Senate Ways and Means committee advances scores of bills; key debates on landfill buffers and rehiring retirees

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means met Feb. 19 for a decision-making session that advanced more than 40 bills; the committee approved most measures, frequently adopting Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) technical edits or targeted policy amendments.

The committee voted to adopt or pass with amendments a long list of bills ranging from tax and housing measures to corrections policy and invasive-species reporting. Many measures carried provisions that change effective dates, add sunsets, or direct agencies to adopt technical language from subject-matter testimony. Committee chairs repeatedly said votes were “aye” and most measures were recorded as adopted.

Why it matters: the meeting advanced bills that affect land use, housing programs, corrections policy, hiring of retired public employees, and natural-resource enforcement — areas that carry operational and budget implications for state departments and, in some cases, long-term policy changes.

Votes at a glance (selected bills considered and committee action) - SB 40 — Recommendation: pass with amendments. Committee adopted the measure (chair and vice chair voted aye). (See transcript lines around opening roll call.) - SB 411 — Passed with amendments: adds a five-year sunset and changes an annual report to a quarterly report; measure adopted. - SB 436 — Passed unamended; measure adopted. - SB 443 — Passed unamended; measure adopted. - SB 446 — Passed with amendments to modify buffer-zone language and related definitions (committee reported amending the bill to change a buffer from one-half mile to one-quarter mile, remove references to a “no-pass zone,” and to prevent new landfill units makai of the underground injection control line). Several senators raised concerns about equitable siting and impacts on communities near existing landfills during discussion. - SB 447 — Passed unamended; measure adopted. - SB 572 — Passed with amendments; the committee amended the effective date language. - SB 583 — Passed with amendments removing references to selling naming rights (committee noted the final language now allows leasing only); a member recorded a vote “with reservations.” - SB 739 — Passed with amendments to allow the governor to negotiate land exchanges in consultation with the Board of Land and Natural Resources; committee discussion included questions about ceded lands revenue and Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) implications. - SB 742, SB 746, SB 816, SB 826, SB 830, SB 841, SB 850, SB 865 — Passed (unamended or with LRB technical amendments as noted on the floor); several measures adopted with committee instructions or clarified scope. - SB 952 — Passed with amendments (administration of a program moved to Department of Human Services with partnership for pilot design noted). - SB 955 — Passed with amendments adopting Department of Health language and adding a sunset (12/31/2026) for a pilot study of proposed changes; committee added weekly status hearings language for facility placements. - SB 983 — Deferred by the committee. - SB 1040 (listed as SB 10 40 in transcript) and SB 10 42 — Passed (SB 10 40 with LRB tech amendments; SB 10 42 unamended). - SB 1083 (SB 10 83) — Passed with LRB technical amendments. - SB 1229 (SB 12 29) — Passed with amendments; removed language to make the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund equity pilot permanent and extended the pilot to 06/30/2030. - SB 1359 (SB 13 59) and SB 1469 (SB 14 69) — Passed (technical amendments adopted where noted). - SB 1553 and SB 1578 (SB 15 53; SB 15 78) — Passed with amendments; SB 15 53 uses funds to be appropriated from the DHHL special fund; SB 15 78 adopted AG-recommended standards for public-designation funding for the East-West Center. - SB 1602, SB 1609, SB 1610, SB 1619 — Several SB16-series bills passed with committee amendments; SB 1610 (Ohana zones) was amended to require that kohales must have connections to public utilities (water, sewer, electricity), define “kohales,” cap rents at no more than 30% of area median income, and add provisos to limit spending on kahales. - SB 1641 (SB 16 41) — Passed with amendments to transfer the Hawaii State Film Office into a new commission, create a special fund for the film industry, transfer personnel and appropriate funds into the new structure; committee noted four personnel would transfer. - SB 442 (SB 4 42) — Passed with amendments after extended floor discussion and testimony from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Attorney General’s Office. The committee adopted amendments that would: • include investigators from the Department of Law Enforcement in the bill’s covered positions; • expand eligible state departments to include those identified as having labor shortages or difficult-to-fill managerial positions to permit rehiring retired employees for limited terms; • require that rehiring beyond an identified cap would require approval from the State’s human-resources director; and • defer the effective date to 2050 (the committee’s language repeatedly used “defect/defer to 2050” — the adopted committee report reflects an extended effective date). Committee debate on SB 442 centered on the length of allowable rehiring terms vs. the existing 89‑day emergency hire mechanism, succession planning concerns, and whether rehired retirees could collect pension benefits while under contract. Members asked the Attorney General and Department of Law Enforcement to provide follow-up details (e.g., typical vacant-investigator salaries and vacancy counts). - SB 716, SB 763, SB 804, SB 825 — Passed with amendments or technical conforming changes (including language to avoid retroactive application and contractual impairment concerns where AG input was adopted). - SB 1100 — Passed with amendments that remove discretionary “may” language in favor of “shall,” require an invasive-species dashboard (HDOA, DLNR and contractors) be posted no later than Dec. 1, 2025, and prohibit funding to parties that fail to provide required dashboard data; committee commentary referenced New Zealand’s model for biosecurity. - SB 1432 — Deferred to Feb. 26 for LRB and AG coordination on constitutional/legal language. - SB 1601, SB 1667 (SB 16 01, SB 16 67) — Passed with amendments; SB 16 67 amendments included an appropriation for judiciary database updates, a delayed implementation date for imaging-detector citation implementation (01/01/2027), and restoration of the current appeal pathway for certain driver-license suspensions. - SB 104 (restrictive housing) — Passed with an amendment clarifying access to legal counsel for persons in restrictive housing. - SB 224, SB 350 (constitutional amendment on contraception), SB 352 (units for restricted-use pesticide reporting), SB 1324-series and SB 1324 (SB 13 24 fireworks amendments) — Passed as described by the committee (the fireworks bill was amended per AG request to preserve lawful display permits and to clarify air-delivery prohibitions vis-à-vis federal-permitted shipments).

Notable quotes from the hearing - Brandon Nesuka, testifying for the Department of Law Enforcement: “Department supports this measure and requests that we make the following recommended amendments in our testimony to include DLE as part of this measure.” - Jenny Nakamoto, Deputy Attorney General: “We did submit written testimony this morning in support of the bill, and I do apologize for the late submission.”

Process and next steps The committee repeatedly adopted LRB technical amendments and accepted AG-recommended clarifications on several bills to avoid retroactive application or constitutional concerns. A small number of items were deferred to Feb. 26 to allow LRB and the Attorney General to draft conforming language. Departments (including the Attorney General and Department of Law Enforcement) were asked to provide follow-up data requested on hiring practice questions and vacancy/salary information.

Ending note The committee’s decisions will be reflected in committee reports and the legislature’s status pages; written testimony and video of the hearing were noted as available through the committee’s live-and-on-demand pages.