Senate Standing Committee on Government Operations

Convene and Conference Room 225 Hawaii State Capital 415 South Veritania. This meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event, we have to abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties. The committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business at 03:30pm, Thursday, 04/02/2026 in Room 225 with a public notice being posted on the legislature's website. In order to facilitate the hearing in a timely manner, which I don't think we'll have a problem doing, we'll be enforcing a one minute testimony timer because they're resolutions.

However, if the conversation is, you know, really getting into some substantive issues, then we'll obviously let the testimony continue. Feel free to, stand on your written testimony because we have copies of it. With that, we're gonna go off right away to s c R177, SR172. We'll take them together. First up, we have and this is, by the way, requesting Department of Accounting General Services to convene a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting.

First up, we have Department of Accounting and General Services.

Here we send our written testimony in support.

Thank you very much for being here. That is all we have on this measure. Anybody have any questions with DAGs in trying to help us get permitting prioritized for state projects? I didn't think so. So we'll move on to the next one, SR 37, which companion SR 36.

First up, this is okay. Just to read it out because it is a rezo. This is requesting Department of Accounting and General Services to conduct a study on the cost and benefits of creating an office of the state architect. We have, DAGS.

Here we send our written testimony providing comments.

Thank you so much for those comments. That's all we have on '37 and '36. Anybody in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none, members, any questions of DAGs? Seeing none, we'll move on to the next one, SCR 86.

And this is requesting state all state agencies to utilize bi level lighting systems and all newly constructed state buildings and facilities beginning 01/01/2027. First up, we have, DAGS.

Here we stand on our testimony provided comments.

You so much. And we do appreciate your amendments too. We also have state energy office. Okay. Thank you so much.

We also have Department of Land and Natural Resources written in support. Citizens Climate Lobby,

they have submitted written in support. And then late from Sophia Park Climate Future Forum,

written in support. That's all I have for these rezos. Is there anybody in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none, members questions of DAGs or any of the testifiers? No.

You can go ahead, Senator Warren.

No. No. Oh, no.

You're saying aye. Okay. Alright. With that, we will move on to SCR 122. And this request, each state agency to provide the affected persons the written notice of certain information before taking any final admin action that materially or vets adversely affects a protected liberty of property interest.

First up, we have Department of Agriculture and bios biosecurity. Thank you so much. We appreciate that. We also have Department of Education. They have submitted written comments, and that's all we have on the resos.

Is there anybody wishing to testify on them at all in the audience? Seeing none, members questions at all? Yes. Senate Warren Watson.

Okay. Department of Agriculture, you have mentioned that you have, problems with this resolution. Can you identify some of the problems? Okay.

Sorry. Hi, Riley. Department of Agriculture, Biosecurity. We feel that the there's already policies in place to, you know, have them do their jobs, so we'll defer to them. And then once they've If they're already issued, then we can help out with that.

So you feel this is necessary?

Stand on our comments, and I could go back to our, subject matter experts to discuss more with them and get back to you.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you very much, Senator. Any other questions? If not, I believe we have quorum

them so we can go right into decision making.

That is the last resolution that I have on the agenda. So we'll go right into it. Give me one second here. Okay. First one we had today was SCR 177, SR 172.

Recommendation given of support and only support is to move it as is. Members, questions, comments? If not, vice chair, SCR 177 SR 172. I vote yes.

Chair votes aye. Vice chair votes aye. Senator Hashimoto? Aye. Senator Moriwaki?

Senator Aye. Measure is adopted.

Aye.

Okay. Thank you very much. SCR 37 and SR 36, while it's a good conversation and there was a bill marrying this, given the comments of DAGS, there's no funding for a study at this point. So we're gonna defer the resolution. Plural.

Next up, SCR 86 SR 77 requesting all state agencies to utilize bilevel lighting. Recommendation here is we're gonna adopt the language from DAGS that state buildings and facilities, the design of which is finalized on or after 01/01/2028, use bi level lighting. And we'll amend the title to reflect the changes as well. So members, any questions or comments? If not, vice chair, SCR 86, SR 77, Senate draft one, I vote yes.

