Transcript Highlights:

• I disagree with the characterization that we are sweeping anything under the rug.
• I disagree<00:38:41.920> with<00:38:42.040> the<00:38:42.160> characterization<00
• :38:43.200> that disagree with the characterization that disagree with the characterization that

Bills: HB389, HB469, HB1510, HB1573, HB1705, HB1858, HB1875, HB1946, HB1961, HB1962, HB2001, HB2093, HB2096, HB2097

Keywords: HB389, uncrewed aircraft, drone, drones, UAS, unmanned aerial vehicle, misuse of uncrewed aircraft, criminal offense, felony enhancement, drone crime, public safety, police, deputy sheriff, fire department, intoxicated operation, registration number tampering, property damage, bodily injury, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Package, Hawaii Revised Statutes

Transcript Highlights:

• Those sites have already been characterized.
• And that's why, again, I think continuing to double down on the efforts where we have characterized industrial
• And that's why, again, I think continuing to double down on the efforts where we have characterized industrial
• We've characterized 47 different sites already around the state.
• We've already, in this round, we're characterizing 26 more.

Bills: SB241, SB145

Keywords: child care, child care assistance, child care subsidy, early childhood education, early childhood care, daycare, preschool, pre-K, Head Start, Early Head Start, Children's Code, early childhood education and care department, ECECD, child care facilities, licensed child care, registered child care, copayments, waitlist, subsidy, federal poverty level

Transcript Highlights:

• Would you characterize them as sex clubs? I'm sorry?
• Would you characterize them as sex clubs as the author did?
• I'm not advised the way that the author characterize it. But I think that the...
• Would you characterize them like the author did as sex clubs?
• So I can't characterize what the focus of those clubs are.

Summary: The House met in a late-session floor session that began with prayer, pledges, quorum, and a series of excused absences and Senate messages reporting action on numerous bills, conference committee appointments, and conference reports. Members also adopted a memorial resolution honoring Mark James Hanna, a Capitol lobbyist and advocate for nurses, and a congratulatory resolution for Rishi Tarumalasetti, an eighth-grade civics bee winner from Katy. The chamber also received and recorded a parliamentary colloquy about an unusual Senate request on SB 293, with the Chair stating the House could not recede from only part of its amendments and could not suspend the rules because the bill had not been returned from the Senate. The bulk of the session was devoted to taking up conference committee reports and related procedural resolutions, especially the state budget. The House adopted a resolution allowing the SB 1 conferees to go outside the normal bounds, then adopted the SB 1 conference report on a 107-21 vote. Debate on the budget centered on public education funding, tax relief, health care, corrections pay, and judicial compensation, with supporters calling it a responsible compromise and opponents arguing it was overly expansive and insufficient on property tax relief. The House also adopted a technical correction resolution tying judicial pay increases in SB 1 to the House version of SB 293, and members discussed at length the relationship between judicial salaries and legislative pensions. The chamber then adopted a long series of conference reports on measures covering topics such as school library review and book challenges (SB 13), SNAP restrictions on sweetened drinks and candy (SB 379), hospital price transparency (SB 331), nursing home accountability (SB 457), school district personnel compensation conflicts (HB 3372), property notice rules (HB 2011), research and development tax credits (SB 2018), and several other bills affecting elections, permits, education, and criminal justice. Most reports passed by wide margins, though some drew significant opposition, especially SB 13 and SB 379. The House also granted several Senate requests for conference committees and introduced additional resolutions to suspend conferee limits on various bills as the session moved toward adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• There was also another fairly significant component on top of that that characterized or identified the
• There was also another fairly significant component on top of that that characterized or identified the
• There was also another fairly significant component on top of that that characterized or identified the
• There was also another fairly significant component on top of that that characterized or identified the
• There was also another fairly significant component on top of that that characterized or identified the

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Pcel, we talked about the expedited process that would be what I characterized as a carrot
• 07.199> I ex the process that would be uh what I ex the process that would be uh what I characterized
• 08.759> carrot<00:14:09.199> as<00:14:09.399> instead<00:14:09.720> of characterized
• as a carrot as instead of characterized as a carrot as instead of a<00:14:10.160> stick<00:14

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Bible, inspiring principles such as republican government, religious liberty, and equality that characterize
• And whereas the Pilgrims hosted the first... ...that characterize America.

