Senate Floor

Will the Senate please come to order? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

[Roll Call] 24 present, one excused.

Thank you. The Chair has read the journal of the preceding day and approves the same. Are there any introductions this morning? Senator Rhodes, did you have an introduction?

Well, I have Mr. President, thank you. I have a whole bunch of introductions, so, bear with me. I'm seeing the gallery, acting chief justice McKenna, former chief justice Recktenwald, former justice Duffy, former judge Robert Kim.

Could you all stand and be recognized, please? Also, from the intermediate court of appeals, we have chief judge Karen Nakasone, associate judges Keith Hiraoka, Clyde Wadsworth, Sonya McClellan, and Kimberly Guidry, please rise and be recognized.

And, also, I believe my predecessor is directly behind me. Susie Chun Oakland, are you here? Yes. Former senators Chun Oakland. And I think direct administrative director of the courts, Brandon Kimura, is still here too.

Are you? Yes. There he is. And and then, last and certainly not least, Ken Takayama, former LRB director. I think he's here too. Oh, there he is. Welcome. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Further introduction, Senator Inouye and Senator Elefante.

Thank you, Mr. President. It's my pleasure to introduce a constituent of mine, former House of Representative Richard Onishi. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.

Senator Elefante.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today, the senate is pleased to join the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii hosting the Hawaii's industry led sector partnerships showcase day at the Capitol.

The chamber sector partnerships represent seven critical sectors driving Hawaii's economy from clean energy, creative industries, engineering, health care, natural resources, technology, and transportation.

To highlight the urgency of this work, the healthcare industry alone currently faces more than 4,000 job openings statewide. Through sector partnerships, employers are working together to strengthen training pathways, expand local talent pipelines,

and remove systematic barriers to hiring. And members and the general public, I note that today from 1-3 on the 4th Floor, exhibitors will share workforce data, hiring demands, and policy barriers affecting business growth through interactive exhibits and

direct conversations with lawmakers. So please join them in the gallery for sector partnerships as they lead in as lead industry representatives are here.

So when I call your name, if you could please stand, to be recognized and I ask that those that are in the audience to please hold their applause until all have been recognized. If you're from the clean energy sector, please stand.

Creative industry sector, engineering sector, healthcare sector, natural resources sector, technology sector, transportation sector and if you're also here for today's event, please stand.

Let's give them a round of applause. And Mr. President also, in the gallery, you may be seated. Thank you. We have the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii team in the gallery. We have president and CEO Sherry Menor.

Vanessa Rogers, vice president of workforce development. Tonga Hopoi, vice president of policy and public affairs. Nadia Holt, associate director of community impact and we also have Jeannie Lum, assistant director of workforce development.

Thank you so much for coordinating today's event. And, Mr. President at the appropriate time I ask that their names be inserted into the journal.

So ordered further introduction.

And one more introduction, Mr. President. I do see a former colleague of mine who was a long time state Senator, but also served on the Honolulu City Council is we have, councilwoman Anne Kobayashi. If you could please rise to be recognized. Thank you, Mr. President.

Further introductions? Thank you.

For the Go ahead.

Thank you. I see a former colleague as well, Senator Charlie Taguchi. Welcome back to the Senate. Mister Simeon.

Senator Richards.

Thank you, Mr. President. I see we have former governor Abercrombie up in the gallery for us.

Senator Kanuha.

Thank you, Mr. President. I also see in the gallery, current council chair, Holaka Inaba. If you could please stand. For Hawaii County.

Is there anybody in the gallery we haven't introduced yet? With all the former electives, we also have former house majority leader, Blake Oshiro. Senator Keohokalole, your introduction, please.

Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you, colleagues, for doing a lot of my work for me already. Mr. President, I rise to commend and honor Robert Bob Toyofuku for an exceptional career spanning nearly five decades.

Will Bob and, his wife, Lynn, please rise and be recognized. Mr. President, throughout his service to the people of Hawaii, Bob has been a highly respected attorney, advocate, and lobbyist.

Known as both a guiding and grounding voice in the legislative process. His work has consistently reflected integrity, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to the public good. We not only recognize a distinguished career,

but also honor a legacy grounded in key priorities that have shaped Hawaii for the better. Protecting public health, advancing compassionate end of life care, and strengthening consumer rights and fairness within our legal system.

I've known Bob for almost the entirety of my, career as an attorney and, public servant. And I've especially appreciated his attempts to outreach and, and, just provide clarity to the system for the broader community.

