The Garden Island Newspaper Article: State Legislature Closes an Ambitious Session

HONOLULU — After two years of COVID-induced budget cuts, the state Legislature took advantage of a rebounding economy and federal relief funding to enact an ambitious agenda.

“We’ve done over and above what we expected,” said state Rep. Dee Morikawa, Democratic majority floor leader. “Before the pandemic we were on line to address education, early learning, the ALICE families, housing. Now we can pick up where we left off and more.”

Legislators, who may have felt a little extra pressure to pass popular legislation since it is an election year, came out with a near $17 billion budget that restored many cuts from past sessions while funding $6 million in capital improvement projects, including $230 million in projects on Kaua‘i.

The session came to a close Thursday, and many bills that will impact Garden Island residents were sent to the governor’s desk for final approval or veto.

Taxes and income

The first impact that many will feel from the legislative session will come in the form of a $300 check.

Senate Bill 514 provides $300 checks for individuals earning less than $100,000 and couples earning less than $200,000, and $100 for individuals earning $100,000 or more and couples earning $200,000 or more.

Additionally, the Earned Income Tax Credit was made permanent and refundable, a move projected to boost the incomes of 5,452 Kaua‘i families by $420 on average next tax season.

“When they see their refund checks in the mail, when they see the EITC kick in,” said Morikawa, “it’s going to be tremendous.”

A measure to increase the state’s mandatory minimum wage, which died in the Legislature two years ago, was also revived this session in a House bill. The wage would increase incrementally until it reaches $18 an hour in 2028, making it the highest in the nation and matching Hawai‘i’s highest in the nation cost of living.

Housing

The Legislature allocated $300 million to the Rental Housing Revolving fund, used to help develop housing for low-income people, an increasingly important priority as rising rents leave more and more working people unable to afford a place to live.

“This helps meet the needs of our working families who leave Hawai‘i because they can’t even find rental housing,” said state Rep. Nadine Nakamura, who chairs the House Housing Committee.

The program was adjusted this year to target middle-income families as well as low-income people.

$150 million of the fund can be used for families making between 60% and 100% of the area median income, which for a family of four on Kaua‘i is between $61,150 and $93,400.

The Legislature also set aside $15 million for the ‘Ohana Zone homeless initiative, which counties can use to build new shelters, transitional housing and social services.

Hawaiian issues

It was a banner year for Native Hawaiian programs, which received over $1 billion in total funding, including $600 million to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to pursue a multi-pronged approach to eliminating its lengthy waitlist for DHHL parcels.

“We usually give $25 or $35 million a year, so going from that to $600 million is a big deal, “ said Nakamura. “Not only for development of the lots, but it also can be used for mortgages and rent assistance.”

Some of this funding will find its way to a project in Hanapepe, which will offer 75 vacant lots to Native Hawaiians on the waitlist.

Additionally a class-action lawsuit was settled this session, providing $328 million to DHHL beneficiaries for damages related to the DHHL’s mismanaging of public lands.

Criminal justice reform

Prison reformers passed House Bill 1567, which would allow certain non-violent offenders to go free without bail, a move that could be a step towards reducing overcrowding in jails and prisons.

“If you get arrested and you have money you can post bail and get out,” said Nakamura. “It’s the people who cannot post bail who are filling up a lot of our jail space.”

Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center frequently was above capacity during the pandemic and, as of April 30, some 41% of the population were pretrial defendants who had not been convicted of a crime, according to criminal justice reform advocate Kat Brady of the Community Alliance on Prisons.

Another win for advocates like Brady was House Bill 2169, which will help ex-convicts secure an ID upon release, and House Bill 2309, which would provide funding for re-entry assistance programs.

Brady credited community-based organization with securing the reforms.

“Some of the greatest advances in civil rights have happened from the bottom up, not from the top down,” said Brady. “Some of the greatest innovations come from people within the community.”

Work to be done: Campaign finance reform

Midway through the session, the Legislature was hit with a shocking bribery scandal in which two former lawmakers were indicted for accepting bribes from wastewater executive Milton Choy in exchange for shaping legislation.

Choy also spread legal donations throughout the state legislature — including to most of the Kaua‘i delegation — leading many to call for fundamental changes to the campaign financing system and nearly all the Kaua‘i candidates to return the Choy donations.

The Legislature responded to the scandal by enacting a Senate Bill 555, which would ban elected officials from conducting fundraisers during legislative sessions. Lawmakers will still be allowed to accept contributions, however, leaving many of the issues surrounding campaign financing unresolved.

