really that's what we're kind of focusing on what it will cost for our communities with this credit or deficits. Currently the report did not, I guess focus on what you're inquiring on representatives.

So I don't think that is within the scope of our plan or part of the waste reduction plan. So I'll get back to you, but I don't think that it's part of the plan. Okay, appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Chair.

Anything else?

So has this been been tried in other states? Correct?

Yes, that is correct.

How effective has similar programs been in other states? Reducing the dishes without raising costs.

My understanding just from our review of our study, our draft study is that it will increase costs.

I know that California and Washington, they are states that have implemented but I can tell you, I mean well, it's in our testimony that we, we will have an increase in cost and I'm not sure of those states but I'm almost sure that it, I don't know I have to get anything else.

If not, we're going to move on to the next item. We have HB2030 relating to transportation affordability.

Department of Transportation in support.

Sorry one contact. The DOT stands on its written testimony in support and I'm here for any questions.

Thank you. Department of Taxation with comments.

The Department stands on its written comments.

Thank you. Hawaii State Energy Office in support.

I'm on. Sorry, I'm on Zoom. Chris Junker for the Hawaii State Energy Office. We stand on our written testimony in support and are available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Earth justice in support.

Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Isaac Moriwake, attorney with Earth justice and we stand on our testimony and strong support of this key solution for transportation affordability. It's a self financing, self funded revenue neutral rebate program for keen vehicles. We provided amendments attached to our testimony.

First of all, suggestions on filling in the blanks for the fee provision based on Hawaii market analysis, based on Hawaii-based data. How we fund the proposed rebate amounts in the Bill, and we thank Chairs Kila and Lohan for their refinements of this Bill. And also Dr. Ramji, who did that Hawaii-based analysis.

I believe he also submitted testimony and information and I believe he's also available to answer questions. We also highlighted some technical amendments on terms. And so if you could draw your attention to that as well. And I'm available for any questions that the Members might have. Thank you.

Thank you. Alliance for Automobile Innovation in opposition.

Stand on our written testimony in opposition. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association in opposition, not present. Chapin Fish in support on Zoom.

Hello, my name is Chapin. First, I just want to thank the Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee for considering this Bill and for the opportunity to testify on its behalf. My name is Chapin. I'm 22 years old and I'm a young person from Portland, Oregon. And I'm really worried about climate change.

And I'm here because the issue really knows no borders. As an intern at a local environmental nonprofit, I've had the privilege to advocate for the brave plaintiffs from the Navajine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation lawsuit and ensure that their historic settlement is complied with.

You know, climate harms experienced by one of the plaintiffs, in particular from Oahu, demonstrate the critical need for this Bill. I learned about her story and she relies on an integral highway that connects her and her community to school and work and other necessities.

But due to extreme weather, and that's something that we've all experienced across the country, the highway floods more and more frequently each year. When it closes, it robs them of their ability to go freely about their lives. The clean vehicle rebate program is an amazing opportunity to prevent this, the exacerbation of climate change.

And it's something that the Navajime plaintiffs fought for in court. And also it would do so in an affordable way for all families. I really think having seen the Bill that it does, it really centers equity, which I think is also important. Anyways, thank you so much for your time.

I really appreciate everything that you all are doing to stand with the youth and I hope you continue to do so. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional customer and support from the Climate Change and Mitigation Adaptations Commission, support from the County of Kauai, Office of Economic Development, City and County of Honolulu, Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, the Hawaii State Youth Commission, eight organizations, and 25 individuals.

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

Yes.

Okay. Tax Foundation of Hawaii first.

Okay, thank you. Chair, Vice Chair Members of the Committee, Tom Yamachika from Tax Foundation. We have a concern about the Bill title. This is relating to transportation affordability. But the Bill proposes a new tax. It puts it in Chapter 237, but it's still a new tax. We're also concerned, concerned about the financing mechanism.