As many of you know, you have served as panelists for his Pacific Law Institute's annual legislative seminars, which really shine, shine a light on not only the latest happenings at the legislature, which are often really hard for, you know,

regular working folks to keep track of every year, but also meaningful discussions about the process, which is something that I hold very dear because the process is designed to allow the public to access these levers of power.

And unless people, unless lay people understand the process, then it doesn't matter at all. And so the fact that year after year, Bob has, taken it upon himself to just shine a light on what the legislature does, why this process is set up the way it is to provide an access point

and a fair way for people to come in and make change happen, I thought is a critical service to the community that really, you have not been given enough credit for.

I've also really, I, really appreciated and come to try and emulate Bob's candid approach. Always cool under pressure. Always civil and respectful in dialogue, but still able to convey the passion that's necessary to make things happen and to advocate for good policy.

I remember as a new rank and file Democrat in the House when I first got elected, Bob would come and try and advocate for bills that I really had no understanding of because I was brand new and didn't realize what was going on.

And one day, because I was getting tired and I really didn't understand the subject matter, I just asked him, okay. You guys want the bill to go this way. What does the other side think?

And he very calmly just made the case for the opposition that he was advocating against. And then, in a very effective and professional manner, concluded by stating the reason why I should still support his position.

And he did it so effectively, that I came out of the meeting not just wanting to agree with him, but with a better comfort for myself on how I could explain the issue to my constituents.

And I think people outside the legislature sometimes underappreciate how valuable that is, not just for the advocates who come in to convince us what they think is right, but for us as legislators who have to absorb so much every single year,

often in the form of 3,000 different concepts introduced as bills that we don't always understand or have any perspective on, as members of the public.

So to have someone who can come in and just respectfully and calmly explain these often complex and very, emotional issues to us regular people who serve on behalf of the public is such an underappreciated skill and value, for the public.

And that's, that's what you've done, Bob. And I think it's a practice and a style that should be emulated by not just all of us legislators here who advocate for public policy, but for everybody who's involved.

The folks who get paid, but the folks who just come because they, because they believe in the system and they care about making change in our community. So thank you for setting an example and showing us the way.

You have a well deserved retirement ahead of you. Mrs. Toyofuku, you deserve to have him back. So, I'm happy to be here, to just provide a little moment for all of us to recognize you and your work over the years. I would also like to take a second to recognize your kids.

Bob's son Zach and his wife Christina Toyofuku are in the audience. Can you please rise? And Bob's other son Steven Toyofuku is also here. I now yield the floor to the Senator from District 25.

Senator Lee.

Thank you, Mr. President. While Senator Keohokalole had suggested, that you are gonna have a wonderful retirement, if you did wanna serve on any boards or commissions, I'm sure we're happy to arrange.

You know, for over fifty years, Bob's expertise, civility, and commitment to the public interest have earned him the respect of lawmakers, colleagues, and community members exactly as, the prior speaker had mentioned.

I wanna share just a couple stories because I think I quickly learned coming into this building the manner in which people can operate and the tone that people can set and the class they can do it with.

And there's no better way to see that and feel that in real terms than actually being staff here because not everybody is going to engage an elected official the same way as they engage staff.

And for many years, I served multiple other elected officials in that capacity sitting at the front desk answering the phones. But one person stood out and that was Bob because no matter what he had to see you about or what request there was,

he would treat you just as he would the elected official themselves. And that level of class is something that I was blown away by.

That transpired and and transcended staff and my time serving in elected office, I got to see the other end of that, which was that same level of, respect, that same level of civility, as the prior speaker mentioned.

And not only was he good at that, at the explanations and at talking to you and explaining why something is good or bad, but when he had to do it, and when he had to kill a bill, he was exceptionally good at doing it with a smile, with respect,

so much so that sometimes you forget that it's your bill he just killed, but you can't help but respect that. And that's something that we all ought to learn from and I think I've learned from because we're not all gonna win them, win them all.

We're gonna we're gonna lose probably more than we win, but we do it with respect no matter who it is that's in the process. And then we come back to fight another day to work together because at the end of the day, we are in this together.

But beyond that level of, I think, really setting the bar high for everyone in this building, Bob, over the years, has been involved in so many different things. He's been a steadfast champion for the protection and expansion of consumer and injured plaintiff's rights,

strengthening laws and safeguards for consumers, and striving to ensure fairness and accountability in business practices and in our courts, while uplifting and supporting continuing education for his colleagues.

And it's not just what he did here in his official capacity, but the amount of time and energy he put into things that were important as ever, but that he did out of his own goodwill, without pay, without recognition, without anything but the care for wanting to get something done.