Campaign finance reform will be top of mind for Nakamura if she is re-elected. She has voiced interest in publicly funded elections as a means of addressing the problem. Under this system, candidates would be granted access to public funds for adhering to a limit on contributions.

“If you really want to take away the potential influence of people contributing to campaigns, that’s the way to do it,” she said.

Morikawa also cited ethics changes as a priority issue for her if she is re-elected later this year.

Legislators still await the results of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct established in the wake of the bribery scandal. A final report from the committee is due Dec. 1 2023.

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The Garden Island Newspaper Article: Kauai Outstanding Older Americans Ceremony

LIHU‘E — State Rep. Nadine Nakamura, representing Kaua‘i’s legislative team, knows first-hand the impact older Americans have in the communities they live in.

During the legislative sessions, Nakamura spends time with her mother on O‘ahu, where mom does a lot of things for her, including washing and folding her clothes.

Nakamura was among the list of government officials who gathered at the Lihu‘e Civic Center Mo‘ikeha Building rotunda Friday to acknowledge and recognize 10 of Kaua‘i’s outstanding kupuna who were each nominated by community members for their impact and work they do.

“Every May, as part of Older Americans Month, we pay tribute to adults 65 and older who continue to play vital, positive roles in our communities, and have made exceptional contributions as family members, friends, mentors, volunteers, civic leaders, members of the workforce and much more,” said county Agency on Elderly Affairs Executive on Aging Kealoha Takahashi.

“We are grateful to recognize and honor our outstanding kupuna in person this year, together with their ‘ohana and friends.”

Timothy Albao, Sofia Castro, Martin Costales, Greg Iten, Coleen Kasperek, Aida Padilla-Cruz, Lydia Rebugio, Sonia Song, Jan Sueoka and Sandy Takaezu were nominated as Kaua‘i 2022 Outstanding Older Americans.

Each of the kupuna were presented special certificates, lei and custom awards by the government dignitaries under the canopy of music provided by guitarist Paul Togioka.

“This year’s Older Americans Month theme, ‘Age My Way,’ shows that just as every person is unique, so is how they age and how they choose to do it because there is no ‘right’ way,” reads the May being Older American Month proclamation presented by county Finance Department Director Reiko Matsuyama, who stood in for Mayor Derek Kawakami, who was unable to attend the festivities in person.

“Every year, more and more older Americans are making a positive impact in and around our island, contributing their strength, wisdom and experience to our community,” the proclamation reads.

Matsuyama also announced Albao and Kasperek as the Kaua‘i Outstanding Older Americans who, traditionally, make the trek to O‘ahu for a luncheon with the governor with other islands’ outstanding older Americans.

Albao, whose personal philosophy on volunteering is “It’s the best work of life,” was also not able to attend the festivities in person despite his continuing efforts of keeping things moving during the pandemic, such as continuing the Retired Senior Volunteer Program annual recognition of its volunteers from a sit-down lunch to a drive-thru event, and holding the Hawai‘i Government Employees Association groups together by assisting in educating the membership and encouraging them on the Zoom computer platform. He was nominated and represented by Gerald Ako, retired HGEA Kaua‘i head and a member of the RSVP corps.

Kasperek’s impact for countless Kaua‘i residents is immeasurable through her work with the AARP Tax-Aide Program, where she has been the district coordinator and instructor since 2007.

Since 2014, Kasperek has been a Disaster Action Team member for the American Red Cross, and often is among the first people at a disaster site to provide comfort and assistance to those in need. She is also an active member of Holy Cross Church, where she’s served on the Parish Pastoral Council for many years.

“Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees, and mahalo for the incredible contributions you’ve made over the years,” Kawakami said in a statement. “We thank you all for supporting one another and continuing to inspire us in the ways you give back to our community, and in your dedication to serve others before yourselves.”

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Representative Nakamura Quoted in the Garden Island Discussing the DHHL Pi'ilani Mai Ke Kai Lot Selection and $600M bill for Hanapepe DHHL Project

Representative Nakamura was quoted in the GardenIsland, discussing the 51 beneficiaries that were awarded lots in Anahola at the DHHL Pi’ilani Mai Ke Kai Lot Selection Meeting on Saturday, April 30, 2022 and the $600 million dollar bill that will help fund the Hanapepe DHHL project.

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Hawaii State Capitol-Room 439, 415 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813

Representative Nadine K. Nakamura