This calls for a special fund but it's, but it's tax-financed, and therefore it's not for a self-sustaining activity. So those are our concerns. Sorry, we weren't able to get a testimony put together in time. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Next testifier on Zoom. Please just state your name for the record.

Aloha. My name is Doorae Shin. I'm with Our Children's Trust in strong support of HB 2030. Just want to highlight a few key points here. Compared to gas vehicles, owning and driving an electric vehicle saves residents thousands of dollars that they would have spent on gas and maintenance.

With no remaining EV incentives in Hawaii, we need new ones to cut the upfront cost of EVs which remain a key barrier for residents to access the significant savings of going electric.

We want to support the amendments submitted by Earthjustice and suggest that if they can't go informally that they get added to the Committee reports as they're really strong amendments. And we want to highlight a few key affordability and equity components that were very intentionally designed into this Bill.

One is that the rebates completely exclude luxury electric vehicles and high income individuals from receiving the rebate.

There's an extra rebate amount for low and moderate income residents in Hawaii and there's a threshold for the fee meaning that it will be very very easy and it'll exclude potentially half or more of all new vehicles from even incurring the fee. So it'd be very easy for residents to avoid it.

And rebates are included for used EVs making it more accessible for more residents as well as for plug in hybrids. The Navajine settlement in 2024 requires that the state of Hawaii achieve zero emissions in the transportation sector. It is a court enforced settlement. So the Legislature shares Juliana for meeting those obligations.

So for all those reasons, we stand in strong support of this Bill. May urge you to pass it. Mahalo.

Thank you. Anybody else on Zoom?

Members, questions?

If not moving on to HB2195HD1 relating to transportation.

Department of Transportation in support.

DOT stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Department of Taxation with comments.

Department stands on its written comments.

Thank you. Department of the Attorney General with comments.

Good afternoon Chair Todd, Vice Chair Takenouchi, Members of the Committee. My name is Ryan Roylo, Deputy Attorney General. The Department has submitted comments and I will be available for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Tax Foundation of Hawaii with comments on Zoom.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Tom Yamachika for Tax Foundation. I understand what this Bill is trying to do. We're trying to change this into a per passenger head tax like the one that is currently administered by the Harbors Division and to make it into basically a user fee.

There are, I think, dangers with that one being that the Harbor Special Fund, which is where this, This new charge would go to, is subject to a central services assessment charge of 5% which may be seen as a non harbor use of the monies and that may be enough to turn it into a tax which would be vulnerable to a tonnage clause attack.

Happy to answer any questions. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you. Hawaii Transportation Association with comments on Zoom. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in support on Zoom.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Aloha. This is Sandy Weir from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. I stand in support of this Bill and stand on my testimony and am available for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. The Maritime Group, in support on Zoom. Not present. That's everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Additional testimony in support from 11 organizations and opposition—oh, sorry. Comments from two organizations and support from another 11 organizations. Opposition from one individual. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Thank you. Members, questions? If not, we're going to move on to HB 1949, HD 1, relating to the Green Fee.

We have the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in support.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee....with DLNR. The Department stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, in support on Zoom.

Aloha. My name is Sharde Freitas, Public Policy Advocate with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. We stand on our written testimony and are appreciative for the needed transparency that this Bill and dashboard will provide. We urge the Committee to pass this Bill. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, in support.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Committee. My name is Danielle Bast, State Sustainability Coordinator with the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development. We offer testimony in strong support. We believe that this Bill provides a lot of clarity and transparency necessary for the Green Fee, which is a brand new program that we're very excited about.

We do recommend an amendment to allow the Department of Budget and Finance to administer the program and the dashboard, simply because the Department is currently administering the Green Fee financing and has the necessary staffing to execute this program and dashboard. I'm available for any questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. The Green Fee Advisory Council in support.

Aloha, Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Carmelo Rosuma and I have honor and pleasure of serving as a Member of the Governor's Green Fee Advisory Council. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify today in strong support of HB 1949, HD 1.