Years ago, when, AEDs were first introduced, right, portable defibrillators that could save a life in a moment when someone's having a heart attack or some other situation, there was no legal framework for that.

Revolutionary technology that could save lives, but no way to actually get it into the hands of the people who could do the saving. And Bob took it upon himself without a contract, without pay, to help right the situation and get through all the morass and everything

else that plagues a lot of these perennial issues that we face here without solution and took it on himself. Ended up passing a law together with the American Heart Stroke Association and, other stakeholders, pushing that through.

And the very next year, as our police department here in Oahu, HPD, ended up, having them in their cars, one of the very first people whose lives was saved as a result was the chief of police who collapsed.

But because there was an AED available in a car nearby, they were able to save his life. And as the state rolled out its program at airports where you had AEDs in airports, just in the first few years, over 60 people were saved by them because of something that

ultimately Bob had helped enable. Bob's here for the same reasons and no lesser reason than any of us are, because we wanna make a difference, because we wanna help, because we wanna do good. And for fifty years, Bob has set that precedent and set that bar high.

We should all aspire to that level of commitment, engagement, and longevity. Thank you for what you've done, Bob, and congratulations on your retirement.

So I'm gonna let you know that we're not yielding the floor to anybody else. We need to get mister Toyofuku over to the house at noon. We're going to recess given the length of the contemplation and the amount of introductions and the prior two speeches.

Anybody else who wants to add their warm greetings or personal stories with Bob Toyofuku, I am authorizing the clerk to have written remarks entered into the journal on behalf of any other member who has something to say will take a brief recess.

Senator Lee, you had something else?

No. Thank you. I was just gonna yield the floor.

Will the Senate please come to order. Madam Clerk.

Standing committee report numbers 3141 to 3166 for adoption.

Senator Wakai.

Mr. President, I move for the adoption of standing committee reports numbers 3141 to 3166.

Senator DeCorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

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

On page five, advise and consent.

If there are no objections from the Members, we'll be taking advise and consent on consent.

Standing committee report numbers 3122 and 3123 on governor's messages for adoption.

Is there any discussion? If not, do we have unanimous consent? Any reservations? Any no votes?

24 Ayes.

Thank you. The nominees for said governor's messages have been confirmed.

Mr. President.

Senator Rhoads.

May I be allowed, two late introductions?

Please proceed.

Governor's message five zero six, miss Lani Ewart, who we just confirmed, has graciously volunteered her time for decades, having served on the commission to promote uniform legislation for 49 years since 1977.

She's also a life member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for twenty eight years. If you if if you could please stand, and sitting next to her in the gallery is mister Michael Tonoy.

Mister Tonoy has been confirmed to his second term on the commission to promote uniform legislation, having been a member since 2022. You could stand till you'd be recognized.

Thank you.

Standing committee report number 3124 and governor's message number 725. Daniel M Gluck, gubernatorial appointee as associate judge for the intermediate court of appeals for adoption.

Is there any discussions? Senator Rhodes.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of governor's message 725.

Please proceed.

Thank you. Mister Gluck began his legal career here in Honolulu as a legal intern with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii.

He returned after graduation for two clerkships, first for the honorable James Duffy who was an associate justice on the Hawaii Supreme Court, followed by clerking for Michael, Judge Michael Sebright on the United States District Court.

Both jurors testified in support of mister Gluck's appointment to the ICA as did US attorney US district attorney I'm sorry.

US district court judge Jill Otake, US magistrate judge, Ken Mansfield Kenneth Mansfield, and Selena Kanai, the federal public defender for the District Of Hawaii.

Mister Gluck's career includes nine years with the Hawaii office of the American Civil Liberties Union, first as a senior staff attorney and then as legal director.

Then in 2016, he was appointed executive director and general counsel for the State Ethics Commission. Since 2022, he has worked as a deputy corporation counsel for the city and county of Honolulu where he advises city agencies on litigation and non-litigation

matters with a focus on constitutional and administrative law. He has advised the board of directors for Hart, the Honolulu Police Department, the office of the mayor, and other city departments and litigated city cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,

the US District Court, the Hawaii Supreme Court, and the ICA. In 2025, mister Gluck was recognized as an outstanding deputy corporation counsel.

The office of the mayor and the corporation counsel testified in support of his appointment as well. For the last ten years, mister Gluck has also volunteered his time as a pro bono attorney with Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii, where among other cases,

he successful argued a quiet title case on behalf of a lineal and cultural descendant. He additionally is a co leader of a Girl Scout troop where he is the important role of cookie manager.

