What's Happening in our Community & at the Capitol

Aloha!

Opening day for the 32nd Legislature was one for the books! So many residents from our District trekked across the channel to the Capitol to mark the occasion. I am so grateful to everyone who made the journey, I know it isn't easy. A special shout out to Aunty Lori and her 'ohana for stocking our office with ono grinds and for providing mini Molokai breads for everyone that stopped by.

This week Governor Green made his inaugural State of the State Address and Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, his State of Judiciary. In his address, the Governor spoke to priorities regarding homelessness and housing, the Green Affordability Plan, climate change, and our healthcare crisis. There is much to be accomplished and I am hopeful that the legislative and executive branches will be able to foster collaboration to advance solutions.

Earlier this month it was announced that a DHHL lease to the U.S. Air Force of around 300 acres of 'aina in the Ho'olehua/Pala'au area of Molokai had expired as of December 2022. As a result, this acreage is added back into the inventory of unleased land. I've been assured by the Department that beneficiary consultation will occur prior to making decisions regarding future use of this 'aina. I will also continue to share updates as I hear more.

In December, a storm took out telecommunication connections for many households in the Ke'anae/Wailuanui area of east Maui. I was alerted to the issue a few weeks ago by an impacted constituent and immediately contacted the Governor and Hawaiian Telcom for assistance. It takes a village, but after much communication with Hawaiian Telcom, other lawmakers, and the community, service was restored. Mahalo to the crews that worked around the clock to expedite repairs and to Civil Beat for reporting on the impact of the outage.

Wednesday 1/25 was the deadline for bills to be filed. Overall, thousands of bills were introduced in the House! Scroll down for more details on the bills I introduced. I've also signed on to numerous other bills. We're now quickly transitioning into committee meetings to hear the bills, which moves very fast. The Public Access room is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more and get involved in the process.

Our office is always here for you, so please don't hesitate to reach out.

Me ke aloha,

Mahina

Welcome to Opening Day

Rep. Poepoe's Legislative Package

Most representatives are allotted 20 bills for personal introduction and can sign on any number of bills as a primary introducer or cosponsor. Following are the bills included in Rep. Poepoe's first primary introducer legislative package:

HB59

School Librarians; Library Resources; Public Schools; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO LIBRARIES AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Requires a qualified school librarian and library resources on the campus of every public school in Hawaii by 6/30/2026.

HB582

Sexual Abuse; Minors; Civil Action; Statute of Limitations; Certificate of Merit; Trauma-Informed Response

RELATING TO SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS.

Expands the period by which a civil action for childhood sexual abuse may be initiated, including an otherwise time-barred action. Authorizes a court to require personnel of legal entities to undergo training on trauma-informed response.

HB619

Qualified Small Farms; Donations; Tax Credit; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Establishes an income tax credit for qualified small farms with gross sales of $250,000 or less that donate eligible food products or prepared food to food banks or food pantries.

HB620

Public Schools; Free Breakfast and Lunch; Universal School Meals; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year requires public schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students.

HB621

Water Rights; Commercial Kalo Farming; Native Hawaiian Practices; Exemptions

RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF WATER RIGHTS.

Exempts the instream use of water for commercial kalo cultivation conducted in a manner consistent with traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians from the existing process for the disposition of water rights.

HB622

Native Hawaiians; Pacific Islanders; Suicide Prevention; Task Force

RELATING TO SUICIDE PREVENTION.

Establishes within the Department of Health a task force to reduce the suicide rate among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the State.

HB905

Sustainable Groundwater Yields

RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER YIELDS.

Requires the University of Hawaii to develop a flexible model for setting sustainable groundwater yields that includes the needs of traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices, climate change history and projections, and groundwater seepage at the shoreline.

HB906

Commission on Water Resource Management; Water Audit

RELATING TO THE COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

Requires the Commission on Water Resource Management to conduct an audit of the State's surface water transmission systems.

HB907

Telehealth; Conform to Federal Law; Accident and Health or Sickness Insurance; Benefit Societies; Health Maintenance Organizations

RELATING TO TELEHEALTH.

Conforms the State's law regarding telehealth to the medicare standards by clarifying that telehealth services provided through an interactive telecommunications system be reimbursed.

HB908

Conveyance Tax; Land Conservation Fund; Sea Level Rise

RELATING TO THE LAND CONSERVATION FUND.

Amends the amount of conveyance tax to be deposited into the land conservation fund.

HB909

Commission on Water Resource Management; Water Conservation; Plants ($)

RELATING TO WATER CONSERVATION.