Keywords: Scheduler, 973, house, all

Summary: The House convened at noon with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, including a reading of George Washington’s prayer in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. The journal for Saturday, June 27, 2026, was postponed until printed. Representative Borowitz then spoke under House Rule 17 on America 250 and House Resolution 579, which designates a day of commemoration for America’s 250th birthday and celebrates the nation’s founding principles. Borowitz’s remarks reviewed a long historical narrative emphasizing the role of religion and divine providence in American history, citing the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers, early colonial worship, the Pilgrims, the Great Awakenings, presidential prayers and proclamations, the Aitken Bible, Capitol church services, the Civil War, World War II, and later references such as the National Prayer Breakfast and Apollo-era Bibles. The resolution was described as reaffirming commitment to the Declaration’s principles, including rights endowed by the Creator and reliance on divine providence. No vote was taken on the resolution during this session. At the end of the remarks, Representative Dockery moved to adjourn, and the House agreed by voice vote. The House adjourned until Monday, June 29, 2026, at 12 noon, unless sooner recalled by the Speaker.

Transcript Highlights:

• In working with Sandia National Labs and our universities, we have begun the process of characterizing
• problem, if we can solve getting utilities to be able to pre-deploy electricity to a site, and we've characterized
• Electricity to a site, and we've characterized that site, there's no limit to what New Mexico can accomplish

Transcript Highlights:

• anything there that might be historical cultural resource or indicate that there might be something subsurface
• indicate that there might<03:59:57.439> be<03:59:57.600> something<03:59:57.920> subsurface
• <03:59:59.120> and<03:59:59.279> then might be something subsurface and then might
• be something subsurface and then also<03:59:59.760> doing<04:00:00.000> research<04:00:

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The task force held its first meeting, beginning with roll call and introductions of members and participants in the room and on Zoom. The chair emphasized Sunshine Law transparency, noted the meeting was on September 11, and opened public testimony on the orientation report. No one testified in person or on Zoom, and the chair observed a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11 before moving into the agenda. The chair then reported on several orientation presentations given statewide between July 18 and September 5, including meetings with transit-oriented development, the Maui Chamber of Commerce, the Kona-Kohala Chamber, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce on Hawaiʻi Island, the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber, and the Capo Chamber of Commerce. The main presentation item was a detailed overview from Kauaʻi County on its permitting process. County staff explained that zoning and building permits are handled separately on the outer islands, with zoning focused on form, character, and compatibility, and building permits focused on health and safety. They described a two-tier zoning system: ministerial permits that are automatically approved if not acted on within 30 days, and discretionary permits that go to the planning commission and can become lengthy contested cases if there is intervention. They also discussed special management area review in coastal areas, which can add time, and explained that building permits must conform to what was approved in zoning. Kauaʻi County staff also outlined the building permit process, including online and in-person submission, coordination with planning, engineering, water, wastewater, health, and fire agencies, and the county’s fully electronic review system using ProjectDox and related software. They noted that applicants are encouraged to check zoning, water, wastewater, and floodplain issues before hiring someone to prepare plans, especially for homeowners. The county shared permit and utility statistics and said the public can check permit history through Click2Gov. No votes were taken during the portion of the meeting provided; after the Kauaʻi presentation, the chair opened a question period for members.

Transcript Highlights:

• Bible, inspiring principles such as republican government, religious liberty, and equality that characterize
• And whereas the Pilgrims hosted the first... ...that characterize America.

Summary: The House convened at noon with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then postponed approval of the prior day’s journal. The main business was remarks by Representative Borowitz on House Resolution 579, marking America’s 250th anniversary and celebrating the nation’s founding principles. Her remarks emphasized the Declaration of Independence, natural rights, religious faith in American history, and a long list of historical examples she said reflected divine providence and the role of religion in public life. No debate or vote on the resolution itself is shown in the transcript. After the remarks, the chair reminded members of the five-minute rule for speeches under House Rule 17. Representative Dockery then moved that the House adjourn until Monday, June 29, 2026, at 12 noon unless recalled sooner by the Speaker. The motion to adjourn was put to a voice vote and adopted, and the House adjourned accordingly.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, the legislature has characterized those offenses as low misdemeanor, high misdemeanor.
• <01:52:58.320> as<01:52:58.560> high laws are um characterized as high laws are um
• characterized as high misdemeanors<01:52:59.920> and<01:53:00.159> low<01:53:00.400>
• characterized as high misdemeanors<01:53:14.159> which<01:53:14.400> sets<01:53:14.800
• <01:58:23.440> or offense was already characterized or offense was already characterized or

