The legislative session is at its halfway point — Thursday was the key deadline, called "crossover," for bills to pass out of their originating chamber to survive.
Stabilizing the insurance market, combating illegal fireworks, funding climate initiatives, and preparing the state for federal cuts are the key topics that the state Legislature will continue to focus on.
Hawaiʻi’s insurance crisis
Senate lawmakers passed a bill that would allow the state to issue hurricane insurance and general insurance policies to condominiums that have been dropped by insurers.
It is meant to prevent condominiums from turning to the unregulated insurance market that could cause their homeowner association fees to skyrocket.
The general insurance would be done through the Hawaii Property Insurance Association. The hurricane insurance would be administered through the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund that was set up following Hurricane ʻIniki in 1992. Although its board started meeting last year – it hasn’t issued an insurance policy since 2000.
Rep. Scot Matayoshi will hear the bill in his Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee. The Hawaii Property Insurance Association already writes policies of last resort for those in lava zones, but it’s not yet clear how many other policies it would be able to write if this bill were to pass.
“I don't know what kind of financial backing, what kind of reinsurance they're able to get right now for this because they just haven't gotten it yet,” Matayoshi said.
“The same with the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, they are even further behind than HPIA. They haven't even really stood anything up yet, although we're leaning on them to move faster. So, they're going to need to get stood up, get reinsurance at a certain rate and amount, and I think that's going to determine how many policies and to what amounts they can issue.”
It’s something that will need to be determined in the coming weeks.
Illegal fireworks
Another priority is cracking down on illegal fireworks. Both chambers passed bills that would increase penalties for repeat offenders and allow police officers to write $300 citations for those using fireworks illegally.
The House also passed a measure that would allow drone footage to be used as probable cause to arrest people.
Climate mitigation
The Senate passed Gov. Josh Green’s measure that would use the interest off the state’s $1.5 billion rainy day fund to fund climate mitigation.
The Senate also passed a measure that would increase the state’s transient accommodations tax by 1.75 percentage points, bringing the tax levied on visitor lodgings to 12%.
The increased revenue would be split between a fund for climate resiliency and another special fund for environmental infrastructure and resiliency in resort areas specifically.
The state budget
Meanwhile, the House will have to vote on the state’s budget next week. The House Finance Committee added $200 million to the state’s rainy day fund to prepare for financial uncertainty regarding federal funding.
“We did go over a little bit, but it's because we put that $200 million into the budget reserve fund, but that is just to send a clear message that the House believes that in light of the current situation, and we don't know what the out years will be, it'll be wise for the state to tuck away some money just for the out years," Finance Chair Kyle Yamashita said.
He clarified that although the budget appropriates more than what the governor originally proposed, it is still a balanced budget.
The Council on Revenues will give its updated revenue projections next week. That is what the Legislature will need to use to balance the state’s budget.
The 2025 legislative session ends May 2. Find the latest HPR coverage here.
