How major bills fared at the Capitol

The 31st state Legislature adjourned Thursday and forwarded over 300 bills to Gov. David Ige. Ige has until June 20 to announce which bills, if any, he plans to veto.

GOVERNMENT

Passed

State budget

HB 1600, HD1, SD2, CD1

Allocates $8.7 billion in general funds and

$16.9 billion in all methods of funding, including $6.8 billion in capital improvement projects.

Home lands

HB 2511

Establishes the Hawaiian home lands special fund and appropriates $600 million. Funds also will be used for down payment assistance and mortgage payment assistance to beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920.

‘Rainy day’ fund

SB 514, SD1, HD1, CD2

Deposits $500 million into the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund.

Tax rebates

SB 514, SD1, HD1, CD2

Rebates of $300 to people earning less than $100,000 and each of their dependents and $100 to people earning over $100,000 and their dependents.

Ohana Zone

HB 2512

Appropriates $15 million and extends the Ohana Zone pilot program until 2026 to provide temporary shelter, permanent transitional housing and services including health care, social support serv­ices and transportation.

Needy families

HB 2233

Provides First-to-Work participants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Temporary Assistance for Other Needy Families programs up to $500 per month for rental assistance, benefiting an estimated 4,000 working families.

Mauna Kea

HB 2024, HD 1

Establishes the Mauna a Wakea stewardship authority to solely manage state lands on Mauna Kea.

Abandoned vehicles

HB 1413, HD 2, SD 1, CD 1

Allows counties to require payment of outstanding charges and fines related to an abandoned vehicle before issuing a certificate of registration or completing a transfer of ownership.

Elections

SB 2162, SD1, HD1, CD1

Establishes ranked choice voting for special federal elections and special elections of vacant County Council seats.

FAILED

Proclamation limits

HB 1585, HD 1, SD 1

Authorizes the Legislature to terminate a state of emergency by two-thirds vote.

Gifts to legislators

HB 2069, HD 2, SD 1; SB 3037, SD 1

Outlines how lawmakers and state employees report and deal with gifts from foreign, federal and state officials.

Transparency

HB 1897, HD 1

Would require all boards to livestream meetings and archive the recordings online, identify each item on its meeting agenda as an item for action or discussion, and allow for oral testimony after each agenda item. Board meetings, minutes and board packets would have to be posted online.

HB 1874

Would allow boards to conduct up to one retreat in private per calendar year provided that the board does not vote on any matter, make decisions or deliberate toward a decision on any matter pending before the board or likely to arise before the board.

Gifts to legislators

HB 1871, SB 2714

Exempt legislators and state employees from bans in the state Code of Ethics from accepting foreign protocol gifts, gifts of aloha, invitations to certain events and meals, under certain conditions.

TAXES

Passed

Tax credit

HB 2510, HD2, SD1, CD1

Makes the earned income tax credit permanent and refundable.

Vehicle registration

HB 1688, HD 1, CD 1

Subjects U-drive motor vehicles to the same registration fees as other motor vehicles; authorizes counties to use motor vehicle registration fees to address impacts of tourism-related traffic congestion.

FAILED

Wholesale tax

SB 2020, SD 1

Clarifies that sales of goods to a licensed retail merchant, jobber or other licensed seller for resale are eligible for the wholesale general excise tax rate only if the resale is subject to the highest tax rate.

Electronic tax filing

HB 2177, HD 2

Expands the Tax Depart­ment’s authority to require electronic filings.

Tourism user fee

SB 3192, SD 2, HD 1

Establishes a program to collect an entry fee for visitors at a state park, beach, state-owned forest, hiking trail or other state-owned natural area.

Emissions tax

HB 2278, HD 1

Establishes a refundable income tax credit to mitigate a carbon emissions tax on taxpayers; amends the environmental response, energy and food security tax to address carbon emissions.

Climate change mitigation

HB 1451, SB 2054

Assesses a climate change mitigation impact fee on every customer who uses a rental motor vehicle.

High-earner taxes

HB 1505, SB 2242

Increases personal income tax revenues for high-earning taxpayers; increases the tax on capital gains; increases the corporate income tax under a single rate.

SB 3250, SD 1

Establishes two additional marginal tax rates for people, estates and trusts, including joint filers whose income exceeds $10 million and individuals whose income exceeds $5 million.

SB 3182, SD 1

Establishes a wealth asset tax of 1% of the state net worth of each individual taxpayer who holds $20 million or more in assets in Hawaii.

Transient accommodations tax

HB 1948

Exempts state residents from the transient accommodations tax.

TAT green fee

SB 2098, HB 1439

Establishes a green-fee surcharge on transient accommodations to fund a workforce and services promoting environmental goals.

Liquor tax

SB 2441, HB 1618

Beginning July 1, establishes a 10-cent per drink surcharge.