Last year, the Legislature took an important step by establishing Hawaii's Green Fee through Act 96, creating a dedicated funding source to support environmental stewardship, climate and hazard resilience, and sustainable tourism. We offer a deep mahalo to the Legislature and Governor for enacting this landmark paradigm shifting legislation.

Act 96 is a generational investment in protection of Hawaii's people, place, and natural and cultural resources, a monumental step forward toward a more balanced and responsible visitor economy.

Given the Council's extensive criteria-based review that evaluated over 600 proposals from the community and produced this portfolio of projects, we respectfully recommend that the Legislature appropriate the full Green Fee funding and that as these funds begin to flow, it is equally important that that the public can clearly see how they are being invested and what impact they're having across the P'aina. HB 1949 helps ensure that level of transparency and accountability by establishing a Green Fee Transparency and Accountability Program and a Public Green Fee Resiliency Impact Dashboard that enables residents, policymakers, and stakeholders to track how Green Fee revenues are being produced, demonstrates how revenue has been collected, where funds are going to, which agencies are implementing projects, and what outcomes those investments are having, and improves the coordination across state agencies and community partners by creating clear reporting standards and a shared platform to track progress.

A public dashboard helps the community to see progress over the long term and understand how these investments reduce risk, protect Hawaii's natural and cultural resources, and produce real environment for our environment and our communities.

And for these reasons and so many more, I respect—I respectfully—urge the Committee to pass HB 1949 and mahalo for the testimony—for the opportunity to provide testimony today and your continued leadership in protecting Hawaii's environment and strengthening resilience for future generations.

Thank you. Ocean Legislative Task Force, in support.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair.

Oh, sorry. Sorry...

Thank you. My name is Lauren Buck and I'm a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I'm majoring in Environmental Management. I'm representing the Ocean Legislative Task Force in support of our written testimony.

So, as a student technician at the Anuinui Sea Urchin Hatchery, I help research to clean up the macro algae that's smothering coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay.

I've seen how effective sustainable environment projects can be and I strongly feel that we should support full transparency regards to where funds are going so that we can support conservation efforts in Hawaii. Mahalo.

Thank you. We have PUPU, in support.

Hi, my kakou...Stand on our written testimony in strong support. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Mahalo.

Care for Ina Coalition Leadership Committee, in support.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Finance Committee. My name is Maka Gibson. I'm testifying on behalf of the Care for Ina Now Leadership Committee and in strong support of HB 1949, HD 1. The Green Fee represents a commitment to Malama Ina, ensuring that those who benefit from Hawaii natural beauty also help care for it.

As this program begins, transparency and accountability will be essential to building community trust. HB 1949 helps ensure that residents, visitors, and lawmakers can clearly see where Green Fee revenues are going, how decisions are made, and what outcomes are being achieved for our Ina and our communities.

Relatedly, we strongly affirm the Green Fee Advisory Council's spending recommendations, which reflect a thoughtful, community informed approach to stewardship and resilience.

In particular, we're excited to see the recommendations of $10.5 million for environmental stewardship projects including aqua restoration and reforestation, and $1 million for climate resilience and hazard mitigation, including a pilot cesspool conversion project to restore our coral reefs. These investments support the community organizations and local stewards already caring for Ina every day.

With strong transparency and community partnerships, the Green Fee can deliver lasting benefits for Hawaii's people, places, and future. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Global Preservation Initiative, in support.

Aloha. My name is Aaron McGee. I'm speaking in support of HB 1949. Now that the Green Fee is generating revenue, it's critical that we build a public dashboard to clearly track how these funds are used.

I also believe state agencies should leverage the proven solutions of community organizations through contracts and grants when implementing these projects because collaboration is what creates lasting impact. I'm the Executive Director of Global Preservation Initiative, which leads restoration efforts at Mauleola or Sand Island State Recreation Area, as well as Makapu'u Beach Park.

These public lands benefit from consistent community stewardship and are examples of successful partnerships between community organizations and government agencies such as DLNR and city and county. Our work at these sites fits several of the Green Fee funding recommendations.

