Sen. Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, requires the Department of Education to include the teaching of financial literacy in grades kindergarten through twelve. Requires students in grades nine through twelve to complete a one-half credit in financial literacy before graduation. Requires the Board of Education to provide professional development to teachers who are teaching financial literacy courses.

Requires the Department of Education to establish long-term targets to locally source sixty per cent of school meals and zero-emission vehicle goals as part of the Sustainable Schools Initiative. Requires an annual report to the Legislature.

Specifies that a recount of all ballots cast for any election shall occur if the official tabulation of all of the returns for that office or ballot question reveals that there is a difference equal to or less than one hundred votes, one-quarter of one per cent of the total number of ballots cast for the contest, or the margin of error for the tabulation method utilized, whichever is greater.

Appropriates funds for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) engineer position and one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) planner position within the Department of Health's Wastewater Branch to support processing of individual wastewater systems applications.

Amends Act 257, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, to authorize the School Facilities Authority to provide affordable housing to Department of Education teachers.

Establishes the Early Childhood Education Scholarship Program within the University of Hawaii to assist students with school tuition in return for a service commitment to teach in the Executive Office on Early Learning Public Prekindergarten Program. Appropriates funds.

Requires the Department of Health to establish and implement a program to improve and increase support for emergency medical services in the State. Requires the Department of Health to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Requires the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to partner with a nonprofit organization in the Kau District in the County of Hawaii to conduct a needs assessment to determine the demand for and access to urgent care and outpatient behavioral health services in Kau. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Exempts state projects from county building permit, inspection, and certificate of occupancy requirements under certain conditions. Requires the state agency responsible for the state project to submit for review and comments, a building permit exemption notice to the county in which the state project is located. Requires the county to review and submit written comments regarding the state project within thirty days of its receipt of notice and if on the thirty-first day, written comments are not provided, the state project may proceed. Requires the counties to adopt ordinances. Defines building permit, state agency, state lands, and state project.

Establishes and funds an environmental investigative hotline pilot project through the Environmental Management Division of the Department of Health to implement and manage an investigative hotline for Molokai residents to report environmental concerns on Molokai. Establishes one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) investigator on the island of Molokai to investigate environmental concerns. Makes an appropriation.