Aloha and welcome to Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s coverage of the 2024 legislative session.
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Measures aiming to improve language access in Hawai‘i passed their final reading in the House and Senate on Wednesday. The bills will head to the governor’s office for final approval.
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Popular measures on energy efficiency and solar permitting died abruptly in their last committees, leading some energy stakeholders to label this session a letdown. HPR's Savannah Harriman-Pote reports.
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One of the bills dying in this legislative session would have allowed Hawaiian Electric to issue ratepayer-backed bonds — a process called securitization — to pay for wildfire mitigation efforts. State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole spoke with The Conversation about the measure, as well as HECO's future.
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The latest status of a controversial measure to allow HECO to issue ratepayer-backed bonds; A 30-year-old student financial literacy program is expanding; NPR has a new interview podcast with twist
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Last Friday was the deadline for lawmakers to move bills out of their final committee hearings. But Gov. Josh Green tried to resurrect a key wildfire mitigation measure over the weekend.
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A federal trial seeking damages for some 7,500 families harmed by fuel contaminated drinking water is underway; Researchers have an update on what became of the sole survivor of an effort to establish a new colony of critically endangered kiwikiu in East Maui
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House Bill 2074 would appropriate more than $3.5 million to fund 13 full-time positions at the kaiapuni schools. The measure needs a full floor vote in both chambers before it heads to the governor’s office for final approval.
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Growers want a measure to protect their crops and farms, while commercial nut brands say what Hawaiʻi needs is more capacity to process mac nuts locally.
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Senate Bill 582 would provide another $297 million for displaced Maui residents living in hotels. The other measure, Senate Bill 3068, would set aside $186 million for the state’s response to the Maui wildfires and mitigation efforts.
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A measure to allocate nearly $20 million during the next fiscal year to the state Department of Agriculture for biosecurity measures is being described by some as a "landmark" bill. Nearly $3.2 million would fund 44 new department positions to support biosecurity.