Senate committees advance package of bills on juvenile justice, Maui settlement, data processing and nepotism

A joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs on Feb. (date not specified) advanced multiple bills covering juvenile justice, a proposed settlement fund for the Maui wildfires, criminal identification processing rules and a repeal of the legislature's nepotism exemption. Most measures were passed with amendments or passed as recommended; one measure was deferred for further documentation.

The committees moved first on SB 7 81, which would appropriate $300,000 to support the judiciary’s Aloha initiatives. Johanna Cho Tam, administrator of the judiciary’s Aloha program, testified on behalf of the judiciary and said, “I am Johanna Choct Tam on behalf of the judiciary. I'm the administrator of the judiciary's Aloha program. And I wanna mahalo you for this bill, and your continued support of the judiciary's Aloha initiatives.” The committees voted to pass SB 7 81 with amendments; the chair recorded the recommendation as adopted.

The meeting also advanced SB 13 20, which makes general-fund appropriations to fund a potential settlement of claims related to the Maui wildfires. Deputy Attorney General Randall Nishiyama appeared for the Department of the Attorney General and said the department submitted written comments and was “ready to answer any questions.” During final consideration the chair said the committee would note appropriations in the committee report as approximately $400,000,000 in fiscal 2026 and about $407,000,000 in fiscal 2027; the committee passed the measure with amendments.

On juvenile justice, the committees approved several bills.…