#joy san buenaventura

Career fishermen and generations of fishing families have been waiting for access to the ocean since the 2018 Kīlauea lava flow blocked the Pohoiki Boat Ramp eight years ago.

A House bill that would authorize victims of sex trafficking to file civil lawsuits against their perpetrators has passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Now, it advances to the full Senate floor for second reading. Voting in favor in committee on Tuesday were committee Chair Karl Rhoads and Sens. Stanley Chang and Joy San […]

Two Senate committees voted Thursday to recommend passage of a bill to legalize adult personal use of cannabis Hawaiʻi and establish taxes on its retail sale and medical use.

A bill to exempt state-financed housing developments from county council approval has passed second reading on the Hawaiʻi Senate floor and advanced to the Ways and Means Committee.

The Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives has returned to committee a bill aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, a move likely to kill the measure this session in the House, disappointing advocates and sparking ongoing debate.

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.

The Hawaiʻi Senate Committee on Health and Human Services deferred action today on a bill to improve health insurance coverage for women with an above-average risk for breast cancer. The committee rescheduled its hearing to 1 p.m. Jan. 29.

Maui’s affordable housing crisis is spurring some creative ways to increase the island’s housing inventory, including a bill to encourage mixed-use developments introduced by Sen. Angus McKelvey (West and South Maui, Mā‘alaea and Waikapū) and a half-dozen other senators.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources would be required to acquire all West Maui water systems through eminent domain and then hold them in trust for the management by Maui County, according to a bill introduced this legislative session.

Gov. Josh Green followed through on his pledge to sign Senate Bill 2919, clarifying the counties’ authority to regulate short-term rentals. Mayor Richard Bissen has already moved ahead with introducing a bill to phase-out thousands of short-term rentals to open up long-term housing for residents.

The nonprofit Project Hawai’i has received a $20,000 Spectrum Digital Education grant for funding its Teen Mentoring Program, which works hands-on with homeless teenagers to create a learning environment to end their cycle of poverty.

Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran of Maui authored the bill. It allows for licensed physician assistants to perform certain abortions, repealing the requirement that abortions be performed at certain locations, and clarifying that the state shall not deny or interfere with a pregnant person’s right to choose to (1) obtain an abortion or (2) if necessary to protect the life or health of the patient, terminate the pregnancy.

This year, the Hawaiʻi State Capitol is open to the pubic and in-person public sessions for the first time since COVID-19 led to social distancing.

Maui senators secured several key assignments. Senator Lynn DeCoite was named Majority Assistant Floor Leader, and Chair of the Energy, Economic Development and Tourism committee; Senator Gil Keith-Agaran was named Majority Assistant Whip, and Vice-Chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee; and Senator Angus McKelvey secured the chairmanship of the Government Operations Committee. 

Hawaiʻi lawmakers recently voted to pass House Bill 1180 HD1, which will provide an additional $60 million in relief funding for Hawaiʻi Island residents impacted by the devastating Kīlauea eruption that destroyed homes, farms, and infrastructure last year. “The people of Puna and the Big Island are hurting and need our help,” Rep. Joy A. […]