Aloha and welcome to Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s coverage of the 2024 legislative session.
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Lawmakers in conference committee, one of the final legislative processes, have passed Senate Bill 2085 to establish a dedicated fire marshal who will direct statewide efforts to prevent and respond to fires.
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The state will have to pay $449 million to compensate government employees for coming to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association accepted the state’s settlement offer for pandemic hazard pay.
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Gov. Josh Green on Thursday urged state lawmakers to take action on wildfire recovery measures in the final days of the legislative session, saying that the legislature's "inaction" will place the state in danger of seeing increased energy costs.
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A controversial measure to keep Hawaiian Electric in good financial standing after the Maui wildfires has died in the state Senate. The bill would have allowed HECO to issue ratepayer-backed bonds to fund wildfire mitigation efforts.
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Counties will likely have more control over short-term rentals after this legislative session. A measure that would give counties more regulatory power over short-term rentals passed out of conference. It’s one of the last major hurdles of the legislative process.
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Disagreement between the two chambers centers on concerns raised by the state attorney general’s office that the amendment to include the Water Commission is not relevant to the original bill.
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Kim Coco Iwamoto spoke to The Conversation about the revenue the state would lose from passing HB 2653. She also shared her perspective as an heir to Roberts Hawaii, her family's tour and transportation company.
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Brother-sister duo Steven Ai and Carol Ai May are the third generation of the family that runs City Mill's eight locations on Oʻahu. Steven Ai spoke to The Conversation about maintaining a longtime Hawaiʻi business.
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Some important invasive species bills are close to making it through this legislative session. It’s clear that prevention of invasive species is a focus for state lawmakers this year.
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While the state is still dealing with the aftermath of the Maui wildfires, the state legislature is considering a measure to address property damage in the case of future catastrophic wildfires.The measure would allow stakeholders to pay into a wildfire relief fund that would compensate property owners in the case of another wildfire.