Clearing invasive plants helps the spread of these invasive species, reduces competition for resources with native plants, and prevents brush fire risk. Planting native plants improves groundwater recharge and improves native biodiversity and removing litter and marine debris reduces risk to wildlife and beautifies our public spaces.

I hope you will recognize the value of community organizations and commit to building transparency by passing HB 1949. Mahalo. Thank you.

That is everyone who indicated they would be joining us today. Members, additional testimony in support from 13 organizations and seven individuals, as well as one individual in opposition. Is there anybody else in the room wishing to testify? Please come forward. If you could just state your name for the record before you begin.

I'm testifying on behalf of Care for Ina Now's Broader Coalition. My name is Carissa Cabrera. We're testifying in strong support of 1949. We believe a Transparency in Accounting Dashboard is a key element for a strong fund. The transformational act is informing other green fees, with Oregon passing their statewide Green Fee yesterday. I also want to elevate the importance of collaboration between agencies and community based organizations.

The project recommendations that were put forward by the advisory council were informed by over 600 proposals and we strongly support the portfolio moving forward unamended. Mahalo.

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

Okay, Members, questions? Go ahead. Rep. Gedeon.

Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. Hello again. Great idea and fully support the dashboard and the transparency. Quick question on the financials. Could this be funded by the Green Fee itself instead of appropriations from the state?

I believe so. I think it's up to the Legislature how... Here's DLNR who submitted our testimony.

Okay, perfect.

I suppose there's nothing that would prevent that, but I think having a regular appropriation would ensure that the intent of the Bill was carried out.

I'm in support of this. Just want to check the financials. Thank you.

Anyone else? Okay. If not, Members, we do have an updated testimony packet for the items that were added on linked to the agenda. You guys already access to that? Okay. We need to recess briefly or are you guys okay on that? All right. All right. Yeah. Okay.

We're just basically going to go Bill by Bill and just call up whoever wants to come up and hopefully it looks organized. So, we're going to open up with HB 1695, HD 2, relating to renewable fuel. Whoever would like to open us. Let's go with DoTax first and then we'll get to industry, please.

Good afternoon. Yeah, I, I wasn't aware that this was going to be called until I was already here. So, I don't have my materials with me. I did consult with my office over my phone.

So, my understanding is we did submit testimony on the HD 1 version, and my understanding is that there are a couple of suggested edits that were not incorporated. So, I just wanted to reiterate that we're not able to administer the aggregate cap and then also the effective deed. I think we wanted to make it applicable to tax years after December 31, 2026. I just wanted to get that on record. Thank you.

Mark Inoue from Our Hawaii. Our Hawaii stands on our written testimony in support of HB 1695, HD 1. We really appreciate folks taking a look at this Bill. I'll be here for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else wanting to speak on this matter? Go ahead.

Yes. Hi, I'm Ted Metros. I used to be with Par Hawaii. I complained about the tax practices there. This Bill would be providing a reward to a company who has been under allegations for tax aversion in the foreign trade zone. It would benefit foreign trade zone operations.

The Bill is potentially quite robust, and it is not what it is ouched out to be, an agricultural bill or an energy security bill. This Bill gives maybe, at best, $125 per acre. You're not going to get people producing for $125 an acre in Hawaii.

It's been scaled way back from what expectations were—100,000 acres down to 25,000 acres and you can barely make any fuel here in Hawaii. People have understood that for a long time. We've got to get realistic about it. So, really, this is a return to very few number of producers at—that make renewable fuels.

This Bill doesn't even open it up to importers and we know we're going to have to import for sustainable aviation fuel. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in person? Mr. Aki.

Thank you, Chair. Chair, Vice Chair, Members, Jacob Aki, on behalf of Alaska Hawaiian Airlines. We stand in strong support of this Bill and we did submit written comments.

