HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are preparing for an onslaught of bills to move through their chambers this week, in advance of a legislative deadline to pass bills out of the second chamber. ADVERTISING HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are preparing for
HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are preparing for an onslaught of bills to move through their chambers this week, in advance of a legislative deadline to pass bills out of the second chamber.
Tuesday will be a long day and the House session is expected to start early and last for hours. Proposals on lifeguards, animal cruelty, tanning, unlicensed contractors and sewer systems are still alive, at least for now.
For the most part, bills that haven’t passed by the end of Thursday are in trouble.
Here are four more things the lawmakers will tackle this week:
HEALTH HAZARDS
On Wednesday, an investigative committee will hear testimony on workplace safety of psychiatric workers at Hawaii State Hospital. They’ll hear from administrators who were issued subpoenas after reports of improprieties. Later that day, the acting state auditor will share preliminary results of an audit of the troubled Hawaii Health Connector.
STATE APPOINTEES
There will be a plethora of hearings this week on the governor’s appointees to posts that range from the Board of Education to the Commission on Fatherhood.
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
Those pesky bills where lawmakers from the different chambers couldn’t agree on details will head to conference committees.
The meetings where a select few lawmakers from either chamber meet to negotiate their differences will begin popping up this week.
Watch the hearing notices, but after the first conference committee on a bill is held, the subsequent meetings are sometimes held quietly.
STATE BUDGET
The House and Senate are millions of dollars apart in their budget proposals. That’s largely because the state revised its revenue projections dramatically after the House passed its version of the budget. Conference committee meetings on the budget may happen later this week.
