Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King? Here. Senator Creighton? Here. Senator Alvarado? Senator Hinojosa? Present.
• Senator Hughes? Senator- Senator Miles, Senator Parker? Here. Senator Paxson? Present.
• Senator Sparks? Here. Six, yes, sir.
• So there being six present, a quorum has been established, and Senator Hughes is en route.
• Senator Hinojosa: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman, and I send my best from the North Star State.
• I want to start by thanking my Minnesota colleagues, Speaker Lisa Demuth and Senate Majority Leader Erin

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Vice Chair Flores, Senator Betancourt, Senator Blanco, Senator Campbell, Senator Hinojosa.
• Senator Kolkhorst, Senator Menendez, Senator Schwartner, being non-present Coral Menendez is established
• And one last thing, Senator Gimbel. Yes, sir. Senator Menendez.
• My Senator Campbell, I'm proud to see my Senator here representing our district.
• on the Senate joint House and Senate hearing today.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King here. Senator Creighton here.
• Senator Alvarado, Senator Hinojosa, Senator Hughes, Senator Miles.
• Senator Parker. Aye. Senator Paxton, Senator Sparks, Senator. Creighton? No.
• Senate Resolution 5, and Senate Rule 11.20. Issue one or more subpoenas to compel Mr.
• Senator Parker? No. Senator Paxson? No. Senator Sparks? No. Senator Creighton? No.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King? Here. Senator Creighton? Here. Senator Alvarado? Here. Senator Hinojosa? Present.
• Senator Hughes? Here. Senator Miles? Here. Senator Parker? Here. Senator Paxson? Present.
• I do, Senator.
• I believe that Senate Joint Resolution 3 is worth looking up because I hate to think we're stuck in this
• Senator, any other members? Well, Senator Blanco.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• into >> And can you tell us how he got into >> And can you tell us how he got into Senate
• 39.920> Did<00:15:40.079> he<00:15:40.240> climb<00:15:40.560> through Senate
• Did he climb through Senate chambers?
• How did he get into Senate<00:15:44.320> chambers? Senate chambers? Senate chambers?
• how he entered the Senate chambers. how he entered the Senate chambers.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King. Here. Senator. Here. Senator Alvarado. Senator Hinojosa. Present.
• Senator Hues, Senator Miles, Senator Parker, Senator Paxson, Senator Sparks.
• My understanding of the Senate resolution we passed specifically says that we cannot issue subpoenas
• and with the rules of the Senate resolution we passed on Monday.
• For instance, you could advance SJR3, the Senate Joint Resolution that proposes an amendment to establish

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King? Here. Senator Creighton? Here. Senator Alvarado? Senator Hinojosa? Present.
• Senator Hughes? Senator Miles? Senator Parker? Senator Paxson? Senator Sparks? That's all we have.
• Senators, anything? Senator Alvarado. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
• Senator Alvarado. Mrs.
• Chair calls Senator Miles. Yeah. Ms. Robinson, this is Senator Boris Miles.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King? Here. Senator Crayton? Here. Senator Alvarado? Here. Senator Hinojosa? Present.
• Senator Hughes? Senator Miles? Here. Senator Parker? Here. Senator Paxson? Present. Senator Sparks?
• Senator Brian Hughes, Senator Carol Alvarado, Senator Angela Paxton, Senator Kevin Sparks, and Senator
• Senator Alvarado? No. Senator Hinojosa? Senator Hughes? Yes. Senator Miles? No. Senator Parker?
• Chair, while you introduced Senate Resolution 5, you said, and I quote, "Well, I'm not sure that there's

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> And state lawmakers like Senator Tu Jang are listening. >> They make decisions that affect us all
• Veronica Marshall, Senate Media Services. smallest voices carry. smallest voices carry.
• Veronica Marshall,<00:02:12.640> Senate<00:02:13.040> Media<00:02:13.440> Services.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Betancourt? Senator Blanco? Senator Campbell? Senator Hinojosa? Senator Kohlhorst?
• Senator Menendez? Senator Shorten? Thank you. The quorum is present and established.
• Senator, thank you.
• Thank you, Senator. Senator Swerner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
• Thank you, Senator Kogos.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've had a fantastic working relationship with Senator John Hoffman, of course, and Senator Abeler.
• And we've also seen some fantastic allyship from Senator Alice Mann and Senator Aaron McUade and Senator
• And we've of course, and Senator Abler.
• Mann<00:01:47.360> and Senator Alice, Senator Alice Mann and Senator Alice, Senator Alice
• 01:49.920> Senator<00:01:50.240> Omar Senator Aaron McUade and Senator Omar Senator Aaron