You know, one thing that we did want to highlight about this Bill is that for us as a company, as Hawaii's hometown airline, as well as for the broader aviation industry, we support all, you know, all bills and all, all proposed policies that look at how do we incentivize staff. With the Navahine settlement with the state's energy goals, we recognize that the aviation industry is one of the largest carbon polluters in the transportation industry and mechanisms to promote and to incentivize the production and use of staff is something that we are very supportive of.

I know some of the previous comments that have been made about this Bill and about some of the other bills is that this is a handout to the airline. Part of my comments here today is to make it clear that the airline does not receive any of these tax incentives.

And even though we don't receive any of these tax incentives, we're still in strong support of the producers who would be able to produce SAF. If the state is serious about hitting its energy goals and hitting some of these things, SAF is going to play a major component.

And as we note in our testimony, similar to what other states have done, they provided tax incentives which have then spurred outside interest to then come in and to invest in this industry here.

What this Bill does also is provides an opportunity for local ag producers via cover crops, which is what is being looked at, to also home grow some of this fuel. So, we're in strong support of any Bill that looks to incentivize SAF and we are here to answer any questions that you folks might have. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in person? Go ahead.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Nahlani Parsons here on behalf of the Hawaii Renewable Fuels Coalition, testifying in strong support.

And I'll keep my comments short, just to clarify that the Administration or certificate is held by, would be determined by HSEO and they would do the proofing and the sort of verifying, and then they would submit that paperwork to DoTax. So, we're in strong support of this measure and available if you have any questions.

Okay, thank you. Anyone else in person? Go ahead.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. I'll try to do my best. I don't have my binder in front of me, so I'm gonna adopt 21st century technology.

You're looking like a millennial already. We're excited. We're excited.

On the lower end of the millennial. We've submitted testimony in support, and we've supported this effort in the past. And real briefly, Hawaii Farm Bureau, we support agriculture and we consider agriculture, food, feed, fiber, fuel, and floriculture. And again, the opportunities with SAF and renewable fuels for an additional crop, a potential new market for our farmers as a possible cover crop, using Camelina or whatever else they may come up with, is exciting for us.

And again, we support all agriculture. We know we need all of agriculture. We've taken a position in the past that we support the state's goal for renewable energy.

And so, we believe this is a, this could be a good nexus. And we know there's some—some pilots going on and some trials going on. Again, we support any effort to create new markets and as a cover crop that can help with soil remediation, we help with some invasive species issues.

We were just at another hearing when DOE was talking about their rotations for their pineapple and they follow some of the land. Again, there are opportunities out there and we think any incentive that can incentivize our farmers, we will support. So, again, thank you for the opportunity to testify and to pretend that I am a millennial.

Thank you.

Good work. Good work. Anyone else? Is there anyone on Zoom would like to provide testimony in this measure? Okay, we're going to move on. Actually, Members, questions on this item? If not, moving on to HB 1950, HD 1, relating to the Transient Accommodations Tax. Same story. Does anyone in person like to testify in this measure? If not, Mr. McClellan, you're here for 1950?

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair. Thank you so much for your time this afternoon. We stand mostly on our written testimony in support of HB 1950 and happy to offer any perspectives on behalf of the American Hotel Lodging Association and our policy partners at the Hawaii Hotel Alliance. If, if you so wish. Mahalo for your time.

We couldn't hear much of that. We're going to try to get the volume up. Yeah, go for it, though.

Can you hear me now, Chair?

That's better.

Awesome. Okay. Kekoa McClellan, on behalf of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and our policy partners, the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, in strong support of HB 1950. Happy to provide any comments that answer any questions regarding the industry support for this critical measure as it relates to promoting our industry, our state's largest industry, and we just appreciate your time today.

Great. Thank you. And just in case you guys couldn't hear that, basically just reiterating and standing on testimony. It is in our testimony packet if you wanted to take a look at that. Thank you very much. Is there anyone in person or anyone else on Zoom would like to testify? Anyone on zoom? No?

