Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gaming Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate advances gaming working-group bill after wide-ranging public testimony and demands for Native Hawaiian representation
Summary
Lawmakers passed an SD1 establishing a working group to study gaming and tourism policy after hours of testimony that included industry support, Native Hawaiian objections and calls for clearer membership rules; the bill was amended to add seats and funding rules and will be reported with committee concerns about past legislation.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism advanced Senate Bill 891 (SB891) as SD1 on Feb. 11, 2025, after an extended hearing that included industry testimony, statements from Native Hawaiian advocates and detailed questioning from senators about membership, scope and past legislative history.
Supporters including Boyd Gaming told the committee the measure would allow a structured discussion of gaming policy; Erin Midby of Boyd Gaming said the bill was “a phenomenal first step” toward a state policy framework. Industry proponents urged a working group to gather stakeholders and clarify how any future gaming proposals would be shaped.
Opponents and Native Hawaiian speakers said the bill risked excluding Hawaiian voices and perpetuating past losses of self-determination. One speaker testified: “I believe leaving our voice out and including voice of industry people instead is not gonna give us the result that I think we’re looking for,” and another framed the issue as part of a longer history tied to the Akaka bill and federal recognition debates.
Senators pressed for specifics about the working group’s size, membership and evidence-gathering plans. Senators and witnesses discussed that the working group would gather earlier bills and studies for review; a DBEDT representative said the department could staff the group and would return a cost estimate later. Senator questions focused on how many prior bills and studies exist and whether the working group would consolidate that history.
In committee amendments the sponsors inserted tourism into the working-group title and scope, clarified reimbursement rules (state-employed members to be reimbursed; private gaming organizations to self-fund), and added specific seats including one Native Hawaiian representative and representatives from social services (behavioral health/addiction), law enforcement, DBEDT and tax/finance expertise. The bill also asks the Legislative Reference Bureau to compile past gaming legislation for the working group.
Committee members repeatedly requested that the working group include Native Hawaiian representation and local public members, and senators asked that the committee report document the range of concerns raised during the hearing. The committee passed SB891 SD1 with recorded votes indicating the chair and multiple senators in favor; one senator recorded a no vote. The committee directed that the amendments and concerns be noted in the committee report and that DBEDT and LRB assist with background materials.
The bill now advances with SD1 and direction to produce a fuller record of prior gaming legislation and the working group’s planned composition. The committee recorded that further deliberation will address membership balance between local communities, public-service experts and industry representatives.
