The Governor has provided a list of the bills he may veto. To find the list, and easy links to the bills and their status sheets: Go to the Legislature's website (capitol.hawaii.gov); Click on the "Reports and Lists" button; Scroll down to the "Governor's Actions" section, and click on the "Governor's Intent to Veto" link. Note that the bills appearing... Read More Governor’s Intent-to-Veto List...
The Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) has published its handy report, "Supplemental Information relating to Bills Passed by the Hawaii State Legislature, Regular Session of 2014." While the title's a mouthful, the report itself is concise, and offers timely and useful information. Note that while the bills listed (there are 245 of them) have passed the legislature, only those showing an act number... Read More An Index to the Bills that Passed the 2014 Legislature...
The 2014 Legislative Session came to a close on May 1st, but the process continues. If a bill you were interested in passed the legislature, you may want to let the Governor know if you think he should sign or veto it. See PAR's April newsletter for the Governor's deadlines and contact information. Unsure of what actually passed? Check out the... Read More Session’s Pau! (What now?)...
We've moved into the conference process -- and it can be a bit of a challenge trying to follow all of the action. Take a look at the March 2014 PAR Newsletter for an overview of the process, the deadlines, and some helpful resources.Feel free to contact PAR (587-0478 or [email protected]) with any questions. Read More In Conference...
Hear ye! Hear ye! On Tuesday, April 8th, we’ll see plenty of speeches on the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Numerous bills will be debated prior to undergoing their Third Reading votes. To survive, a bill must pass its Third Reading vote by the Second Crossover deadline (April 10th). While you can follow the action by coming down to... Read More Third Reading / Second Crossover...
The budget worksheets are posted. Go to the "Legislative Information" page -- you'll find the link on the upper right-hand side of the Legislature's website, capitol.hawaii.gov -- and select "Budget Worksheets." The HB1700 HD1 worksheets highlight the differences between the initial version of the Executive Budget (HB1700) and the amended version (HB1700 HD1) which just crossed over to the Senate from the... Read More The Budget Worksheets are Posted...
Mid-way through Session is a good time to take another look at the landscape of bills being considered. Some of the bills may have changed considerably from their initial drafts. What started out as a bill that didn't cause a blip on your radar may now be of great interest to you. It's easy to find the list of surviving... Read More Time to Take a Fresh Look...
That was fast! We're already coming up on the deadline for bills to be out of their originating chamber's committees. February 28 is the First Decking deadline. By this date, a bill needs to: pass through all of the committees it was referred to in its chamber of origin; and be submitted to the House or Senate clerk so that... Read More Quickly Approaching First Decking Deadline...
The incredibly handy, pocket-sized “Hawaii Directory of Public Officials 2014″ (which lists contact information for Hawaii's legislators) is here. And once again its publisher, the Hawaii Institute of Public Affairs (HIPA), has generously provided the Public Access Room with an ample supply for distribution to our patrons. Once again, they’ve provided a mobile app as well. Come on by (Room 401, State Capitol) and... Read More The handy directories have arrived...
The 2014 Legislative Session is underway, and new bills are being introduced and referred to committees. Here we go! Time to start asking committee chairs to schedule bills for hearings and to offer testimony on measures already scheduled to be heard. But first off: where are the bills that have been introduced? The "Reports and Lists" button can be found... Read More New Bills being Introduced — Where to Find Them...