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Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore-Mililani Mauka) took over as the powerful Ways and Means chairman Friday after political jockeying during the last days of this year’s legislative session led to the ouster of Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe) from the post.
The committee shake-up, which had been expected since last week, as well as other assignments, was made official by Senate President Ron Kouchi (D, Kauai-Niihau) on Friday.
The Ways and Means Committee oversees all appropriation and tax measures in the Senate, providing the chairman or chairwoman with enormous leverage over almost all issues that move through the Legislature.
Legislators have pointed to contentious debates over how to fund the Honolulu rail project as the cause of Tokuda’s removal from the chairmanship, though Tokuda told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week that while rail may have been the catalyst, it was essentially a power grab.
Tokuda isn’t being left without a committee. The Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee has been divided in two, with Tokuda heading the Labor Committee and Sen. Brian Taniguchi (D, Makiki-Tantalus-Manoa) at the helm of the Judiciary panel.
In other changes, Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran (D, Waihee-Wailuku-Kahului) has been made vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a position that had been held by Dela Cruz.
Sen. Kai Kahele (D, Hilo), who helped lead the Senate reorganization effort, is now majority whip, a position that was also held by Dela Cruz.
This year’s legislative session ended last week and isn’t scheduled to resume until January. However, lawmakers could be called back in for a special session if there are signs that they can come to an agreement on how to further fund the $10 billion rail project.
Lawmakers closed this year’s session without agreeing on a funding measure and having staked out sharply divergent positions.
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