Green's climate fee bill clears first committee, marijuana legalization gets initial approval, DHHL seeks $20M for geothermal exploration, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

First climate fee bills pass initial hearing, with concerns. Gov. Josh Green’s bills to fund Hawaii’s climate change response by increasing the state’s hotel room tax and dedicating all of the interest from the $1.5 billion rainy day fund were unanimously passed out of a House committee Tuesday, but with concerns that they need “a lot of work.” Star-Advertiser.

Marijuana Legalization Gets Initial Approval From 2 House Committees. The legislation would regulate and tax adult use of pot, as well as medical cannabis and hemp. Civil Beat.

Bill would create statewide policy for police car chases. A bill that would establish a statewide policy for police motor vehicle pursuits will be heard at 10 a.m. Thursday by the House Transportation Committee. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaiʻi Might Finally Put The Bite On Bedbugs In Housing — But Not Hotels. Landlords would be required to ensure rentals are free of the tiny bloodsuckers that come out at night. Civil Beat.

Governor questions Trump picks’ experience, tells loyalists: ‘You have been tricked’.  Gov. Josh Green just returned from Washington, D.C., after advocating against President Donald Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary. Hawaii News Now.

Oahu

Number of HPD officers disciplined declined in 2024.  Twenty-two Honolulu police officers were disciplined in 2024 for 19 incidents including fleeing the scene of a car crash after a chase, using excessive force against a detainee and falsifying police reports. That is down from 29 Opens in a new tab Honolulu Police Depart­ment officers disciplined in 2023 in connection with 28 incidents.   Star-Advertiser.

OHA Kakaako Makai housing bill advances.  Three Hawaii Senate committees have advanced a contentious bill to allow housing on land owned by the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs in Kakaako, makai of Ala Moana Boulevard. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu extends deadline for rail-affected businesses to apply for compensation.  The city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services says it will extend the application deadline for the so-called transit construction mitigation fund, or TCMF, grant online portal submissions for an additional two weeks. Star-Advertiser. KITV4.

Honolulu Festival to now charge admission. The Honolulu Festival, a cultural exchange celebrating Japan and the Pacific Rim, will return in March, and for the first time in its 29-year history will charge admission for adults to enter the exhibition hall on the ground floor of the Hawai‘i Convention Center, where a majority of the events are taking place. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Island

DHHL Seeks $20 Million For Geothermal Exploration On Hawaiʻi Island. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has identified three sites for further exploration in South Point, Kawaihae, and Humuʻula. Big Island Video News.

Council blamed for funding loss: Money for Puna alternate route study lapsed last year. A study to investigate possible alternate traffic routes into Puna apparently died more than six months ago, despite assurances by Hawaii County officials the project was still on track. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Now.

Maui

Senate bill passes to waive SMA permits for rebuilding in historic Lahaina town. Senate Bill 1296 would not require special management area permits for structures in Lahaina town if they were destroyed in the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster and if planned reconstruction stays within the footprint of the structure as it stood before it was consumed by flames. Maui Now.

Bills to curb rent increases referred to committees, but no hearings scheduled yet. Bills have been referred to committees in both chambers of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to limit the amount landlords can raise rents for tenants at a time of desperate housing shortages and renters having few, if any, options if they can’t afford demands for higher monthly rent payments. Maui Now.

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee discusses Maui Fair. On the agenda for Tuesday’s Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee was Bill 7, a bill to amend the fiscal year 2025 by increasing carryover and savings from the General Fund by $1,500,000, as well as adding a new appropriation entitled “Festivals of Aloha, Inc. for the 2025 Maui County Fair” in the amount of $1,500,000. Maui News.

Maui police release video of officer-involved shooting in Pukalani. Body camera footage captures the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Macayla Deponte, less than seven minutes after Maui police officers arrived at a Pukalani residence. Civil Beat. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now.  KHON2.

Kauai

Helicopters provide critical support for Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project during field season. More than two dozen people flocked together Feb. 3 in a hangar on the north end of Līhuʻe Airport, joining Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project for an annual blessing to kick off another season of fieldwork on the Garden Isle. Kauai Now.

Lihue man encounters shark at Lydgate Beach. Chris “Shewy” Shewman of Lihue recounted his frightening experience with a shark that occurred while he was surf-foiling at Lydgate Beach on Feb. 1. Garden Island.