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:41:15.359> of<00:41:15.599> medium,<00:41:16.160> high, characterizations of
• medium, high, characterizations of medium, high, medium<00:41:16.720> or<00:41:16.880> low
• Five days for DHS policy teams after we receive those characterizations back from the vendor to review
• that come back to the characterizations that come back to us<00:45:04.640> and<00:45:04.880><
• the claims and are able to characterize the claims and review<00:45:20.000> them<00:45:20.560

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I'm not sure we would characterize or agree with the characterization, perhaps, that this is a gift

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The subcommittee met on Senate Bill 2339 and worked from engrossed version 02001, which members said reflected an agreement between insurance companies and utility companies. Representative Olson moved to recommend that version to the full committee, and Representative Johnson seconded. Representative Conmy raised concerns about keeping strict liability in the bill but removing a rebuttable presumption provision on page 3, arguing it favored utilities and shifted burdens unfairly to landowners. Levi Andres, speaking for North Dakota power companies, opposed removing the language and said the bill was a negotiated, incremental step that still leaves the plaintiff with the burden of proof in court. The discussion also clarified that the bill’s language was intended to codify negligence standards and encourage wildfire mitigation plans, with the utility side noting the Public Service Commission was not yet ready for a mandatory review-and-approval process. A technical correction was noted on page 4, line 2, changing “shall” to “may,” and members confirmed that change was already reflected in the version before them. The committee did not pursue additional amendments, including a proposed Mincota-related change, and voted unanimously to recommend the bill as presented. The motion passed 4-0, and the subcommittee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Would it be a stretch to characterize these as like hubs of criminal activity in our communities across
• Would it be uh a stretch<00:19:39.440> to<00:19:39.679> characterize<00:19:40.240> these
• <00:19:40.480> as<00:19:40.640> like stretch to characterize these as like stretch
• to characterize these as like hubs<00:19:41.200> of<00:19:41.360> criminal<00:19:41.679
• Uh, and actually I think Representative Holt characterized it really accurately, that these are dens

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Representative, if you wish to characterize it that way, that of course is up to you.
• I would not characterize it that way, Madam Chair and Representative.
• Madam Chair, I'd be interested to find out how you would characterize money taken.
• Out of employee checks, money that is paid by businesses, how you would characterize that, Madam Chair
• As a representative, I would characterize it as contributions from wage earners and businesses into the

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that is a fair characterization.” or through grants or some of that 18 or through grants or some
• c><00:34:17.919> is<00:34:18.040> a<00:34:18.399> fair<00:34:18.679> characterization
• So, I don't think that's a fair characterization to pit groups against each other.
• Um so, I don't think that's a fair<00:40:53.080> characterization<00:40:53.920> to<00:40
• :54.080> pit<00:40:54.520> groups fair characterization to pit groups fair characterization

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to do characterization work to understand where we can develop, what types of industries, and
• The idea would be to do that site characterization work in partnership with our local communities, counties
• We know what we've characterized as to what's the best opportunity for it because it's on a rail.
• we're getting those sites ready to go to be developed, pairing that with—once we've done the characterization
• We would then go and do the characterization work to say, based off of your workforce, based off of your

Transcript Highlights:

• into conformity with those best practices, where a trustee has the ability to adjust the way it characterizes
• into conformity with those best practices, where a trustee has the ability to adjust the way it characterizes
• into conformity with those best practices, where a trustee has the ability to adjust the way it characterizes
• into conformity with those best practices, where a trustee has the ability to adjust the way it characterizes
• Ability to adjust the way it characterizes receipts and disbursements, uh, with ongoing and, you know

Bills: SB309, HB192, SB178, SB179, SB237, HB10, HB107, HB189, HB37, HB226, SB309, HB192, SB178, SB179, SB237, HB10, HB107, HB189, HB37, HB226

Keywords: automated driving systems, oversized vehicles, transportation, regulations, permits, HB192, international wire transfer, wire transfer fee, remittance fee, money transmission business, Alabama Securities Commission, Department of Revenue, Education Trust Fund, ELL instructors, English Language Learner, ESL teachers, income tax credit, remittances, international money transfer, migrant families

Transcript Highlights:

• we recognize and understand the issues related to theft and what I believe this committee is characterizing
• we recognize and understand the issues related to theft and what I believe this committee is characterizing
• Also want to highlight that criminal property damage traditionally has been tiered and characterized
• <01:06:49.599> by<01:06:50.240> monetary uh tiered and characterized by monetary uh
• tiered and characterized by monetary amounts<01:06:51.440> of<01:06:51.760> damage.