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, I have a lot of other questions, but over to the Senate.
• Uh you mentioned over to the Senate.
• Because uh Senator Lee, thanks right?
• EV battery recycling, which also Senator EV battery recycling, which also Senator Awa<01:47:56.480
• Yeah, I'd echo I Senator Lee. Yeah.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint informational briefing focused on the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s work under the Navah settlement, which was described as a first-of-its-kind climate agreement tied to the state’s constitutional public trust and clean-environment obligations. Speakers said the settlement was intended to accelerate progress toward Hawaii’s 2030 and 2045 clean energy goals, especially by addressing transportation, the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. They emphasized that the agreement formalizes milestones, reduces dependence on changing administrations, and includes a role for the legislature alongside the courts and executive branch. DOT and Earthjustice representatives outlined the main settlement deliverables: creation of a new Office of Energy Security and Community Outreach, formation of a youth council, and development of an emissions reduction plan that will be updated over time. They also highlighted a new project-level greenhouse gas/VMT scoring tool, described as the first of its kind in the nation for DOT-wide use, to evaluate the climate impact of transportation projects. The presentation tied these efforts to prior legislative actions, including the state’s climate emergency declaration, net-zero/net-negative targets, and Act 131’s requirements for multimodal network planning and emissions reporting. A substantial portion of the briefing was devoted to the youth council, which reported 20 members selected from 83 applicants, representation from across the islands, and work on bylaws, committees, and outreach. Youth members described feedback they gave on the energy security plan, a student leadership summit presentation, and future plans to meet with legislators and participate in the Climate Future Forum. DOT also said the settlement’s transportation strategies include clean fuels, electrification, aviation sustainable aviation fuel, marine shore power, and carbon sequestration, including expanded native tree planting and fire mitigation work. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the briefing. Members discussed implementation challenges, including cost and supply constraints for aviation and marine decarbonization, but DOT said industry stakeholders were not rejecting the goals, only raising affordability and timing concerns. Officials also noted that a GIS map for network gaps was in development and that the settlement’s pedestrian, bike, and transit connectivity requirement would compress roughly 15 years of work into five years, with an estimated annual commitment of $40 million to $50 million.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, Senator Senator Birdsel. you. Thank you, Senator Senator Birdsel.
• Um Senator Senator, thank you Senator.
• Senator Fenton, no. Senator Mcu, yes. Senator Avar, yes. Senator Rosenwald, no. Senator Rearen, no.
• Senate. Senate.
• by Senator Innis, Senator Birdsell, Senator Pearl, Senator Lang, Senator Rosenwald, and Senator Waters

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Senator Jared Kohole, Chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.
• Uh, Senator Angus McCaui.
• Uh, Senator Angus McCaui.
• McKelie and Senator as well as Senator McKelie and Senator Wakai<02:05:31.520> on<02:05:31.760
• Senator Senator that personally.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational briefing on the Public Utilities Commission’s performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ whistleblower complaint process. Chair Jared Kohole opened the meeting, noted it was informational only with no public testimony, and explained that members would hear presentations and then have an opportunity for questions. The committee heard first from Ulupono Initiative, which provided background on why utilities are regulated, how Hawaii’s cost-of-service model and rate cases work, and why PBR was adopted to shift utility incentives away from a capital-investment bias and toward performance, efficiency, cost control, and policy goals such as renewable energy and reliability. Ulupono described Hawaii’s PBR structure as a five-year multi-year rate plan with annual revenue adjustments, a customer dividend, a Z factor for extraordinary exogenous events, and an exceptional project recovery mechanism for large projects. It also outlined performance incentive mechanisms tied to renewable portfolio standard progress, interconnection speed, reliability, and shared savings. The presentation said the current docket is evaluating a possible hybrid approach that would combine forward-looking forecasting with historical results, and Ulupono advocated for stronger incentives, arguing the current rewards are too small relative to utility revenues and should be more meaningful to better align utility behavior with legislative intent. The PUC then presented its own overview, emphasizing that the PBR docket is open and active and that the briefing was limited to the record to avoid ex parte concerns. The commission described the development of PBR in Hawaii through multiple phases beginning in 2018: an initial collaborative phase to set goals, a formal contested-case phase that produced the initial framework, later phases adding scorecards, reported metrics, and additional performance incentive mechanisms, and subsequent refinements including sunset of some mechanisms and adjustments after the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The PUC said the framework is intended to be customer-centric, administratively efficient, and protective of utility financial integrity, and that current work includes evaluating how to balance forward-looking and historical test-year approaches within the rebasing process. No votes or formal actions were taken at the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• On the Senate side, you have myself as chair, Senator Wakai as vice chair, Senator Fukunaga, Senator
• Senator Wakai as vice chair, Senator Fukunaga, Senator Kim, and Senator Favlla. Thank you.
• > and<00:17:50.160> Senator I appreciate Senator Decoy and Senator I appreciate Senator
• Go ahead, Senator. Sorry. Go ahead, Senator.
• Go ahead, Senator. them rejected. Sorry. Go ahead, Senator.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint House Committee on Tourism and Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism held an informational briefing on the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s interim action plans, current projects, contract updates, destination management action plans, and state auditor findings. Interim CEO Caroline Anderson described her role as temporary and said she was focused on identifying problems, gathering information, communicating with stakeholders, and implementing solutions. She said HTA is now operating as a typical state agency subject to state controls, but noted that HTA’s work often involves nontraditional programs that can create process errors. She also said she had directed staff to review the auditor’s findings on the destination management action plan process and that the review was posted publicly. A major topic was the search for a permanent CEO and the agency’s restructuring under SB 1571. HTA board chair Tata Po said he hoped to select a CEO within about four months, with three to six finalists expected in roughly two to two-and-a-half months, and said the job description would largely remain the same except for compensation and reporting changes under the new law. Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism representatives explained that HTA’s board is now advisory and does not approve the budget, while DBEDT retains budget authority. They also said HTA is working with the governor’s office and DBEDT on contract and budget transitions, including a possible shift to a calendar-year process so grantees and contractors have more certainty. Members pressed HTA on staffing, oversight, and accountability, especially around the destination stewardship team and the CNHA/Kilohana and HVCB contracts. HTA said the destination stewardship team supports destination management and product development, including workforce development, sports, and implementation of destination management action plans, and that staff provide direction to contractors rather than simply handing work over to them. Anderson said the stewardship team had 11 people and that the destination management side covered about 15 contracts, while the branding side had three managers overseeing nine contracts. She said the agency had 47 contracts overall and that the major contracts included CNHA/Kilohana and HVCB. Several members criticized HTA’s management history, questioned staffing qualifications and compensation, and expressed concern that the agency had lost public trust. No votes or formal actions were taken during the briefing.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, Senator.
• Thank you, Senator.
• heard um in the house and in the senate heard um in the house and in the senate um<00:05:59.120>
• Senator Sullivan. non-concur on this. Senator Sullivan.
• <00:32:07.840> Bill<00:32:08.320> 206 Senate Bill 206 Senate Bill 206 at<00:32:10.960><