Vacant property surcharge

SB 2246

Establishes a conveyance tax vacancy surcharge on sales of prolonged vacant property for taxable years after Dec. 31; disallows dividends paid deduction for real estate investment trusts.

Tourist green fees

SB 3012, HB 1802

Requires the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish a visitor green fee program to collect tourism fees to help offset impacts on climate change.

HB 1512

Establishes an environmental surcharge on visitor accommodations, with proceeds invested in clean energy and natural resource conservation.

EDUCATION

Passed

Air conditioning

SB 2862, SD 1, HD 1, CD 1

Funds the installation of air-conditioning units for public school classrooms that have not received air-conditioning units.

Construction

HB 2000, HD 1, SD 1, CD 1

Appropriates $200 million for the school facilities authority to build new pre-kindergarten facilities or improve or expand existing ones.

Feminine hygiene

SB 2821, SD 2, HD 1, CD 1

Makes available free menstrual products for students at all public schools.

Digital learning

SB 2184, SD 1, HD 1, CD 1

Establishes and funds a digital learning center within the Department of Education in part to help students develop and improve digital literacy skills.

FAILED

Harassment

SB 3093, SD1

Misdemeanor offense for disrupting or interfering with the administration or functions of any school, school administration office or school board.

Development

SB 3209, SD 2, HD 1

Would reestablish funding for 21 hours of paid professional development for teachers annually.

BOE diversification

HB 1986, HD 2

Would require one Board of Education member to be a Hawaiian immersion expert.

LGBTQ training

SB 2562

Requires DOE to provide comprehensive training for teachers and educational officers on sexual health topics that include positive and accurate representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and other sexual orientations and gender identities and people of color communities, to destigmatize and promote sexual health.

Sex trafficking

SB 1347, SD 1, HD 2

Requires the DOE to offer training for teachers, educational officers and school-based personnel including behavioral health specialists, security, custodial and support staff on sex trafficking prevention and response.

Agriculture facility

SB 3096, SD 1, HD 2

Would fund construction of an agriculture innovation center to grow food for school use and educate students possibly on Kauai; an original proposed appropriation was $6 million.

Agricultural careers

SB 2928, SD 3, HD 1

Would form a working group to create a plan to establish agricultural career pathways in high school through post-

secondary education.

Psychologists

SB 2823, SD 2, HD 1

Establishes a nationally certified school psychologist incentive program.

Retiree reuse

HB 1736, HD 2

Would temporarily allow retired licensed teachers to return to work during a state of emergency within 12 months of retirement.

CONSUMER PROTECTION/LABOR

Passed

Flavored vaping ban

HB 1570, HD 1, SD 2

Bans the sale of flavored tobacco products and mislabeled e-liquid products.

Disabled workers

HB 1787, HD 2, SD 2, CD 1

Establishes “employment first” as a policy of the state and counties. Defines “employment first” as the competitive employment and full inclusion of people with a disability in an integrated setting as a first and preferred option for employment services. Requires state and county agencies to implement this policy in hiring practices and all programs and services administered or funded by the state or counties. Beginning June 30, 2023, requires the Department of Human Services to apply employment first principles to Medicaid home and community-based services programs.

Stolen bicycles

HB 1991, HD 2, SD 2, CD1

Requires the Honolulu Police Department to establish a public database of reported stolen bikes and make it illegal to sell bikes in the database.

Coffee labeling

HB 1517, HD 2, SD 2, CD1

Directs the state Department of Agriculture to assess the economic impact on local coffee farmers and the local coffee industry from potential changes to coffee labeling requirements.

FAILED

Unpaid internships

SB 988, SD 1

Establishes detailed guidelines for unpaid internships.

Telework

SB 2940, SD 2

Would direct a state agency to establish a telework policy for state employees.

Food banks

SB 2169, SD 2

Would fund the operating expenses of the four Hawaii food banks contracted by the Office of Community Services to administer the Emergency Food Assistance Program in each of the state’s counties.

Unemployment

HB 1505, SB 2242

Exempts unemployment payments from state personal income taxes while raising capital gains taxes and taxes on high-income earners.

Cryptocurrency

SB 2697, SD 1; HB 2287

Aims to broaden local trading in cryptocurrencies by excluding brokered transfers from Hawaii’s Money Transmitters Modernization Act.

5G technology

HB 1915

Prohibits deployment of fifth-generation cellular network equipment within a to-be-determined radius of state airports and navigational equipment.

Liquor shipping

SB 2289, HB 2189

Allows licensed makers of beer and distilled spirits to ship product directly to consumers of legal age.

