Unusual Hawaii legislative session ends, but much work remains at Capitol

The state House on Friday used a procedural maneuver to kill bills that would have outlawed large-capacity rifle magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and would have imposed tighter controls on the sale or disposal of firearms after the deaths of the legal owners.

The last day of the unusual legislative session also saw Gov. David Ige withdraw his nomination of Rona Suzuki to lead the state Department of Taxation, while two of Ige’s other nominees — Christopher Yuen for another term on the state Board of Land and Natural Resources and Damien Elefante to chair the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board — were the subject of considerable debate and polite criticism on the Senate floor Friday before each was approved by a 16-9 vote.

Even though the session technically ended, much work remains at the state Capitol, which still is closed to the public.

Both the House and Senate special committees looking at the state’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic have hearings scheduled for next week to figure out how to plan for both on- going infections and the economic fallout.

“We’re going to still be working, beginning Monday,” House Speaker Scott Saiki told reporters after the House adjourned. “There’s still a lot of hard work to be done.”

The House also gave final approval of a bill that authorizes cannabis dispensaries to sell edible products to patients who have a prescription for the drug, but rejected a bill that would have banned the advertising or sale of flavored tobacco products, including vaping materials.

Lawmakers closed out this year’s unique three-part session with speeches by six state House members and two state senators who are leaving office this year, and described their work amid the coronavirus pandemic as some of the most difficult times in office they ever experienced.

>> PHOTOS: Legislative session comes to an end

The Senate spiked a bill Friday that would have changed state election law to make state Rep. Gregg Takayama (D, Pearl City- Waimalu-Pacific Palisades), eligible to run to serve out the last two years of office that had been held by the late Sen. Breene Harimoto. Lawmakers said Takayama has privately expressed interest in moving up to the Senate, but he now remains barred by current law from seeking Harimoto’s Senate seat because he already filed to run for reelection to his current House seat.

The Senate did approve a bill that establishes the school facilities agency to be responsible for all public school development, planning and construction, related to capital improvement projects assigned by the Legislature, governor or Board of Education — and places management of school impact fees with the agency.

The Senate also approved a bill that authorizes the Board of Land and Natural Resources to issue revocable month-to-month temporary permits for permanent “Kauhale” homes on state land to house homeless people across the state.

One in Waimanalo is growing rapidly through a temporary right of entry onto state Department of Land and Natural Resources land.

But DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case previously told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser that “Auntie Blanche” McMillan’s 32 homes and plans to house 100 more homeless people from around Waimanalo were never permitted.

The two firearm bills that failed Friday had appeared to be gaining momentum at the Legislature earlier this year after Honolulu police officers Tiffany-­Victoria B. Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama were shot and killed at a Diamond Head home Jan. 19.

Police think handyman Jerry Hanel also killed himself and his landlord and started a fire that destroyed five homes. The gun or guns used in the attacks on the police officers may have belonged to the late owner of the home where Hanel rented a room, but police say they have no record of a legally registered rifle owned by anyone at that address.

House Bill 2709 would have mandated that when a gun owner dies, a representative of the gun owner’s estate must contact police to ensure that the firearms are sold or transferred to a legally qualified owner, or disposed of properly.

The Hawaii Rifle Association and other critics of the measure contend it would impose an additional burden on the families of law-abiding gun owners at a time when they are grieving.

They also argue the tragedy at Diamond Head was caused by a criminal who stole a gun, and argue that additional restrictions on legal gun owners would have done nothing to prevent those killings.

However, House lawmakers gave final approval Friday to another firearm measure that would make it a felony to buy, manufacture or import firearm parts for the purpose of assembling guns with no serial numbers.

Lawmakers began this year’s session Jan. 15 and were supposed to adjourn for the year May 7, but the pandemic intervened. House and Senate leaders recessed the regular session March 17 and closed the state Capitol indefinitely two days later after state Sen. Clarence Nishihara tested positive for COVID-19.

Nishihara later said he believes the test was a false positive because two subsequent tests showed no sign of the virus.

Lawmakers then returned to the Capitol on May 11 to pass a collection of appropriations and other measures as part of an effort to demonstrate to Gov. David Ige that even as the state economy crashed, it would not be necessary to impose pay cuts or furloughs on public workers.

The Capitol remained closed to the public, with only lawmakers and staff allowed to attend the hearings and floor votes. Lawmakers finished that work and recessed May 21 but returned to the Capitol yet again June 22. The final installment of the three-part session ended Friday.