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Summary: The committee conference first returned to Senate Bill 210 on cyberbullying. Members discussed whether to keep the bill focused on prevention and school action or instead add a study committee. House members said they were willing to remove the open enrollment portion and return to the original intent of the bill, while Senate members argued that bullying is already addressed in existing law and DOE guidance but that the legislature still needs to take action. Several members emphasized that bullying and related mental health harms are occurring in schools and that parents, teachers, and students are asking for stronger accountability now, not just another study. Others said the current bullying statute is not being implemented properly and that revising language without enforcement changes would not solve the problem. The House side noted that the amended bill would require additional reporting from districts, including information about police being called to schools, and would address parent notification issues. Despite those points, the Senate position remained that the House and Senate were not in agreement and that the bill should revert to the original version. The committee ultimately agreed to a non-concur report, with members indicating consent for that action. The meeting then briefly turned to Senate Bill 206. Members said the issue had already been addressed because a cell phone use policy amendment had been added to HB2 during the budget conference, making further discussion unnecessary. Because the chambers still needed to choose one of the formal conference options, the committee agreed to file a non-concurrent report on SB 206 as well, with consent from the House-side members.

Transcript Highlights:

• to honor the lives of Melissa and Mark Hortman, but also to honor and send a positive message to Senator

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and I'd like to hold the Senate and I'd like to hold the Senate position.<00:07:15.199> You
• U, Senator Lang, did you change you. U, Senator Lang, did you change your<00:10:35.040> position?
• We took a Senate position on this.
• We took a Senate position on this.
• We took a Senate position on this.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Summary: The committee worked through several election-related bills and conference committee compromises. On SB 221, members discussed a streamlined re-registration form for voters removed from the checklist, with the Secretary of State to develop the necessary form; one member opposed the bill as unnecessary and warned that more frequent purges can disenfranchise voters, but the committee ultimately accepted the compromise and prepared it for signatures. On SB 213, the committee reviewed technical language changes to the HB 340-related provisions, including changing “legislative body” to “governing body” and replacing “measure” with “warrant article.” Despite those edits, one member argued the bill could chill public employees’ participation in official duties and should be held to the Senate position; another said the bill was unnecessary in light of other voting restrictions already enacted. No position change was made, and the bill remained opposed by at least some members. On SB 218, the committee agreed to add the word “applicable” in two places, and to remove sections 5 and 6 from the Senate version so pre-processing language would be restored. The House also asked to strike a sentence giving the Secretary of State broad authority over errors identified in the process, preferring that such matters remain in statute. Members generally described these edits as improvements, though some still opposed the bill overall. The meeting ended after a final comment on SB 213 seeking to remove language requiring public employees’ factual information to be provided only in response to public requests, followed by adjournment.