SENATOR MAILE SHIMABUKURO 2023 HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE
Ka‘ena - Makahā - Waiʻanae - Nānākuli - Mā‘ili - Ko Olina
NOVEMBER 2023
LATEST COMMUNITY UPDATES
OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS (OHA) Trustees Selected Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira as new CEO CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FAITHFUL STAFFER !! A veteran of the Legislature, Ms. Ferreira was the Budget Chief of the Senate Ways and Means Committee since 2019. She is also a former executive strategy consultant and division director of Extension Educational Services for Kamehameha Schools where she also served as the trust coordinator for the Charles Reed Bishop Trust. She holds a Master’s in Education and a bachelor’s in communication from UH Manoa.
Ms. Kealohalani was born and raised in Mililani and a graduate of Star of the Sea High School. She touts a mo’okuahau spanning 17 generations with familial ties to the Moloka‘i, O‘ahu, and Hawai‘i. We know her to be a dynamically ambitious Hawaiian which is what propelled her to the top, above the other 550 applicants to now lead OHA to new horizons. OHA trustees select Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira as new CEO - The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Who is Stacy Ferreira? Meet the new CEO at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs | Hawai'i Public Radio (hawaiipublicradio.org)
LEADERSHIP MEETING TO DEAL WITH WESTSIDE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY In the wake of the recent stabbing of an 11yo boy in Makaha Elementary along with the youth-involved beach homicides and weapon threats between high schools, we felt it was definitely time to meet with all of the community leaders, stakeholders, and any and all government agencies to pull together and work on a plan to address these existential crises. We also needed to discuss the persistent issues which are top priorities, including the gaming rooms, park mismanagement, houselessness, & fireworks. We met at the Wai’anae Police Station with the heads of our State Law Enforcement Agencies including the HPD Chief of Police (Arthur J. Logan), State Attorney General (Anne E. Lopez), Mayor Rick Blangiardi, City & County of Honolulu Managing Director Michael Formby, DLNR, DOCARE, Sheriffs, as well as, City Prosecutor Steve Alm. We came up with concrete and tangible solutions. There’s broad agreement that we need to quickly allocate additional resources and to also engage in robust community policing to monitor and report the troubling & concerning elements in all of our neighborhoods in order to restore the peace and tranquility we all remember and still deserve.
CARRYOVER BILLS TO KEEP PUSHING FORWARD THIS SESSION SB409 SD1 HD1
RELATING TO FIRE PREVENTION. Appropriates funds to DLNR for the Community Fuels Reduction Project. ($)
SB411
RELATING TO COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEYS. Requires the court to appoint counsel to indigent parents upon the filing of a petition for custody or family supervision and make every effort to do so at the first hearing attended by the parents.
SB412
RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Converts the human trafficking victim services fund to a human trafficking reparations fund. Revises the purposes for the monies in the fund to provide direct financial assistance to victims of trafficking.
SB470
RELATING TO YOUTH FEES AND FINES. Prohibits the assessment of any fines, fees, or court costs against a person who was adjudicated for an offense committed during the person's minority, or against the person's parent or guardian, and discharges all related debt obligations assessed prior to the effective date of the Act.
SB471
RELATING TO LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS. Prohibits camping in public areas that are not designated as camping locations by the State or a county. Allows the court to order participation in homeless services in lieu of prosecution or sentencing. Requires the Governor to establish safe zones for homeless persons. ($)
SB472
RELATING TO FAMILY COURT. Requires the family court to amend its rules to require that service upon a party who is not a resident of or found within the island or circuit with jurisdiction over the proceeding may be effectuated by a declaration of the petitioner that states that the petitioner shall abide by the terms of the Hague Service Convention with respect to foreign service of process.
SB738 SD2 HD1
RELATING TO THE DEPT. OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS. Authorizes the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to administer a lease award program for beneficiaries on the homestead lease waiting list who are at least sixty years old or terminally ill, under certain conditions. Authorizes qualified successors of certain beneficiaries on the waiting list who died before receiving a lease to file a claim for a lease award within a certain time.
SB1012
RELATING TO NATIVE POLLINATORS. Requires the University of Hawaii to develop native pollinator habitats to be deployed on all campuses in the University system.
