Senate committees advise and consent to multiple advisory-council nominees

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection voted to advise and consent on a slate of nominees to state advisory boards and councils during a single hearing session.

Nominees included volunteer and professional candidates for juvenile justice, mental-health service-area boards, health planning councils, the Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs, emergency medical services panels and the Disability and Communication Access Board. Many nominees received brief oral remarks and supporting testimony from state agencies or advocacy organizations prior to the committee’s votes.

Votes at a glance (committee recommendation: advise and consent; committee vote recorded as adopted unless noted): - GM519 — Paul Tonneson, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council — advised and consented (committee recommendation adopted). - GM637 — David Littman, Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Maui Service Area Board — advised and consented. - GM528 — Carol Marks, Health Planning Council Windward Oahu subarea — advised and consented. - GM574 — Jacqueline Eser, Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Oahu Service Area Board — advised and consented. - GM521 — Neil Chauhan, Commission on Fatherhood — advised and consented. - GM527 — Creighton Liu, Health Planning Council Honolulu subarea — advised and consented. - GM655 — Tope Day, Language Access Advisory Council — advised and consented. - GM578 — Marilyn Sealy, Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs — advised and consented. - GM636 — Barbara Yamashita, Health Planning Council West Oahu subarea — advised and consented. - GM543 — Cecilia Wong, Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee — advised and consented. - GM542 — Feng Yuen, Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee — advised and consented. - GM538 — Gary Simon, Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs — advised and consented. - GM635 — Forrest Wells, State Council on Mental Health — advised and consented. - GM520 — Malia Malufau, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council — advised and consented. - GM634 — Sarah Maderas, Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs (PABEA) — advised and consented. - GM628 — Tierra Kamaka, State Rehabilitation Council — advised and consented. - GM632 — John Fujii, Hawaii Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances — advised and consented. - GM639 — Dane Green, Disability and Communication Access Board — advised and consented.

The transcript shows most nominations drew brief supporting remarks from nominees and departmental officials. Departments of Health and Human Services, and advocacy groups such as the Executive Office on Aging and the Department of Health, frequently voiced support during the proceedings.

Committee procedure: For many roll-call items the committee chair read the recommendation and the clerk reported four members present; the recommendation was adopted with no recorded no votes. Several committee members were noted as excused for portions of the hearing. The transcript does not record individual roll-call tallies for every nominee beyond the recorded committee adoption statements.

The transcript documents each nominee’s short remarks, often limited to one minute, and indicates that the committees appreciated volunteer service across many state advisory boards. The hearing record will serve as the basis for the formal nominations advancing in the Senate process.