Mister Gluck is a graduate of Cornell University from where he received a bachelor of science degree in industrial and labor relations and Harvard Law School where he was a Boston Schweitzer Fellow. After having reviewed the testimony,

all of which was in support of the appointment and other materials submitted to the committee and having examined the appointee in a hearing, your judiciary committee finds that Daniel M.

Clark is qualified to serve as an associate just judge of the intermediate court of appeals and recommends the Senate consent to the appointment. Mahalo.

Thank you. Any further discussion? If not, do we have unanimous consent? Any reservations? Any no votes?

No votes Senators Awa, Decourt, and Fevella.

21 Ayes, 3 Noes.

Thank you. Daniel M Gluck has been confirmed as associate judge for the intermediate court of appeals. Senator Rhodes.

Thank you, mister president. I'm pleased to introduce the new associate judge for the Intermediate Court of Appeals, Daniel Gluck. Please stand. Judge Gluck would like to recognize some of his guests. When I announce your name, please stand and be recognized.

Deborah Zeisman, the judge's wife. Their son, Elliot. The judges in law, Sharon and Bernie. And colleagues from the Department of the Corporation Counsel, Corporation Counsel, Dana Viola, first deputy corporation counsel Renee Sinobe Hong,

and I believe I see US District Court Judge Sebright sitting there too as well. If you could all stand and be recognized. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. At the conclusion of our session today, the sergeant will escort, judge Gluck and his family and friends to the floor to be greeted by the members and for pictures. Madam clerk.

Referrals and re referrals.

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

No further business, Mr. President.

Are there any announcements today, Senator Fukunaga?

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to request a waiver of the public notice requirement pursuant to rule Senate rule 21 to hold a hearing on House Bill 2582 which got, kind of compressed during last week's, storm related activities.

Twenty 581 Senator I mean, House Bill 2581 House Draft 2. Right?

The waiver is granted, Senator Fukunaga.

That's correct.

Thank you.

Any further announcements? Senator Kim.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to request a waiver of the public hearing notice requirement pursuant to Senate rule 21 to hold a hearing on House bill 2567 House draft one. Due to the weather issues affecting our deadlines, it was inadvertently missed.

The waiver is granted, Senator Kim.

Thank you. Your committee on education will hold a public hearing on House bill 2567 House draft one on Wednesday, March 25 at 01:12PM in Conference Room 229. The notice was filed in the clerk's office this morning.

Thank you. Any further announcements? Senator Gabbard?

Mr. President, I rise on a point of personal privilege to recognize National Agriculture Day.

Please proceed.

This year marks my tenth year chairing the Agriculture Environment Committee. And one thing that has remained clear to me, agriculture is foundational in Hawaii. It's about feeding our people, Malama Aina, and taking care of each other.

Our farmers and ranchers face real challenges, but they continue to show up every day doing the work. If you haven't seen the Civil Beat article today, check it out and learn about the impact the recent storms have had on agriculture.

So on this National Agriculture Day, please take a moment to recognize and say mahalo to all who work the land and feed our communities. Mahalo nui loa and mahalo Kia kua.

Thank you. Further announcements? Senator San Buenaventura.

Thank you, Senate president. I advise on on a point of personal privilege.

Please proceed.

I would like to thank, Big Island Invasive Species as well as all the volunteers who after 2014, the cell caused so much devastation to my district in the island of Hawaii. They rose to a challenge and they cut down a number of albizia trees.

And because of what they have done and what the volunteers have done, we did not suffer as much damage as we did in 2014. And for those reasons, I thank them.

Thank you. Further announcements, Senator DeCoite?

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise on a point of personal privilege.

Please proceed.

On behalf of myself, Senator Kidani, and the women's legislative caucus, I wanna thank each of you for the donations of your Easter baskets yesterday. I don't have an account that came in, but we wanna thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Mahalo for all your donations. Thank you.

Thank you. Any further announcements, Senator Rhodes?

I'll be permitted one late introduction.

Well, now let's make sure everybody in the gallery.

I'm pretty sure this will be the last one. I just wanted to reintroduce my long time legislative attorney, Jesse Fague, who's been very helpful with these confirmations. Thank you.

Any further announcements? If not, the Chair has one. There will be a leadership meeting, in the Room 409 immediately after session. Senator Wakai.

Mister president, I move that the Senate stand adjourned until 11:30AM tomorrow.

Senator Decorte.

Mr. President, I second the motion.

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