To with amendments? With amendments?

With amendments. Yes, sir. Sorry.

Recommendations to pass SCR 86 and SR 77 with amendments. All members present, are there any no votes or reservations? Hearing none, the measure is adopted.

Okay. Thank you. Last one, SCR 122 SR 114. Well, I think this is an important conversation given the things going on and I am a co primary introducer. I don't think the requisite support for this measure is there.

Given the time frame, we can't work on it. So we're gonna defer this measure unfortunately for this year. And that I believe concludes the hearing on the resolutions for GBA only. Okay. Aloha.

Welcome back, everybody. Joint hearing, GBO Health and Human Services, Tuesday, 03/31/202603:05PM, Conference Room 225. If anything happens, we'll post a notice of a reconvene to discuss those issues. One two resos on the measure, ser 87, sr 79, encouraging the state to examine requiring automatic external defibrillators in all state owned buildings and pursue existing automated external defibrillator programs. I can never pronounce that word. So don't make me do it again. Alright. First up, we have State Health Planning and Development Agency.

Aloha, chairs, vice chairs, members. As you might expect, we stand in strong support.

Thank you so much for being here, sir. Appreciate it. We also have Department of Education. They have submitted written in support. We have American Heart Association.

Alright. Thank you for submitting that testimony, sir. Brian Lee, Hawaii Lesset. They are in strong support.

Dear Vice Chair, members of the committee, select for the opportunity to testify today and make heart stand on and strong support with testimonies.

Garrett Hall, Department of Health, also in support. And then Ryan Gomes, an individual weighing in in support. That's all I've got on this measure. Is there anybody else wishing to testify? Dags?

Yeah. Uh-oh.

Chair, vice chair, members. We did submit I thought we did submit our testimony on this measure. I apologize if it did not get transmitted to the committee, but we do strongly support this measure. I just wanted to share that, we have been doing some incredible work as it relates to installing AEDs throughout the entire state of Hawaii. In fact, all of our neighbor island district offices have completed the installation of AEDs and training in DAGS managed facilities.

So we're ahead of schedule. We had anticipated that we would be complete by the end of this calendar year. I think we're gonna be complete by the end of the prior to the end of this fiscal year. So, we're thinking that, Oahu, which is the last, should be completed by July from what I'm being told. So we're very excited about that.

All told, we'll have a 162 of these units installed in DAGS manage. Only I'm saying DAGS managed because I just wanna make it clear that

No. No. No. We understand that.

Only controls the facilities that it has, assigned to it. So, anyways, it's a great program. We strongly support this, and the, the training that we've been providing has been extremely effective. It's broken down a lot of barriers.

The critical thing was it. You know,

people are afraid of this equipment. You know, at least they just don't really understand how to use it. But going through the training, and I've also attended the training for our building, it's really opened people's eyes to, you know, this valuable piece of equipment.

Important to avoid standby syndrome. Yep. Where everybody stands and watches the person in distress thinking the other person is gonna do it.

Exactly. So yeah. So we're in support.

Thank you very much. Very much. I appreciate you weighing in. Anybody else on this measure? Seeing none, you wanna just go right into the decision making there, co chair?

That's fine.

Okay. Sounds good. Recommendation on these resolutions, given all support, no request for amendments is to go as is. Members, questions, comments? If not, government operations recommendation as is on both measures.

I vote yes.

Okay. For GBO, chair votes nine, vice chair votes nine, Senator Hashimoto. Okay. So I Senator Moriwaki.

Senator Moriwaki. We good? The jury is adopted. Okay. Thank you.

So for HHS, same recommendation. Acting vice chair, send us to no other vote.

To pass unamended, chair San Buenaventura. Aye. Senator McKelvey. Aye. I vote aye.

Senator Keohokalole is excused. Senator Fevella is excused for both measures. Recommendations adopted.

Alright. Thanks, guys. This was fun.