Medical marijuana, rail tax, hospitals on tap at Legislature
Michelle Tippens, of Honolulu, talks about the need for medical marijuana dispensaries at the Hawaii Legislature. Tippens wore a necklace strung with more than a dozen prescription medicines that she says she was able to stop taking after she switched to medical marijuana.
The Hawaii Legislature is approaching a major deadline to get bills to the other chamber.
All bills must pass out of their chamber of origin this week. Those that don’t will die.
And crucial decisions remain on medical marijuana dispensaries, Hawaii’s public hospitals and a tax to fund Honolulu’s struggling rail project.
One bill would allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates without having surgery.
The official day of the crossover deadline is Thursday, but the vast majority of the bills — especially anything controversial — will be taken up on Tuesday. That way, the Legislature has ample time to work out any problems.
Senators also plan to take up Gov. David Ige’s unpopular nomination of Carleton Ching to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
