Sen. Tim Richards

Requires the Procurement Policy Board to adopt rules requiring contracts to impose mandatory fines or provide for termination of a contract for default if a contractor fails to perform the contractor's duties or if there is a major delay in a deliverable. Requires each contract to establish a schedule of deliverables and to specify what constitutes a "major delay".

Establishes the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund. Specifies permissible uses of funding and priorities. Authorizes the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to transfer moneys between the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount and the RHRF without legislative approval. (SD1)

Establishes an exemption from applicable county permit requirements for repetitive construction projects for facilities under the control of any state department or agency, under certain conditions. Clarifies that contracts for the construction, renovation, or repair of facilities under the control of the department of education, university of Hawaii, or school facilities authority shall be exempt from county permitting requirements that related off-site improvements be made by the contracting government agency as a condition to the issuance of any permit.

Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to maximize the amount of housing built that utilizes loans from the Rental Housing Revolving Fund by prioritizing projects with the shortest projected loan repayment terms that produce the highest number of units, per dollar, per year. Repeals all other priorities and preferences for projects utilizing the RHRF.

Maddy summarySB 755 designates each county as the authority responsible for managing special management areas within its own boundaries. This procedural bill adjusts existing county responsibilities by formally assigning this role to local governments, with no new policies or financial impacts. It makes minor technical changes to align county management authority with current law, affecting only county-level administrative functions. The bill is currently in early committee review (referred January 23, 2025).

Requires each public school to implement a policy to prohibit students from using cellular phones and other wireless communication devices during school hours, subject to exceptions for education, health, and emergencies.

Maddy summarySB 1654 authorizes the transfer of specific lands currently managed by certain state agencies to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. This bill directly affects state agencies holding those lands and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which manages land for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. The key provision is the legal mechanism enabling this transfer of jurisdiction over designated properties. The bill does not create new policy but facilitates a change in land management responsibility between state entities.

Maddy summarySB 1223 requires the Department of Education to create a pilot program teaching water safety skills to public school students, funded through state appropriations. The program must be based on established safety standards and will operate in select schools during its pilot phase. This bill directly affects K-12 students in participating school districts by integrating water safety education into their curriculum. The key provision is the dedicated state funding to develop and implement this standards-based pilot program.

Requires the Department of Transportation or appropriate county department when disposing of a deceased cat or dog from a public roadway to scan the animal for a microchip, record certain information, and report that information to the appropriate county animal services or animal service contractors. Appropriates funds.

Prohibits the sale of geolocation information and internet browser information without consent. Prohibits the sale of data collected through eavesdropping or through an application operating in the background of a device that uses the device's microphone.