SB1013
RELATING TO DLNR’s CWRM. Adds the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission or the Chair's designee to the Commission on Water Resource Management. Increases number of commission members from seven to eight, with only five of eight required to have substantial experience in water resource management.
SB1014 SD2
RELATING TO INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL. Allows the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to retain independent legal counsel where the opposing party to the reasonably anticipated litigation is the State or another state agency. Provides that fees owed to independent legal counsel shall be paid by the State.
SB1037 SD1
RELATING TO LIMU KALA. Designates Limu Kala (Sargassum echinocarpum) as the official Hawaii state limu.
SB1038 SD2
RELATING TO TELEHEALTH. Temporarily allows for the reimbursement of services provided through telehealth via an interactive telecommunications system and two-way, real -time audio-only communications in certain circumstances. Defines "interactive telecommunications system".
SB1039
RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES. Establishes the Environmental Crimes Unit within the Office of the Attorney General. Makes the disposal of motor vehicle tires in violation of State law governing recovery of used motor vehicle tire recovery a petty demeanor crime. Establishes a $1 motor vehicle tire surcharge to be imposed on every replacement tire installed on a motor vehicle in the State after September 30, 2023. Requires tire retailers and tire wholesalers who install replacement tires to pay the surcharge to the Department of Health, and the Department of Health to deposit the revenues into the Environmental Management Special Fund. Allows the DOH to use the Environmental Management Special Fund to fund the Environmental Crimes Unit. ($)
SB1040 SD2 HD2
RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS. Requires the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) to establish the Native Hawaiian Supportive Housing Pilot Program on the Leeward Coast of O‘ahu to provide individual or shared micro housing units and services to native Hawaiian beneficiaries who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness, and on the DHHL’s waiting list. ($)
SB1041
RELATING TO FAMILY COURT. Amends provisions relating to criteria and procedures in court determinations regarding custody and visitation rights, including the court's consideration of family violence and domestic abuse.
SB1042
RELATING TO CHILD SEARCH AND SEIZURE. Clarifies the definition of "imminent harm". Requires police officers to comply with exigency requirements when removing a child from the child's home and to promptly submit a police report documenting specific, articulable evidence of imminent harm to the child that warranted the child's immediate removal. Requires the State to provide written notice to a parent of the parent's rights when conducting an investigation of reported child abuse or neglect. Requires police officers to have parental consent, a court order, or evidence of exigent circumstances, when interviewing a child at school or removing the child to protective custody to complete an investigation
SB1043
RELATING TO CANNABIS. Decriminalizes and legalizes the personal use, possession, and sale of cannabis in a specified quantity. Entitles persons arrested or convicted of certain marijuana offenses from custody or incarceration. Entitles certain persons to the expungement of their arrest and conviction records, unless the prosecutor can demonstrate good cause against the issuance of an expungement order.
SB1044 SD2 HD2
RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. Appropriates funds to hire complex-based licensed behavioral health specialists for Hawaii's rural public schools.($)
CARRYOVER BILLS FOR NEXT SESSION (CONTINUED) SB1045
RELATING TO CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION. Establishes a career and technical education working group to strengthen career and technical education in the State's public schools. Makes an appropriation. ($)
SB1046 SD2
RELATING TO VEHICLE WEIGHT TAXES. Amends the vehicle weight tax exemption for noncommercial vehicles by adding veteran exemption.
SB1047
RELATING TO HRS CHAPTER 457J, Makes permanent the existing exemption for birth attendants to continue to practice without a license, under certain conditions. Expands qualifications for licensure to include the North American Registry of Midwives portfolio evaluation process.
SB1244
RELATING TO MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARIES. Establishes system access and system integration requirements for the computer software tracking system for medical cannabis dispensaries. Requires the DOH to submit an annual report to the legislature on data captured using the computer software tracking system.
SB1245
RELATING TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. Requires the Department of Health to establish or contract with behavioral health crisis centers to provide intervention and stabilization services in each county for persons experiencing mental health or substance use disorder crises. ($)
SB1258 SD2
RELATING TO THE DLNR Requires the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources to develop and implement a management system for the Kaena point state park, Makua, and Keawaula regions.