Bills: HB1629, HB1630, HB1631

Keywords: economic development, business, state statutes, Hawaii Revised Statutes, legislation, development strategy, state funding, infrastructure, employment opportunities, legislative intent, state legislation, development initiatives, 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills, beginning with HB 1829 on marine affairs. Most testimony was in strong support, with speakers from state agencies, ocean-tech companies, startups, nonprofits, and community groups backing the creation of an Office of Marine Affairs and a marine affairs coordinator under HTDC. Supporters said the measure would better coordinate ocean policy, strengthen the blue economy, and help Hawaii capture jobs, investment, and innovation in marine-related industries. No vote or final action was taken in the portion provided. The committee then took up HTDC-related measures, including HB 1615 and HB 1613, which also drew broad support from business, technology, and economic development interests. Testifiers said the bills would strengthen Hawaii’s technology and innovation ecosystem, support advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity, and help build a more diversified economy with higher-wage jobs. The committee also heard HB 1607 on public procurement and HB 1772 on small business procurement; state procurement staff and several business groups supported efforts to expand opportunities for local firms, while one speaker from the city’s economic revitalization commission argued that a flat 5% preference could help keep more revenue and jobs in-state. On HB 1636 relating to shopping carts, the Hawaii Food Industry Association and Retail Merchants of Hawaii testified in opposition, saying the bill would penalize businesses for carts that are stolen rather than abandoned and would add costs that could especially burden small and local retailers. HB 1810 on charitable solicitation drew support from Goodwill Hawaii and other nonprofits, who said the bill would improve transparency around donation bins and protect donors from misleading for-profit collection practices; the Attorney General’s office asked for a delayed effective date to allow system changes and staffing. HB 1782 on AI and the protection of minors received broad support from state agencies, educators, and advocacy groups, but some business and retail representatives urged narrowing the definition of covered AI services so ordinary customer-service chatbots would not be swept in. Finally, HB 1759 on theft drew opposition from the Public Defender’s Office, which said the bill could create overly harsh penalties and should include defense representation on any task force; the office also noted existing laws already address conspiracy and related conduct.

Transcript Highlights:

• I would characterize this as a fee for contract.
• I would characterize this as a fee for contract.
• Madam Chair, Representative, I would characterize this as a fee for contract.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't characterize this as abuse.
• I characterize this as one of the few policies that enable safety net providers to be funded.
• <00:25:58.000> I don't characterize this as abuse. I don't characterize this as abuse.
• I characterize<00:25:58.880> this<00:25:59.120> as<00:25:59.840> one<00:26:00.080
• > of<00:26:00.159> the<00:26:00.400> few characterize this as one of the few characterize

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 302, which would expand access to medical cannabis by removing the in-person provider-patient relationship requirement and related restrictions. The Department of Health supported the bill, and multiple advocates and organizations testified in support, including the ACLU of Hawaii, Hawaii Alliance for Cannabis Reform, Marijuana Policy Project, and others. Supporters said the measure would improve access for patients, especially on outer islands, and some urged broader amendments allowing providers to certify cannabis for any medical condition and to speed registration and treat in-state and out-of-state patients equally. No opposition was heard, and the bill was left with no questions after testimony. The committee also heard HB 1052 HD1, which clarifies that the Public Utilities Commission may use universal service fund monies to provide free telecommunications access for individuals with print disabilities. Testimony was uniformly supportive from the DCCA Division of Consumer Advocacy, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Human Services, the Public Utilities Commission, and the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii. Witnesses described the program as an important accessibility service that has been operating under prior appropriations and should continue under the universal service program. HB 1482, relating to controlled substances and hemp/synthetic cannabinoids, drew support from the Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Health, Honolulu Police Department, and others, with some comments from the Attorney General’s office. Supporters said the bill would clarify that delta-8 THC is a controlled substance and help enforcement against illegal hemp products and synthetic cannabinoids. Testimony and questioning focused on the need for better lab testing capacity, retail registry and age-gating, seizure authority, nuisance abatement, and possible use of special funds or appropriations to support enforcement. Members also discussed enforcement of illegal hemp businesses and whether additional funding or statutory changes would be needed. Finally, the committee took up HB 712, a 340B drug-discount measure affecting safety-net providers and contract pharmacies. Hospitals, health centers, and provider groups testified in support, saying the bill would protect access to discounted drugs and preserve funding for services such as chronic disease management, transportation, and specialty care. Pharmaceutical-industry representatives opposed the bill or sought amendments, arguing the 340B program has expanded beyond its original intent and lacks transparency, and they requested reporting or audit-like provisions to verify claims and revenues. Members questioned both sides about alleged abuse, the growth of contract pharmacies, and whether the bill should include transparency requirements before moving forward.