Maui Members Included in House Assignment Changes

Rep. Kyle Yamashita (left – photo by Wendy Osher) and Rep. Mele Carroll (right – photo courtesy Hawaiʻi Legislature).

By Wendy Osher

Representatives Kyle Yamashita and Mele Carroll of Maui were included in committee assignment changes approved yesterday in the first day of the 27th legislative session.

Under the changes approved in House Resolution 2, Rep. Kyle Yamashita gains an appointment as vice chair of the Labor & Public Employment Committee. He also retains his membership in the Finance Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Transportation Committee.

Rep. Mele Carroll will remain as the chair of the Human Services Committee and a member of the Health Committee and Housing Committee, but will no longer be a member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee.

All other Maui Representatives maintain their current assignments including the following:

• Rep. Kaniela Ing of South Maui: vice-chair of the Public Safety Committee; and member of the Finance, Labor & Public Employment, and Transportation Committees.
• Rep. Angus McKelvey of West Maui: chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee; and member of the Legislative Management Committee.
• Rep. Joe Souki: Speaker of the House.  Rep. Souki represents District 8, which includes: Kahakuloa, Waiheʻe, Waiehu, Puʻuohala, Wailuku, and Waikapū.  He was re-elected as speaker of the House in January 2013, and previously served as speaker from 1993 to 1999, and speaker emeritus from 2000 to 2013.
• Rep. Justin Woodson of Central Maui: vice-chair of the Housing Committee; and membership in the Finance, Health, and Human Services Committees.

“Every organization goes through frequent fine-tuning to ensure that it optimizes its most valuable resource: human resources. These appointments and assignment changes reflect a part of that ongoing process,” said Majority Leader Scott Saiki in a legislative press release.