Hawaii

Requires the Executive Office on Early Learning to establish parent-staff early learning collectives to combine professional early-learning services with structured parental involvement. Establishes an Early Learning Cooperative Advisory Council. Appropriates funds.

Increases the limit of the State's liability for moneys borrowed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or loans made to lessees that are guaranteed by the Department from $100,000,000 to $500,000,000. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires employers in the hospitality industry to implement anti-harassment measures, provide training, and equip certain workers with panic buttons. Prohibits retaliation against a hospitality worker who files a complaint, uses the provided panic button, or participates in an investigation or proceeding related to a harassment complaint. Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to adopt rules, including rules determining penalties and establishing procedures for handling complaints. Requires all hospitality employers to comply no later than 1/1/2026. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Prohibits certain foreign parties or their agents, trustees, and fiduciaries from owning, purchasing, or acquiring an interest in agricultural lands. Establishes an Office of Agricultural Intelligence within the Department of Agriculture to investigate claims that land is unlawfully owned by a prohibited foreign party. Requires the Attorney General to undertake enforcement activities. Appropriates moneys.

Allows the Hawaii Community Development Authority to approve residential development on certain parcels of land in the Kakaako Makai area. Raises the building height limit on certain parcels in the area. Requires a certain percentage of the residential units developed on certain parcels to be allocated to households at or below a certain income level, with priority given to certain essential workforce in the area. Limits the sale of residential units developed in certain residential developments to prospective owner-occupants. Requires the Hawaii Community Development Authority to determine a Kakaako Makai Association Fee to be collected from all residential developments on certain parcels to be deposited into a special account in the Hawaii Community Development Revolving Fund to fund various services and projects in the Kakaako Makai area.

Establishes a refundable income tax credit to offset the increase in real property insurance premiums for certain properties.

Allows the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to utilize the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund as collateral when the Department acts as an eligible borrower for a loan agreement under section 184A of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, as amended. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Agriculture to develop an online reporting tool on restricted use pesticide usage. Appropriates funds to convert an unspecified number of temporary Environmental Health Specialist III positions into permanent positions. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Requires Huli Au Ola to conduct a study on physician and dentist recruitment and retention to serve the island of Molokai. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2050. (SD1)

Provides that any Hawaii-born or Native Hawaiian individual shall qualify for resident fees at state parks, regardless of where the individual currently resides; provided that the individual first presents to the Department of Land and Natural Resources certain documentation.

Short form bill relating to commerce.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Health for health care services contracted with community-based organizations.

Authorizes the Legislature to adopt any Concurrent Resolution to propose a non-binding advisory referendum question concerning the issuance of general obligation bonds to the people, who may vote on the question during any general election. Imposes notice, certification, and reporting requirements on the Chief Election Officer. Requires a written explanation for any legislative acts that are contrary to the reported majority vote on the advisory referendum question to be reflected in the legislative record. Effective 1/1/2491. (SD1)

Establishes strict liability for crimes against elders with respect to the attendant circumstance that the victim was sixty years of age or older.

Increases the cap for awards to assist businesses applying for the Small Business Innovation Research Grant Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Program of the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation. Adds purchasing of renewable energy systems as an eligible expense and clarifies that training on both new and existing manufacturing equipment is an eligible expense for the Manufacturing Development Grant Program. Clarifies that no tax credit is available for renewable energy systems purchased with a grant received under the Manufacturing Development Grant Program.

Establishes a general excise tax exemption on the gross proceeds or gross income received from sales of commodities or services that benefit nonprofit schools. Effective 1/1/3000. (HD2)

Appropriates funds to establish the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at the University of Hawaii Maui College. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to identify sites throughout the State that are suitable for the development of slaughterhouses. Requires the Agribusiness Development Corporation to plan, design, construct, and operate certain animal slaughterhouses throughout the State. Makes appropriations.

Appropriates funds for the cesspool compliance pilot grant project.

Proposes a constitutional amendment to specify that reapportionment shall be based on the resident population, as counted in the most recent decennial United States census for the respective reapportionment year, rather than the permanent resident population.

Establishes a working group within the Hawaii State Energy Office to make recommendations for the reuse and recycling of electric vehicle batteries and requires a report to the Legislature.

Relating To Agriculture. Short form bill.

Creates a statutory right of victims and witnesses of sexual offenses under part V of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to a speedy trial in criminal cases involving adult defendants. Requires the court and the prosecution to take appropriate action to ensure a prompt trial to minimize the length of time a child abuse victim or minor witness must endure the stress of the proceedings.

Repeals certain exemptions for beverage dealers from the requirement to operate redemption centers and amends the types of containers they must accept for redemption. Allows the establishment of regional centers for the redemption of refillable beverage containers but not as substitutes for dealers' means to receive deposit beverage containers. Requires the Department of Health to establish a Reverse Vending Machine Pilot Program to use the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to provide grants to deploy reverse vending machines. Establishes eligibility standards to receive grants from the Department of Health to deploy reverse vending machines. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)