Lawmakers lay out priorities on Opening Day of Hawai‘i State Legislature

The opening day of the 33rd Hawai‘i State Legislature kicked off Wednesday with the Senate and House leaders prioritizing housing, cost of living and eliminating income tax for the 2025 session.

For the House, it was a historic moment, when the first female Speaker, Nadine K. Nakamura, delivered remarks.

She introduced 11 new members of the House, which included two from Hawai‘i Island: representatives Matthias Kusch and Sue Lee Loy.

Nakamura, who represents Kaua‘i, listed priorities, saying focus was on residents and families, including Native Hawaiians to ensure they are healthy, thriving and housed.

The House also plans to discuss quality of education for students, including keiki who are 3 and 4 years old, affordability and access to higher education.

Guided by advice from her mother who told her “to overlook the faults that we all have and find the good in each other,” Nakamura said she and her fellow legislators should try to be humble and respectful.

“If we work together, if we set aside grudges, if we listen to each other, roll up our sleeves, and if we direct our limited resources wisely, we can achieve this vision,” Nakamura said. “And when we disagree with each other, which might happen now and then, we do so respectfully and with civility.

“The House, and the people who sent us here, deserve nothing less.”

House Minority Leader Lauren Matsumoto laid out the Republican Caucus’ bill package and issues it plans to tackle, including cost of living, housing, crime, education, government transparency and Native Hawaiian advocacy.

With families needing financial relief now, Matsumoto said they will present legislation to eliminate the income tax, taxes on tips and the General Excise Tax on food and medical expenses.

“We need to take bold steps so families can not only survive but thrive,” the minority leader said.

Matsumoto said there needs to be tax credits for hurricane insurers and streamline the permitting process to build homes.

Matsumoto said their bills also will address passing term limits for lawmakers and ensuring people can vote in person without waiting six hours in line.

During the Senate session, Majority Leader Ronald Kouchi of Kauaʻi said home insurance premiums are a big problem facing Hawai‘i’s communities, highlighted by the fires in California and the hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina.

“This is a national problem and may take us working with the federal government to come up with a solution to ensure we can protect our homes and continue to choose to live here and not get insurance premiums that are so high that we can’t choose to live here,” Kouchi said.

Many issues facing the state from affordable housing to education to wildfires are interconnected, he said.

When schools buy food from local farmers, keiki eat well and the local economy is supported. With reliable meals, Kouchi said, studies show that if a student has better nutrition, they have better test scores.

To solve the shortage crisis among teachers and nurses, Kouchi said the legislature has to address the biggest obstacle of affordable housing.

Senate Minority Leader Brenton Awa was critical of the state leadership.

As one of the youngest legislators and a Republican, Awa, who represents several O‘ahu communities said he didn’t want to be the one who points out what’s going wrong.

“We begin with a new series looking into Hawai‘i’s motto questioning whether the life of the land is really being perpetuated in righteousness or has our state become the land of the fee and home of the ones who can pay it,” Awa said.

With the wildfires in California that have decimated communities, Awa said he didn’t want to be the one to keep Gov. Josh Green from his plan to help those victims by flying them in and giving them hotel rooms for free.

But Awa questioned: What if they offered the same deal to all Hawaiians who’ve been displaced?

The lawmaker also posed the questions of what if the legislature were the bridge to bring Hawaiian families back to the state and what if they could help residents who are a paycheck away from losing their homes.

“Historically, because of a lack of balance in this state, the legislature doesn’t pass bills from our side,” the Republican senator said. “If we’re lucky, they’ll (Democrat lawmakers) take our ideas and run with it.”

Awa highlighted some bills Republicans plan to introduce including the “About Time” bill that stops foreigners from buying agricultural lands and stops states from sending their homeless to Hawai‘i.

“The more they sell out our land, the more they sell out our people, the less aloha there will be in this state,” Awa said.

The House and Senate will continue sessions today. The legislative session adjourns May 2.