SB1480
RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT. Establishes within the Dept of the Attorney General, an Environmental Crimes Unit in cooperative effort with the DOH Health to investigate and prosecute crimes that pose substantial risks to the environment and public health. ($)
SB1498 SD1 HD2
RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF TARO. Prohibits the BLNR from disturbing or acquiring for development certain wetland or dryland taro‑growing lands. Establishes a taro lands classification for public lands. Permits structures for loi or mala taro fields in the agricultural district. Establishes growth and perpetuation of traditional Hawaiian crops as a goal of the Hawaii State Planning Act. Requires and appropriates funds for the Land Use Commission to create an inventory of taro lands and consult with former members of the Taro Security and Purity Task Force in the creation of the inventory. ($)
SB1499
RELATING TO TARO. Exempts income derived from the business of taro cultivation or production of taro products from the income tax. Exempts from the general excise tax the gross proceeds or income received from the sale of any product resulting from the cultivation and production of unprocessed taro
SB1500
RELATING TO TARO LANDS. Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Ag to work with taro farmers to identify taro lands, adjust lease rents, and modify lease qualification criteria. Sunsets after 10 years.
SB1501 SD1
RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF TARO LANDS. Prohibits the Board of Land and Natural Resources from disturbing or acquiring for development certain wetland taro‑growing lands
SB1604
RELATING TO ANGER MANAGEMENT. Authorizes certain criminal offenders to undergo anger management counseling in lieu of domestic violence intervention as part of their sentences.
SB1605
RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS. Requires the Homeless Programs Office of the Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division of the Department of Human Services to establish a program to acquire abandoned and vacant real properties to house individuals experiencing homelessness. ($)
SB1606
RELATING TO TAXATION. Establishes a surcharge on the conveyance tax upon the transfer or conveyance of prolonged vacant property.
SB1607
RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. Requires a talent agency to provide educational materials regarding sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, and reporting resources and nutrition and eating disorders to adult artists represented by the talent agency. Requires proof of compliance as part of licensure renewal. Requires, as a condition for a minor to be employed in theatrical employment, that the minor and the minor's parent or legal guardian receive and complete training regarding sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, and reporting resources and nutrition and eating disorders.
SB1617 SD1
RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS. Authorizes the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, in consultation with the Department of Human Services and Department of Health, to establish and administer a Kauhale Program to provide individual or shared housing units and support services to certain homeless individuals and families. Exempts existing low-income rental units, tiny home villages, and kauhale from certain provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Authorizes the Governor to transfer by executive order suitable land to HPHA for the construction of kauhale. Appropriates funds and establishes positions for the Kauhale Program. ($)
NEW LEGISLATION CONSIDERED FOR 2024 SESSION
A BRIEF UPDATE SUMMARY: HISTORY: A class action suit was filed in (circa) 1997 seeking relief for Hawaiian Homestead Beneficiaries who have been on the waitlist for an undue lengthy period of time. At the time of the filing, there were upwards of 3,000 members in the class action titled Kalima et al. v. State of Hawai. In 2022, the State of Hawaii settled the suit and appropriated the $328 million settlement and was pending distribution at $40M to the two plaintiff attorneys, some administrative fees, and the remainder to be distributed to the eligible members of the class originally totally about 3,000 members. It is worth noting that since the filing of the lawsuit, about 1,100 members in the original lawsuit have since passed away. This is what makes the disbursement so urgent. CLICK- One complaint gums up distribution of historic Hawaiian Homelands waitlist settlement (hawaiinewsnow.com)
RECENTLY: The Claim Administrator and Plaintiff Counsel deemed Mr. Rivera ineligible (due to being a minor when joining the suit two decades ago) and thus removed from the suit and left without legal representation. Per the terms of the settlement, Mr. Rivera was allowed to file an appeal which he did prior to the final deadline. This then caused the distribution oof the settlement to be stayed until the Intermediate Court of Appeals adjudicates the Mr. Rivera’s appeal. The Supreme Court dismissed (rejected) the appeal. CURRENTLY, Due to State Attorney General’s request for an expedited hearing & it dismissing Rivera’s appeal, means the monies can finally be released. I’m incredibly pleased that these long awaited settlements are now being awarded. CLICK- State will soon start sending out checks in landmark $328M Hawaiian Home Lands settlement (hawaiinewsnow.com)
~ Maile
Apply for the 2023-2024 Early Childhood Educator Stipend!