Okay, thank you very much. Members, questions on this item? Seeing none. We're moving on to HB 2094, HD 1, relating to jury duty. I don't think we have any testimony in our packet for this, but is there anyone in person who'd like to testify on this measure? Seeing none. I believe we have someone queued up from the Judiciary on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Michelle Acosta here on behalf of the Judiciary. This is part of the Judiciary's legislative package and we strongly support it. Available for any questions, if anybody has any. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else available on Zoom? I don't think so. Right? Okay. Any questions, Members? If not, we're going to move on to the—not the last one. It's the last on the page. All right.

You know, I don't know. It's late. HB2115HD1 relating to human services. Is there anyone in person who'd like to testify? Please proceed.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Hannah Lesiak and I'm testifying on behalf of the True Cost Coalition in strong support of this measure. This measure appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services for community based nonprofit organizations and contracts through that Department.

Out of our 80 plus community based nonprofit organizations, a number of them have governmental contracts that haven't seen increases in over 10 years. Our coalition alone serves 500,000 plus residents statewide every single year. So you could say you Know that our coalition serves as the safety net of Hawaii.

We deeply appreciate the funding that was provided in Act 310 last fall. But to be quite frank, and something that I want to make clear is that the federal funding cuts did not create a new problem. They exacerbated an old one. So we want to thank you for hearing this measure and I'm available for any questions. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else in person? Seeing none. Do we have anyone on Zoom? No. Okay. If not, we do have a number of pieces of testimony in our testimony packet from parents and children Together, from the Institute for Human Services, from Catholic Charities, Child and Family Service, Lina Du Wei, and from the True Cost Coalition and from an individual in support Members. Any questions on this item? If not, thank you very much.

We're going to move on to our last page. We have HB 2297, HD 1, relating to education. I don't think we have anything submitted online, but is there anyone in person who would like to testify in this measure?

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Heidi Armstrong, Department of Education. The Department stands on in support of this Bill. It is part of our administrative package, and this Bill updates the language of Section 302A-433 Hawaii Revised Statutes, to align with the Federal Adult Education and Family Literacy Act requirements. We're available for any questions.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

All right, thank you. Anyone else in person? Go ahead.

...We stand in strong support.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone on Zoom available to testify on this measure? No. Okay. Members, do we have any questions? If not, we're going to go on to HB2336HD1 relating to federal military installations, an ominous title for Department of Transportation Bill. Do we have the Department in person? Please proceed.

Thank you. Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee, this Bill is part of our admin package. And you're right, it is kind of unusual that we would be involved in doing improvements to military installations. But what it really does is it brings in more federal dollars to the state. It provides for.

You know, several years ago, we started this kind of innovative way of contracting with this IDIQ method, or indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity. So we're really able to move very quickly on maintenance type projects like payment improvements to the roadway, payment improvements to airfield striping signage on these installations.

Like I said, some of the other benefits for the state is it provides jobs for contractors that are involved in trades. I'm here for any questions. Okay, thank you.

Anyone else on this measure? Anyone on Zoom? If not Members. Questions on HB2336HD1 from Hartsfield.

Thank you, Chair, for DOT. I'm trying to better explain this Bill, so can you share with us some examples of projects that DOT would do on these federal military installations?

So. Exactly. If there's a DoD installation that has an airfield, you know, we would be able to quickly get our IDIQ contractor to mobilize to do any kind of maintenance, whether it's pavement repairs, any kind of striping related to that, any kind of guardrail repairs. And I forgot to mention one more thing.

What we would get in return is 10% of all of the invoices that are that are sent to our contractors, and that's just supposed to be provided as an administrative fee. Another example is a military installation. Maybe it's Joint Base Pearl harbor system, and they have a roadway that needs some maintenance.

We would have our contractors, you know, through these military agreements, our contractors go out and do pavement repairs or any other repairs as well.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Anyone else? All right, thank you. Moving on to the actual last item, we have HB2416HD1 relating to a maritime youth apprenticeship pathway program. I don't believe we have any testimony in our packet, but is there anyone who'd like to testify? Chamber?

