Hawaii lawmakers aim to enlarge ‘rainy day’ and retirement funds

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 30, 2024
• 20

House Bill 40 is still subject to approval by a majority of House and Senate members at a scheduled vote Wednesday. Read more

Hawaii lawmakers reduce financial grants

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 29, 2024
• 36

State lawmakers this year dialed back financial grants awarded to private projects and programs with public purposes but kept the level of giving on par with other recent years. Read more

Hawaii residents could see biggest tax cut yet

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 27, 2024
• 57

The measure, House Bill 2404, would double the standard deduction for the 2024 tax year and then keep raising it every two years through 2030. Read more

Low-cost Hawaii utility wildfire prevention legislation is short-circuited

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 27, 2024
• 33

The deferral came Thursday after strongly favorable votes in the Senate and House on differing drafts of the bill in March and earlier this month. Read more

About $1B arranged for Maui wildfire expenses

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 26, 2024
• 30

State House and Senate leaders have determined that close to $1 billion should be appropriated by the state for Maui wildfire response and recovery work through mid-2025. Read more

Compromise committee draft for state budget bill reached

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 25, 2024

Hawaii House and Senate leaders resolved their differences over spending priorities Tuesday evening, settling on a conference committee draft of the state budget bill that appropriates $19.2 billion for operations during the fiscal year beginning July 1. Read more

Maui mayor seeks more funding to cover Lahaina disaster costs

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 24, 2024
• 27

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen is making an overtime plea to state lawmakers for more Lahaina wildfire recovery funding. Read more

On Earth Day, rooftop solar program grants awarded

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 23, 2024
• 15

A state loan program helping Hawaii households acquire rooftop solar and energy storage systems that lower their electric bills is being pumped up for a second year in a row. Read more

‘Gut and replace’ bill deals with emergency Maui recovery funding

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 22, 2024
• 21

The new version of the bill hasn’t had the constitutionally required three readings each in the Senate and House of Representatives on a similar subject matter. Read more

Big ask for FEMA homes for Maui fire survivors meets resistance

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 21, 2024
• 48

A state and county objective to produce temporary new homes for Maui wildfire survivors is being hampered by the federal government. Read more

Hawaii utilities focus on reducing wildfire risks

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 19, 2024
• 35

Hawaii’s two regulated electrical utilities told a pair of state Senate committees Thursday that they are trying to do as much as possible as fast as possible with wildfire risk mitigation. Read more

Hawaiian Electric troubleshoots power issues on Oahu, Big Isle

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 16, 2024
• 32

Hawaiian Electric fully restored power to customers in East Honolulu on Monday, but not before four public schools had been closed for the day and many customers faced water supply issues. Read more

Macadamia nut labeling legislation in limbo

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 15, 2024
• 18

Consumers don’t know whether many macadamia nut snacks identified with Hawaii contain any Hawaii-­grown macadamia nuts, and an effort to change that through state law may be doomed this year. Read more

Surf’s up … but maybe not for Hawaii’s public schools

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 14, 2024
• 17

State lawmakers are considering a bill to promote and support surfing as an interscholastic sport, but only with minuscule funding after the same bill was deemed unnecessary last year. Read more

Hawaii lawmakers aim to avert ‘early’ DHHL funding lapse

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 11, 2024
• 15

The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands appears set to receive extra time to use $600 million appropriated by the Legislature in 2022. Read more

Hawaii lawmakers push electric utilities to reduce wildfire risks

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 10, 2024
• 62

The state Legislature appears poised to create a new way for Hawaii electric utilities to pay for wildfire risk mitigation that reduces the cost possibly passed onto ratepayers in an effort to help prevent another tragic fire in the state. Read more

Big power supply problems continue to plague Hawaii island

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 7, 2024
• 77

Hawaiian Electric contends that it faces an “extremely tight” supply of power at peak use periods, especially when production from wind, solar and hydroelectric facilities is lower than normal. Read more

Push for more homes on smaller lots statewide suffers setback

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 3, 2024
• 84

Three state House committees have eviscerated a bill to increase single-family housing densities statewide after receiving much more negative than positive testimony. Read more

State acquires former hotel to house Maui fire survivors

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 2, 2024
• 35

Between 350 and 450 Maui wildfire survivors in early May should begin moving into a former hotel in Kihei now owned by the state. Read more

Flow of affordable-housing funding faces redirection

• By Andrew Gomes
• April 1, 2024
• 20

A state agency that helps finance affordable-housing development in Hawaii faces having its funding award criteria dictated by the Legislature to favor state and county projects. Read more

Big rent-to-own housing push by Home Lands agency praised, pilloried

• By Andrew Gomes
• March 31, 2024
• 59

At least 500, and maybe more than 1,100, rental homes are part of the agency’s goal to deliver roughly 6,000 homesteads for beneficiaries over the next several years. Read more