Investing in our youngest keiki ages 0-5 yrs old by investing in their educators The Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program was established by the legislature through Act 210, in 2021 and was funded by a generous donation from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation. In 2023, our legislature approved $600,000 in additional funding to support our Early Childhood Educator Stipend program, which now becomes the first publicly funded tuition stipend program available to current and future practitioners in the early childhood field for both Hawaiian and English medium. The State of Hawai’i Executive Office of Early Learning (EOEL) and the University of Hawai’i are proud to offer a tuition stipend to current and potential early childhood educators and caregivers! Stipends are available to individuals enrolled in a certificate, degree, or license program in early childhood education, including those focused on the Hawaiian language, within the University of Hawai’i system, with a stipend opportunity per HRS § 302L-9. Participation in this program is voluntary. To qualify, the applicant must currently be enrolled in a generalist certificate, degree, or license program in early childhood education, including those in the Hawaiian language medium, within the University of Hawai’i system. The goal of this tuition stipend program is to help increase qualifications of our ECE workforce. We are seeking individuals who will commit to work in early care and education services directly to children from birth through 5 years of age for at least two consecutive years in one of the early learning systems described in HRS § 302L-2, including Hawaiian language medium and Hawaiian immersion settings and early learning settings at charter schools. Stipend awardees who keep this commitment will pay nothing back. HOW TO APPLY: You must be registered for eligible courses in order to qualify
(1) =CLICK=> https://apply.hawaii.edu to first apply to UH Admissions (2) =CLICK=> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FHGD75Y ==> or use this QR CODE (3) Complete the application by the deadlines listed below (4) Tuition awards will be announced about one week before the semester starts (5) Awardees will need to sign a stipend agreement before receiving awards DEADLINES Apply by the dates stated below for the semester you are applying for the tuition stipend: • Summer 2023 – April 15, 2023 • Fall 2023 – July 15, 2023 • Spring 2024 – December 1, 2023 • Summer 2024 – April 15, 2024
Qualifying programs are at the following UH campuses: UH Hilo (Hawaiian and Indigenous Language Medium Programs) Hawai’i Community College (Early Childhood Education) UH Maui College (Early Childhood Education) UH Mānoa (Early Childhood Teacher Licensure Programs) UH West O’ahu (Early Childhood Education) Honolulu Community College (Early Childhood Education) Kaua’i Community College (Early Childhood Education)
HAND-UP & HELP OUT FOR EVERYBODY Financial Assistance and Housing Placement Services US VETS Housing Placement Program & Housing First Financial help for rent, utilities, security deposit, etc for civilians and veterans 85-638 Farrington Highway, Waianae 808-348-7422
DHHL Rent Relief Program
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
City Rental & Housing Assistance
Rent, utilities, mortgage, etc. assistance available for people of all ethnic backgrounds
https://www.hawaiiancouncil.org/rent-mortgage-relief-funds/
808-596-8155
Catholic Charities Rental and Utility Relief Program https://www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org/rental-utility-relief-program/
808-521-4357 Institute for Human Services
Rental Assistance 916 Kaamahu Place A Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
If you are on DHHL’s waitlist, or hold a DHHL Undivided Interest, you may eligible for rental assistance.
https://www.hawaiiancouncil.org/dhhl-rent-relief-program/
American Job Center Network Rent-to-Work Program and Housing Assistance for Kupuna Waianae Neighborhood Community Center 808 768-5701 Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
Rental & Utility Assistance 808-697-3736
Kealahou West Oahu Transitional housing placement and homeless outreach services (808) 696-5667
Phone: 808.447.2840 State of Hawaii Affordable Housing List https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc/affordable-housing-inventory/affordable-rental-housing-inventory/ Aloha United Way For more possible rental assistance and social services referrals CALL 211
KOMMUNITY KOKUA & KLEAN-UP