2020 legislative session

Friday is the final scheduled day for the Hawaii Legislature’s 2020 session. It was hallmarked by social distancing measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

State lawmakers return to the Capitol today for what is expected to be the final three weeks of this year’s legislative session. Their main focus will be allocation $618 million in federal pandemic assistance.

The U.S. military is using inexpensive, simple procedures to check troops in South Korea for COVID-19 symptoms. Similar tools could help schools and hospitals at home.

State lawmakers will return to Honolulu to address a budget shortfall of roughly $1 billion. Legislators and staff will receive symptom checks, but no lab test for COVID-19.

Tax revenue coming into Hawaii state coffers is now expected to be $48 million to $80 million less than previous estimates for the rest of 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus.

Both chambers of the state Legislature have passed some form of a prohibition on the governor and county mayors earning income from employment other than their elected office.

The idea of a carbon tax has broad support from economists and a version was already approved by the state Senate. If agreed to by the House and Gov. David Ige, it would become the first measure of its kind in the U.S.

Legislators are looking for ways to ease the cost of housing in Hawaii. One potential target they’re looking at: foreign investors.

How long it takes to get the coronavirus to run its course will make the difference between a short-term hiccup and serious economic woes, says a University of Hawaii economist.

Honolulu's first responders are asking state lawmakers to pass a package of gun control bills that they say could prevent incidents like January's Diamond Head shooting that left two police officers dead.

More than two dozen bills at the Hawaii Legislature aim to increase the use of electric vehicles, but auto dealers and green energy proponents are supporting different approaches.

On this edition of Bytemarks Café, an update on Automatic Voter Registration. With the legislative session in full swing, Common Cause comes back on the show to discuss bills introduced this session that drive civic engagement, and why it's important.

Citing the recent killing of two Honolulu police officers, a group of lawmakers wants to further restrict access to firearms and expand the power to require mental health treatment.

Hawaii legislators on the House Agriculture Committee will consider several bills this week that would allow the commercial production of hemp and legalize the sale of hemp-derived products.

A close look at the more than 2,000 bills under consideration at the Hawaii State Capitol reveals that some of those proposals don’t contain any language.

Despite a recent high-profile shooting that left two police officers dead and a series of violent robberies, some targeting elderly victims, Hawaii Gov. David Ige says he still believes Hawaii is a safe place to live.

Gov. David Ige delivered his sixth State of the State address Tuesday, laying out details about efforts worked out with legislative leaders that aim to address Hawaii's high cost of living in areas that include housing and child care.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino is asking the state Legislature to extend a deadline that will allow the county to impose a general excise tax surcharge on business activities such as sales of products.

The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is asking the Legislature for more than $40 million this year to deliver homestead lots to qualified native Hawaiians.

Problems abound but no single issue appears to have yet united Hawaii lawmakers as the opening of the 2020 legislative session approaches on Wednesday.