Noisy engines

HB 1901, SB 3009

Bans the sale of two-stroke engines and machines powered by two-stroke engines, which can include weed whackers, leaf blowers, chain saws, motor scooters, mopeds and personal watercraft, as of Jan. 1, 2024.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Passed

Bail reform

HB 1567 HD1 SD1 CD1

Eliminates the use of monetary bail and requires defendants to be released on their own recognizance for certain nonviolent offenses, subject to certain exclusions.

Kupuna drivers

SB 2679 SD2 HD2 CD1

Extends the renewal period from two years to four years for licensees who are 72 years of age or older but younger than 80 years of age.

Women’s court

HB 2421, SD 2

Would establish a three-year women’s court pilot program on Oahu with a goal of diverting participants from incarceration and reducing recidivism.

Catalytic converters

SB 2279 SD2 HD2 CD1

Regulates the purchase of catalytic converters by used motor vehicle parts dealers and palladium, platinum and rhodium by scrap dealers and recyclers. Subjects people who violate related provisions to a Class C felony. Establishes the felony offense of theft of catalytic converter. Requires each county police department to maintain certain reported information and initiate education programs to prevent catalytic converter thefts.

FAILED

‘No knock’ warrants

HB 1509, SB 2576

Requires verbal announcement and 30-second wait by uniformed law enforcement officers before executing an arrest or search warrant at a home or building.

Prostitution

SB 2557, HB 2265

Would decriminalize offering, agreeing to or engaging in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee or anything of value.

Stun guns

HB 1732, HD 1

Prohibits individuals from carrying an electric gun in or near certain places, including public schools, other local government buildings and mass transit facilities and vehicles unless they qualify for exceptions.

Justice reform

HB 2015, HD 2

Would fund a new research institute within the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law that aims to address criminal legal system effects on vulnerable communities, including Native Hawaiians, with a focus on restoration and healing.

Female searches

SB 2777, SD 1, HD2

Requires searches of female inmates be done by a female correctional facility employee unless the prisoner presents a risk of escape or immediate harm; also excludes male employees from areas where female inmates might be undressed unless the same risk exists.

‘Stand your ground’

HB 2464, HD 1

Eliminates provision that retreat must be considered before using deadly force.

Sex victims

SB 3347, SD 2

Would establish a one-year pilot program to pay $2,000 a month to verified victims of sex trafficking who seek to exit the sex trade.

Fireworks task force

HB 1604

Would establish an illegal-fireworks task force within the state Department of the Attorney General to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to combat importation of illegal fireworks.

Fireworks imports

SB 2743

Would create a program to randomly inspect shipping containers arriving in Hawaii for illegal fireworks, in part using dogs trained to detect explosives.

HEALTH/SOCIAL SERVICES

Passed

Abortions

Act 003

Allows advanced practice registered nurses to perform abortions.

Hawaiian burials

HB 1894, HD 3, SD 2

Accommodates the use of traditional Native Hawaiian burial practices and environmentally friendly burial practices by including water cremation in the treatment and disposal of human remains.

Testing lab

HB 2515, HD 2, SD 2

Requires the Department of Health to establish and operate a laboratory capable of testing for diseases, air and water quality issues, and other high-complexity testing.

FAILED

Medical cannabis

SB 86, SD3

Requires the Department of Health to issue medical cannabis dispensary licenses to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, allowing for increased revenue for beneficiaries. Requires the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to study the feasibility and revenue to be generated by medical cannabis dispensaries, limited gaming and other potential revenue-generating options on Hawaiian home lands.

Aid in dying

HB 487, SB 839

Authorizes advanced practice registered nurses, in addition to physicians, to practice medical aid in dying in accordance with their scope of practice and prescribing authority. Authorizes psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, in addition to psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers, to provide counseling to a qualified patient. Reduces the mandatory waiting period between oral requests from 20 days to 15 days. Waives the mandatory waiting period for those terminally ill individuals not expected to survive the mandatory waiting period.

Emancipation

SB 821, SD 2, HD 1

Allows a minor who has reached age 16 to petition Family Court for emancipation. Requires the court to require the minor’s parents or legal guardians to pay for any services ordered by the court.

Animal control

SB 2837, SD 2, HD 2

Establishes a spay and neuter special fund and allows funds from an income tax check-off to be deposited into the special fund.

Waste disposal

HB 1712, HD 1, SD 1

Prohibits siting of waste disposal facilities on important agricultural lands and agricultural lands with Class A and B productivity ratings.

Support animals

SB 2194

Specifies that anxiety and emotional disorders are disabilities for which service animals may be used for assistance.

SB 2438, SD 1, HB 1944

Requires that a disclaimer be provided by sellers or providers of emotional support animals or certificates, identifications, tags, vests, leashes and harnesses for emotional support animals that the animal is not a service animal.

Red Hill

SB 2407, SD 1

Requires underground storage tank permit applicants to submit contingency plans for worst-case scenarios.

