As the legislative session nears its close on May 4, lawmakers have sent 19 additional bills to Gov. Josh Green for consideration.
Among the bills awaiting action by the governor, one would declare a Hawaiian Independence Day, another would generate awareness of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and another establishes standards for the firearm industry.
Green already has signed 10 bills into law from this session, which began Jan. 18 and in which hundreds of measures have been under consideration.
If Green plans any vetoes, he must notify the Legislature of his intentions by June 26 — 35 working day after the session ends. He has until July 11 to make his final decision to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.
The 19 bills awaiting Green’s decisions include eight from the House and 11 from the Senate:
>> Senate Bill 731 Opens in a new tab designates Nov. 28 of each year as La Kuokoa, Hawaiian Independence Day, to celebrate the historical recognition of the independence of the kingdom of Hawaii.
>> House Bill 899 Opens in a new tab designates September as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month.
>> HB 426 Opens in a new tab establishes firearm industry standards of conduct. It authorizes anyone who has suffered harm, the state attorney general or any county attorney or public prosecutor to bring civil action against a firearm industry member for violations. The bill defines a member of the firearm industry as “a person, firm, corporation, company, partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity or association engaged in the manufacture, distribution, importation, marketing, wholesale, or retail sale 16 of firearm-related products.”
>> HB 823 Opens in a new tab expands the scope of reports on correctional facility and community correctional center deaths that are submitted to the governor and state Legislature. The bill also requires certain reports to be published on the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website.
>> HB 1344 Opens in a new tab requires certain criminal offenders to be ordered by a court to complete an assessment and either a domestic violence intervention or anger management course as part of their sentence.
>> SB 313 Opens in a new tab reduces the number of members on the state rehabilitation council to 15 from 21. The bill also authorizes the council to establish a quorum and conduct business without regard to vacancies.
>> HB 841 Opens in a new tab requires domestic abuse protective order cases to be reported to the state Department of Human Services when the case involves allegations of child abuse or neglect, rather than allegations of domestic abuse.
>> HB 1107 Opens in a new tab makes state law consistent with federal law regarding legal limits for gross vehicle weight and axle loads traveling on all public roadways.
>> HB 1109 meets federal requirements on fraudulent activity relating to commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.
>> SB 346 Opens in a new tab makes it discretionary for authorized emergency vehicles to use sirens when responding to an emergency or in other specified situations if the siren is not reasonably necessary under the circumstances.
>> SB 179 Opens in a new tab renames the statewide and county-level voters with special-needs advisory committees to election accessibility needs advisory committees. The bill also recognizes that voting accessibility needs might arise from disabilities other than those of a physical nature.
>> HB 138 Opens in a new tab requires the state Ethics Commission to establish and administer a mandatory lobbyist training course.
>> SB 1513 Opens in a new tab requires a public agency board to report any discussion or final action taken during an executive meeting, provided that such disclosure is not inconsistent with the purpose of convening the executive meeting, but giving the board discretion to maintain confidentiality.
>> SB 9 Opens in a new tab requires members of each board of registration be a registered voter in the respective county to which the member is appointed and remain a registered voter in that county for their term of office. The bill also establishes methods for determining and verifying a board member’s political party membership.
>> SB 438 Opens in a new tab reduces the period for which a professional and vocational licensing application shall be considered abandoned to one year from two years. The bill also provides that the one-year period after which an application is considered abandoned cannot be extended and that a licensing authority shall not be required to act on any abandoned application, and they may destroy abandoned applications. The bill clarifies that an application submitted after an abandoned application shall be treated as a new application and that the applicant complies with any new licensing requirements at the time of the new application.
>> SB 921 Opens in a new tab clarifies that no statute of repose shall affect a condominium association’s right of action against a condominium developer sooner than two years after the period of developer control terminates.
>> SB 1372 Opens in a new tab clarifies the definitions of “caregiver support services,” “kupuna care services” and “respite care.”
>> SB 487 Opens in a new tab amends or repeals various provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes or the Session Laws of Hawaii for the purposes of correcting errors and references, clarifying language or deleting obsolete or unnecessary provisions.
>> SB 422 Opens in a new tab makes a housekeeping amendment to Section 341-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to delete a reference to a repealed section.
Thus far, Green has signed 10 bills into law. Seven of them will require greater transparency from lawmakers and state boards; SB1 Opens in a new tab protects abortions and health care workers who perform on out-of-state patients from states that ban the procedure; and SB 36 Opens in a new tab clarifies that defendants may be charged “through the complaint and preliminary hearing process, indictment by grand jury, or by written information.”
Green also signed HB 1514 Opens in a new tab, appropriating funds for the expenses of the state Legislature, auditor, Legislative Reference Bureau, ombudsperson and Ethics Commission.