Establishes the water neutrality turf replacement program to provide financial incentives to replace irrigated turf with turf or other plants that use less water. Requires the Commission on Water Resource Management to administer the program.

HB1211

Conveyance Tax Rates

RELATING TO CONVEYANCE TAX.

Increases the conveyance tax rate for certain properties.

HB1212

Water Neutrality; DOH; Task Force; Plan

RELATING TO WATER NEUTRALITY.

Establishes the water neutrality task force to develop a plan for Hawaii to become water-neutral by the year 2050. Requires the task force to submit a report to the Legislature.

HB1213

Counties; General Powers; Rental Motor Vehicles

RELATING TO RENTAL MOTOR VEHICLES.

Authorizes each county to regulate the number of rental motor vehicles within the county.

HB1214

CIP; Thirteenth Representative District; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE THIRTEENTH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the thirteenth representative district.

HB1405

Limu Research; Commission on Water Resource Management; DLNR; UH; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES.

Requires the commission on water resource management and division of aquatic resources of the department of land and natural resources, in partnership with the University of Hawaii, to conduct research on limu to understand the impacts of groundwater use on groundwater-dependent ecosystems

HB1406

Asphalt Recycling; DOH; DOT; Environmental Protection

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

Requires that asphalt removed from roads and driveways be recycled. Requires the Department of Transportation to adopt rules regarding best practices for paving projects, asphalt processing, and asphalt disposal. Requires the Department of Health to designate asphalt storage sites or develop a centralized asphalt state processing and storage facility.

HB1407

UH; Maui; Water Testing; Appropriation ($)

RELATING TO WATER TESTING.

Appropriate moneys to the department of science of the University of Hawaii Maui College to support water testing on the island of Maui, including supplies and the creation of 2.0 FTE positions.

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Serve on a Board or Commission

The Office of the Governor is looking for individuals committed to investing in the people of Hawaii and our statewide community.

The Governor appoints and nominates to more than 170 boards and commissions established by the State of Hawai'i Constitution, State statutes, and Executive Orders. Current vacancies can be found by clicking here.

Boards and commissions provide an opportunity for citizens to have a voice in their government and provide a means of influencing decisions that shape the quality of life for the residents of our State.

To apply online, click here, and for more information, click here.

Working for Families, Women & Children

As a member of the Hawai'i Women's Legislative Caucus (WLC), Wednesday morning Rep. Poepoe participated in a panel discussion to present the WLC 2023 legislative package to improve the lives of Hawaiʻi's women, children, and families. As a primary introducer of HB580, Rep. Poepoe spoke on the importance of extending the statute of limitations for civil action on childhood sexual abuse.

The package includes the following five bills and one resolution:

HB579/SB235 - Establishes a Human Trafficking Prevention Program in the Attorney General’s office, requires reporting on commercial sexual exploitation of children.
HB580/SB236 – Expands the victim-counselor privilege under the Hawaiʻi rules of Evidence to include confidential advocates employed by the University of Hawaiʻi.
HB581/SB237 - Require custody evaluators to complete a domestic violence training course every three years.
HB582/SB238 - Extends the time to file a civil action for childhood sexual abuse to age 50 and allows the court to order a party to undergo trauma-informed training.
HB583/SB239 - Establishes a childcare accreditation program within the Department of Human Services (DHS) and extends the deadline for Preschool Open Doors Program for providers to become accredited.
HCR7 - Requests DHS Med-QUEST Division to expand the types of providers allowed to provide lactation consultant services.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Legislative Calendar

Deadlines for the 2023 Regular Session are set and the legislative calendar published.

Session opens on Wednesday, January 18, at 10:00 a.m., and legislators have until January 25 to introduce their bills.

The calendar can be found under the Public Access Room's (PAR) “Events” tab. It is also available on the Public Access Room (PAR) website on the “Current Legislature” page, where you’ll also find the famous “Which Deadlines Apply to My Bill?” handout.

You can access the calendar here.

Come Visit the Capitol!

The Capitol is completely reopened to the public. However, it will continue to offer hybrid options for hearings and testimony. Following is specific information that may be helpful:

Capitol Hours: Building hours for the State Capitol are 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Photo identification is required for entry into the building. All guests will receive an entry wristband upon completing the security checkpoint.

Paid Public Parking: The Capitol parking lot has reopened for paid public parking.

Spread the word...let your neighbors & friends know we'd love to share our newsletter with them!

Rep. Mahina Poepoe

District 13 House of Representatives

415 S. Beretania Street Room 331

Honolulu, HI 96813