#House Finance Committee

A plan to use $130 million from the state’s first climate impact tax got the full backing of lawmakers on the critical House Finance Committee. Now it heads to the Senate.

The $10 billion budget prioritizes investments that support local families, strengthen essential public services, and build long-term resilience for Hawaiʻi’s communities. Funding is directed toward critical areas including health and human services, environmental stewardship, disaster preparedness, public safety, and education.

Mayor Richard Bissen told state lawmakers Monday that his administration has shifted its focus from immediate wildfire recovery to housing delivery and large-scale infrastructure investments, forecasting the construction of approximately 3,000 affordable and workforce homes by 2030.

Mayor Richard Bissen will join the state’s other three mayors in making presentations Monday afternoon before members of the Senate Ways and Means and House Finance committees at the State Capitol. Aside from Bissen, the other mayors scheduled to appear are Honolulu City and County Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda and Kaua‘i […]

The 33rd Hawaiʻi State Legislature convened Wednesday with calls for humility and urgent action as lawmakers face a tightened federal budget, a high-profile ethics investigation and the ongoing recovery from the Maui wildfires.

The Hawaiʻi Legislature’s House Committee on Finance is scheduled to begin its first series of informational briefings for 2026 starting Monday to discuss state department budget proposals. During the briefings, various state department representatives will provide updates and present requests regarding their upcoming budgets to the committee. The meetings are chaired by Hawaii Island Rep. […]

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature has opened its grant-In-aid application process for the 2026 legislative session, inviting eligible organizations to apply for state funding. Organizations must complete an eligibility verification process, which requires documentation to prove the grantee meets standards for an award under state law. “Local nonprofits provide critical safety net programs in our communities […]

Members of the House Finance Committee visited UH Maui College, the Maui Food Bank, the King Kamehameha III Elementary School temporary site, Maui Memorial Medical Center, and Mahi Pono.

Without explanation, Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita has been stripped of his powerful position as House Finance Committee chairman.

Maui County highlights in the House Finance Committee draft budgets for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 include $1.6 million in both fiscal years for Kamehameha III temporary school in Lahaina and $12 million in fiscal 2026 and $6 million in fiscal 2027 for Maui Health System.

An Oʻahu representative in the state House has introduced a bill to increase penalties for owners of dangerous dogs, but the measure has not gained traction in two House committee referrals.

The Hawaiʻi Senate Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs has recommended passage of Senate Bill 222, which would appropriate an as yet undetermined amount of state funding for an illegal fireworks task force.

Bills have been referred to committees in both chambers of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to limit the amount landlords can raise rents for tenants at a time of desperate housing shortages and renters having few, if any, options if they can’t afford demands for higher monthly rent payments.

Companion bills in the state House and Senate have been submitted to establish the Maui Wildfires Settlement Trust Fund to pay claims from about 2,200 plaintiffs who’ve filed claims from injuries suffered in the August 2023 disaster.

A bill introduced by 13 representatives in the state House calls for establishing a permanent “Return-to-Home program” with an as yet undetermined amount of funding to return homeless people in Hawaiʻi to their home states.

State lawmakers want a working group to study the problem of people unlawfully occupying private property without the owner’s consent.

Video recordings made by unmanned airborne drones could be used to establish probable cause for law enforcement arrests in illegal fireworks cases under a bill introduced by 19 members of the state House of Representatives.

A bill to legalize personal adult use of cannabis will not be heard in the House Finance Committee, said Chair Kyle Yamashita, who represents Upcountry Maui.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources estimates it will cost approximately $30 million to repair and rebuild fire-ravaged Lahaina Small Boat Harbor. Meanwhile, a bill to provide state funding for maintenance dredging at small boat harbors statewide has advanced to the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives.

A measure that would restore the counties’ power to regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products and e-cigarettes appears to be stalled in the House Finance Committee, and it may die there Wednesday if no action is taken.