Chamber stands on ... testimony, and we will submit testimony.

All good. Thank you very much. Anyone else in person, if not anyone on Zoom? Members, do we have any questions on this item? If not, we're going to recess and we'll reconvene for decision making. Got to briefly consult with someone and then have a couple people show up for hope. All right, recess.

Aloha, everyone. We're convening for decision making on our 2 PM Thursday, March 5th agenda here in Conference Room 308. Committee on Finance opening up with HB 1977 HD1 relating to health. Recommendation is to move as is. Are there questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 1977 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. [vote is called]. Recommendation is adopted.

Thank you.

HB 1764 HD1 relating to the Music Accessibility Pilot program Recommendation to move as is Questions or comments Seeing None Vice Chair

HB 1764 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended noting the excused absence of Representative Peruso who will be noted as absent as excused for the remainder of this agenda unless otherwise announced. Are there any reservations? Any no votes Recommendations adopt Thank you

HB 1934 HD1 relating to libraries. Recommendation to move as is. Questions or comments? Seeing none.

HB 1934 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. HB 2533 HD1 relating to education. Recommendation to move as is. Questions? Comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 2533 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

HB 1790 HD2 relating to policing. Recommendation to move as is. Questions? Comments? Seeing none.

HB 1790 HD2 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? [reservations given]. Any other reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. HB 2181 HD1 relating to the Judiciary. Recommendation to move as is. Any questions? Comments? Seeing none.

HB 2181- 2181 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendation adopted.

For HB 1870 HD2 relating to protected community locations. Recommendation to move as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 1870 HD 2 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? [reservations given]. Nobody else and no votes for Reps Alcos and Gideon. Any other no votes? Recommendations adopted?

Thank you. Moving on to HB 2140 HD2 relating to essential permitting positions. Recommendation to move as is. Questions? Comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

HB 2140 HD2 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. For HB2468HD1 relating to internship programs. Recommendation will be to move as is. I just want to note we're not going to include in the Committee report, but there are some concerns from the Attorney General.

We don't quite have the time as we're up against the deadline to address them, but you know, there's some good suggested amendments in there that can be taken up to clean some stuff up yet. Recommendation to move as is. Questions or comments? Seeing none.

HB2468HD1 recommendations to pass. Unamended. Any reservations? Reservations for Clarksville. Any other reservations? Any no votes? Recommendations adopted.

Okay, thank you. Next we have HB2358. The recommendation will be to move this Forward as an HD2. We have some technical amendments and we also like to adopt the suggested amendments provided by the Governor's office. This is relating to retirement, partly to address the concerns of the ERs. Any questions or comments? Seeing none. VIce Chair

HB2358HD ... Recommendations to pass with amendments. Any reservations, reservations? Reservations for Reverend Alos and Gideon. zero, and sorry. Reservations for Alos and Reyes Oda Any no votes. No vote. For Rep. Gideon. Reservations Any no votes. Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. On HB 1588, HD 1, relating to the Department of Transportation, recommendation to move as is. Questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. For HD 1688, HD 1, relating to a general excise tax exemption for aircraft maintenance, recommendation to move as is. Questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

[Roll Call]

HB 1986, HD 2, relating to a clean fuel standard. The recommendation will be to move this as is. I think this is another one of those kind of big picture things that has a lot of moving parts, and we have to address some of the concerns about cost increases.

But hope would be that the conversation continues in the Senate. Any questions or comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair. Oh, sorry. As is, yes.

[Roll Call]

Similarly for HB 2030, HD 2, relating to transportation affordability, you know, there's merit to the concept and the hope would be that after crossover they can flesh some of this out and maybe find, find something that'll work out and avoid passing on costs to people who maybe we shouldn't be passing it on to.

