A look at the bills lawmakers approved — and didn’t — this year

State lawmakers wrapped up the 2019 session of the Legislature last week, adjourning after approving bills to decriminalize marijuana, launch new state-funded preschools and switch to mail-in voting for all elections beginning in 2020.

By Thursday’s close of business, lawmakers had also approved a controversial bill to require that transient vacation platforms such as Airbnb collect taxes from both legal and illegal vacation rental operators on behalf of the state, and approved a measure designed to require real estate investment trusts, or REITs, to pay corporate income tax in Hawaii.

But lawmakers failed to adopt measures that would have increased the state minimum wage, which will remain at $10.10 an hour in Hawaii for at least another year.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Capitol Bureau has summarized those measures and dozens more in a quick update on Page B4 that details how the 60-working-day session played out.

The measures approved by state lawmakers this year will now be submitted to Gov. David Ige, who has the option of signing them into law, vetoing the bills or allowing them to become law without his signature. Lawmakers can override the veto of any bill with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

In the weeks ahead, individuals and organizations will be lobbying Ige to persuade him to veto bills they oppose or sign measures they support.

To let Ige know your views on a bill, send him a message at governor.hawaii.gov by clicking on “Submit Comments on Legislation,” or call 586-0034.

How major bills fared at th… by on Scribd