SB 2653, SD1

Establishes a task force to investigate the environmental, infrastructure, public health and economic consequences of the Red Hill water crisis and include a recommendation plan that also considers water rationing.

ENVIRONMENT

Passed

Pupukea

SB 3330, SD 1, HD 1, CD 1

Requires the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish and conduct the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District carrying capacity pilot program.

Aquatic life

HB 1653, HD 2, SD 2

Establishes a tiered administrative fine system for each specimen of aquatic life taken, killed or injured. Establishes a criminal fine structure on a per-specimen basis for violations involving aquatic life.

Drone fishing

SB 2065, SD 2, HD 2, CD 1

Prohibits the possession or use of unmanned aerial vehicles on, in or near state marine waters for purposes of fishing, unless permitted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Cesspools

HB 1806, HD 2, SD 1

Requires cesspools be upgraded or converted to a wastewater system approved by the state Department of Health before Jan. 1, 2050, absent an exemption.

FAILED

Offshore wind farms

SB 2535, SD 2

Establishes the number of miles from the shore of a main Hawaiian island where offshore wind turbines may be sited.

Conservation enforcement

SB 2659, SD 1, HD 1

Appropriates funds to DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement for equipment, funding training and establishing 20 full-time equivalent positions.

Oceanfront sandbags

HB 2229, HD 1, SD 1

Creates two-year program at the University of Hawaii, College of Engineering to study the impact of sandbag walls, or “sand burritos,” on sand movement patterns and coastal erosion and on public trust resources, including beach access, coastal water quality and recreation at Ehukai Beach Park, including from the shoreline area near Ke Ike Road to Sunset Beach.

Bidets

HB 1906

Would fund replacement of traditional toilets at the state Capitol with bidets to reduce the use of toilet paper and water.

Feral cats

HB 1987

Would require DLNR to conduct a point-in-time count of feral cats per island by June 2023 and require the Invasive Species Council to develop and implement a program to effectively reduce the feral cat population by 2025.

Feral chickens

HB 1095

Would appropriate money to eradicate feral chickens in state parks.

Sunscreen

HB 1519, HD 1; SB 3001, SD 1

Would prohibit the sale or distribution of any sunscreen with active ingredients not generally recognized as safe and effective by the federal Food and Drug Administration, absent a medical prescription.

Disposable utensils

SB 2848; HB 1643, HD 1

Would prohibit food sellers from giving customers disposable service ware such as utensils and straws absent a request or prompting.

Land conservation

HB 2041, HD 1; SB 2351, SD 1

Would boost the maximum amount of state conveyance tax revenue distributed to the state’s land conservation fund to $8 million if that is less than 10% of conveyance tax collections; also would increase how much of the fund can be used for maintenance and management costs for land acquired by the fund.

HOMELESS

Passed

Rental housing

SB 3048

Appropriates $300 million into the Rental Housing Revolving Fund. Up to $150 million, for the first time, set aside to develop rental housing for working individuals and families with incomes about 60% at or below 100% of Hawaii’s median family income.

Housing voucher program incentives

HB 1752, HD3, SD1, CD1

Appropriates $1.5 million to establish incentives for landlords to participate in the Tenant-based Assistance Housing Choice Voucher Program and cover property damage expenses that exceed tenant’s security deposit up to one month of rent. Adds staff to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to improve service delivery and ensure housing inspections take place within 15 days of a landlord or owner’s request.

Affordable housing bonds

HB 1829

Requires housing bonds on Oahu to be used only for rental housing projects eligible for low-income housing tax credits.

Rental discrimination

SB 206

Prohibits discrimination, including in advertisements for rental property, in rental transactions based on participation in the Section 8 housing choice program or any permanent supportive housing programs.

Homeless youth

SB 3235, SD 1

Establishes the Safe Spaces for Youth pilot program within the Department of Human Services. Requires DHS to contract with nonprofit organizations to provide shelters for homeless youth.

FAILED

Medical respite

HB 1797, HD 1

Establishes a three-year medical respite pilot program within the Department of Human Services to provide outpatient health care and supportive services to homeless people recently discharged from the hospital and nonhospitalized homeless people who are being moved by police out of unauthorized spaces.

Kupuna housing

SB 2677, SD 1

Establishes a long-term rental assistance pilot program to be administered by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority for people 62 years or older who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

LGBTQ+

SB 2207, SD 1

Adds a representative of an LGBTQ+-focused organization to be included as a member on the Hawaii Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Aloha homes

SB 3261, SD 2

Establishes the Aloha homes program to develop low-cost homes on state- and county-­owned land in urban redevelopment sites to be sold in leasehold by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. to qualified residents.

Kakaako Makai

SB 3279

Allows raising building height limits for two of six parcels owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in Kakaako.