House, Senate Democrats share their legislative priorities

The Democratic majority caucuses in the state House and Senate have some different priorities heading into Wednesday’s start of the legislative session but agree on the need to address the effects of the Maui wildfires and prevent future ones across the state, increase affordable housing, reduce homelessness and add more health care workers.

Both chambers also plan to boost renewable energy efforts and better address mental health care needs, especially following the devastating Aug. 8 wildfires, which continue to traumatize survivors.

House Democrats also plan to oversee how $600 million in state funds is used to provide housing for Native Hawaiians to clear the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands waitlist and recruit and retain more public workers as the workforce ages amid ongoing vacancies across state agencies.

The Senate Democratic majority has prioritized its issues as emergency preparedness, recovery and resiliency; workforce development and education; economic development and infrastructure; agriculture, environment and natural resource management; and housing and homelessness.

Senate lawmakers plan to tackle those issues by:

>> Adding employees to help prevent future disasters; increasing fire sprinkler requirements; developing a statewide wildfire mitigation plan; better preparing the electrical grid for emergencies; forming a fire risk task force; and re-creating the position of chief fire marshal.

>> Increasing the number of health care workers “and investigating what barriers prevent recruitment of out-of-state healthcare professionals to Hawaii,” and targeting workforce development of blue-collar jobs such as commercial driver license operators and positions in alternative-energy jobs.

>> Expand access to quality early childhood education; create incentives for attracting qualified teachers, including teacher housing; and improving the University of Hawaii system “with a focus on student needs.”

>> Increasing investments in repairing state facilities on each island; increasing state revenue by considering renting vacant state facilities; and “investing in emerging industries to diversify the economy, such as film and technology.”

>> Improving access to potable water; improving transit-oriented development infrastructure; improving and maintaining aging school structures; expanding alternative energy infrastructure through the installation of electric vehicle charging stations; “exploring energy alternatives for self-sufficiency; funding new jail, prisoner, and reentry programs; and legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis.”

>> “Restoring and preserving local agriculture for state residents by exploring sustainable foods; restoring healthy soils; establishing food security efforts; mitigating the effects of and eradicating invasive species; and improving the Agribusiness Development Corporation.”

>> “Supporting carbon capture initiatives; continuing to support the environmental protection of state Parks; relocating government infrastructure away from shorelines; and expanding the ways in which the state parks Special Fund can be used.”

>> Increasing access to housing for local residents and the homeless by “expanding housing into business and industrial zones; increasing access to affordable housing with income-blind housing and a reform of private developer subsidies; continuing to support permanent housing for homeless individuals; revisiting the landlord-­tenant code; investing in housing infrastructure and broadening housing financing options; implementing property insurance requirements and exemptions; and supporting existing and innovative homeless outreach and intervention.”

“The Senate majority is confident that, through hard-work and collaboration with our colleagues in the Senate minority and House of Representatives, we will make significant progress on these important issues and provide much-needed assistance to our Maui Nui ‘ohana as we navigate this recovery process together,” Senate Majority Leader Dru Mamo Kanuha said in a statement.