State legislators continue to move bills toward the end of session that would further tighten election and campaign laws, impose new rules for film tax credits, limit local law enforcement involvement with federal agents and roll back some promised Hawaii income tax breaks scheduled through 2031.
Senate Bill 3125, in its current House draft, would maintain tax relief through standard deduction increases in 2028 and 2030, but repeal relief via tax bracket reductions in 2027, 2029 and 2031 for everyone.
The bill also calls for generating extra revenue by adding 1 percentage point to the tax rate on an upper tier of income for taxpayers in the state’s three highest tax brackets effective in 2027.
Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Mililani-Wahiawa-Whitmore Village) said the Senate position is to preserve all of the tax cuts from 2027 to 2031 for all but a top tier of income earners, and calls SB 3125 one of the most important pieces of legislation this year.
“We know people are suffering,” he said Friday. “We really want to make sure that those tax breaks stay in place.”
Gov. Josh Green proposed repealing the tax cuts over the next five years to preserve state revenue that can offset expected federal funding losses. House and Senate leaders believe they can offset much of the federal cuts in other ways, and are now tasked with reaching a compromise on SB 3125.
House Speaker Nadine Nakamura told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a text Saturday that, “I’m pleased with the work of House members that squarely address the high cost of living in Hawaii.
“The House has prioritized strengthening social services and programs that support local families and maintaining a balanced approach that protects essential government services. This includes expanding affordable housing, supporting Native Hawaiian families, addressing workforce shortages, and responsibly strengthening the state’s revenue base.”
Senate President Ron Kouchi said in a statement Friday that, “This legislative session has been marked by significant uncertainty – from anticipated cuts to federal monies because of the Big Beautiful Bill, the recent Kona Low flooding events and questions regarding FEMA funding, the TSA shutdown and its impact on travelers, the impacts of tariffs, and the potential effects to the economy from the current middle east conflicts. The Senate remains focused on fiscal responsibility while addressing the needs of our most vulnerable populations.”
The tax repeal bill is one of more than 450 to clear a Thursday deadline for bills to receive the last of three readings in both the House and Senate to stay alive.
Most bills that are still pending will go into joint House and Senate conference committees that will attempt to reconcile House and Senate differences.
Lawmakers already have given final approval to eight bills, five of which await action by Gov. Josh Green, and three that he has already signed into law.
Act 1, signed on March 23, appropriates funding for operations of the Legislature, the state auditor’s office, the Legislative Reference Bureau, state ombudsman, and state Ethics Commission.
One of the bills awaiting action by Green, SB 2256, designates April 27 of every year as Brother Joseph Dutton Day to recognize Ira Barnes Dutton, a Vermont native who moved to Molokai’s remote Kalaupapa peninsula in 1886 to assist Hansen’s disease patients and Father Damien, who had contracted leprosy and died three years later. Dutton served Kalaupapa residents until he became ill and died in 1931. Damien later became Hawaii’s first Catholic saint.
Lawmakers have far more bills to consider for final approval before the scheduled May 8 end of this year’s legislative session.
Law enforcement
A flurry of bills were introduced at the start of the session in January just days following the separate shooting deaths of two anti-ICE demonstrators in Minneapolis.
Of the immigration-enforcement bills that remain alive, the latest version of SB 2054 would prohibit the Hawaii National Guard “from deploying to assist federal troops, federal law enforcement, or the national guard of any other state operating in Hawaii when the Governor has objected to the deployments.”
The latest version of House Bill 2540 also would limit state law enforcement cooperation with federal agents regarding immigration enforcement.
All law enforcement agencies would be required to establish and post their policies regarding civil immigration enforcement, including officers’ authority to make any inquiry into a person’s immigration status under the bill.
The latest version of SB 2145 would establish the right of anyone to record law enforcement activities.
HB 1768 would prohibit any law enforcement agency or law enforcement official from joining immigration enforcement efforts, except under limited circumstances.
The latest version of HB 1886 also would limit collaboration between state and federal agencies for immigration enforcement while also imposing identification and facial covering standards for both state and federal law enforcement.
Criminal penalties also would be imposed for improper facial coverings, lack of visible identification and unauthorized civil immigration interrogation, arrest, or detention.
The latest version of HB 1839 would require state and county law enforcement agencies to notify an individual in the custody of a state or county law enforcement agency of their rights before any ICE interview, among other new rules aimed at regulating ICE activities.
Last Tuesday, HB 1839 drew debate on the Senate floor before senators voted 22-3 to pass the Senate’s draft of the bill introduced on behalf of the Filipino Caucus in the House.
Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point) said a lot of Filipino members in his community who came to Hawaii legally, often at great effort, are disturbed by the bill and other immigration-related legislation that could help people who are here illegally.
“If the job needs to be done because you came in illegally and not legally, then you need to be detained because, again, a crime is a crime,” Fevella said.
Sen. Karl Rhoads (D, Nuuanu-Downtown-Iwilei) in response said American citizens on the mainland are getting picked up and detained for indefinite periods of time.
“So, unfortunately, citizenship is not a guarantee, or being here legally is not a guarantee, that you will be left alone,” Rhoads said.
Many bills advanced past Thursday’s procedural deadline after House or Senate floor votes earlier in the week, during which lawmakers had opportunities to argue for or against legislation.
During last Tuesday’s House floor session, Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto cast the lone Democratic vote of opposition against SB 3154, which would authorize the state Department of Transportation to assume responsibilities under the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 “for highway projects as well as railroads, public transportation, or multimodal projects within the state allowing for streamlined environmental reviews.”
Iwamoto (D, Ala Moana-Kakaako-Downtown) told her House colleagues that “While the current federal administration is comfortable dismantling environmental protections, we should not be following their lead and codifying it in our statutes.”
Three Republicans voted with Iwamoto before the bill passed its third required reading.
Government reform
Several so-called “good government” bills that remain alive mimic others that died last session.
But the renewed effort comes as the state Attorney General continues to investigate a referral from federal investigators that an unidentified “influential state legislator” accepted $35,000 in a bag in 2022 just before Ty J.K. Cullen, the former vice chair on the state House Committee on Finance, and former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a wastewater executive.
The investigation has triggered widespread speculation that Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke — who chaired the House Finance Committee in 2022 — is the subject of the investigation. Luke has told the Star-Advertiser that she has received no information that she is involved.
Other “good government” reform bills include the latest versions of SB 2530 and HB 1519, which would prohibit any company officers and their immediate family from making, promising, or soliciting campaign contributions for the duration of their state contracts worth more than $250,000 in an effort to tighten campaign contributions.
The latest version of SB 2245 would prohibit new state employees from taking official action on matters they worked on before their state employment. Former employees of the governor or lieutenant governor also would be barred from representing people or businesses for a year after they leave state employment.
SB 2246 would increase the number of people who would be required to file financial disclosure statements.
The latest version of HB 2050 would increase the spending limits of political candidates who rely on partial public campaign financing, which proponents argue lessens the pressure on candidates to seek donations that could result in actions that benefit donors over their constituents.
The latest version of SB 2494 would establish a statute of limitations of nine years for a bribery offense.
The latest version of SB 2447 would increase the statute of limitations to prosecute campaign finance laws after the Campaign Spending begins investigating allegations, rather than five years from the date that a violation occurs.