But it's a good conversation starter. Recommendation would be to move as is. Questions? Comments? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

[Roll Call]

Recommendations adopted for HB2195HD1 going to recommend that this moves as is. This is another one of those things where things are a little bit in flux with a lawsuit on a newly implemented tax on the cruise ship. Step on the green fees.

I think it's important that we have some sort of vehicle alive should we get more information on that suit through the course of session. So the recommendation would be to move this forward as is. Questions or comments? Seeing None.

Vice Chair HB2195HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Reservations for Gideon. Any other reservations? Any no votes?

No vote for Rep Alcos. Okay.

No.

Recommendations adopted for HB 1949 HD1 relating to the green fee. I would tend to agree that the green fee dashboard should probably be funded by the green fee. But again, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna keep things moving. The. For what it's worth, the green fee budget is basically just gonna be part of the budget.

But when we do go over the budget Bill, we will be flagging those additions to the budget. So there will be transparency and it will be read out and it will be visible in that way. And I think there's some funding in there for project tracking and we're trying to work on a solution within that proposal.

But recommendation for now would be to move it forward as is. Questions or comments? Seeing None. Vice Chair

HB 1949 HD1 recommendations to pass unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes. No vote for Rep. Alcos. Any other No votes?

HB 1695 HD2. You know, similar to some of these other things, I think there's value in the conversation and working out how we would potentially subsidize something like this. The recommendation would be to move it forward as is.

But given our current fiscal challenges, I think it's a really, really tough ask for the state to step into something like this, particularly for private industry in a year where we're going to be asking a lot of A lot of people.

So, you know, there are some concerns, but I think it's a valuable conversation that we need to keep alive in the Senate. Recommendation to move as is. Questions? Comments? Seeing None Vice Chair

HB 1695 HD Two recommendations to pass Unamended. Any reservations? Reservations? Reservations for Rep. Alcos Hartsfield. Any other reservations?

Any no votes recommendations adopted HB 1950 HD1 relating to the Transient Accommodations Tax. Recommendation to move as is. Any questions or comments? Seeing None Vice Chair

HB 1950 HD1 recommendations to pass Unamended. Any reservations? Any no votes.

HB2094HD1 relating to jury duty. Recommendation to move as is. Questions? Comments?

HB2094HD1 recommendations to pass Unamended. Any reservations? Recommendations adopted

For HB2115HD1 related to human services. You know, and I've shared these concerns with others, including with the Administration, but I don't really think it's the legislature's role to be stepping into these contracting concerns.

However, again, I think there's value in continuing to bring attention to the fact that many of these organizations have seen dramatic increase in their costs, but not in their contract values.

So the plan would be to move this forward as is, but I will be continuing with the Administration so that we can find a kind of better way to approach this down the road. Recommendation to move as is. Questions or comments Seeing None Vice Chair

HB2115HD1 recommendations to pass Unamended. Any reservations? Recommendations adopted

Any no votes recommendations adopted HB2297HD1 relating to education Recommendation to move as is Questions or comments Seeing None Vice Chair

HB2297HD1 recommendations to pass on amended. Any reservations? Any no votes recommendations adopted

HB2336HD1 relating to federal military installations Recommendation to move as is Questions or comments Seeing none Vice Chair zero, sorry. zero, we're good. If you'd like to discuss any specific details.

HB 2,336 HD1 recommendations to pass UN amended. Any reservations? Any no votes Recommendations adopted .

HB2416HD1 relating to a maritime youth apprenticeship pathway program. Recommendation to move as is. Any questions? Comments Seeing None Vice Chair

HB2416HD1 recommendations passed on amended. Any reservations? Any no votes Recommendations adopted Okay, we're

back to HB2049HD2 relating to housing, which we previously taken up on a prior agenda. I'm going to read through this as concisely as I can. And we do have Chair Evslyn here in case anyone has any technical questions or if I mess this up. Okay, here's the proposed HD3, which is in front of you.

Okay. Solid. Okay, here we have, I'd say, four major amendments. First Amendment is we're going to update the tax rates in Section 3 for owner occupied residential rates.