Occupy Wall Street - Kona Hawaii Solidarity

02/22/2026

If you want to protect Hawai'i & not just talk about it... MORE people need to pay attention to what's happening & SHARE what you know with your friends & ohana.

Every year, many terrible bills are introduced & some sneak through because not enough people are paying attention & many great bills die for the same reason.

TESTIFYING is as easy as clicking Support or Oppose, it takes about 20 seconds. They mostly don't even read them, but they DO count them.

Learn how to use the legislature's website to submit testimony & teach your friends.

Here: capitol.hawaii.gov

Start here. Read this post below.

Protect What You Love.

02/17/2026

!!! RED ALERT !!! ~ TESTIFY RIGHT NOW!!!
DON'T LET THEM SELL OUR BEACHES!!!

OPPOSE SB3148 ~ capitol.hawaii.gov

!!! SHARE !!! !!! SHARE !!! !!! SHARE !!!

via Laura Acasio
One of the worst bills I have seen this session, seeking to allow the Board of Land and Natural Resources to privatize beaches and other public lands without even considering impacts to public use, access, and enjoyment, has a hearing this Wednesday at 1:01 p.m. before the Senate Water, Land, Culture and the Arts Committee in room 224. Please submit testimony on this Governor’s package measure, SB3148 - sample verbiage below - and let our legislators know that the DLNR’s attempt to abdicate its public trust kuleana is simply unacceptable.

Fortunately, there are also some good bills that could also use your voice tomorrow as well, from aquarium collection bans to Molokaʻi biosecurity planning to protecting our democratic system of governance. See below for more details, including sample testimony and testimony instructions.

Please, take a moment to submit testimony on these measures - and be sure to sign up for action alerts at hawaiicapitolwatch.org if you have not already, for even more high-priority bills that will need your voice this week!
# # #

via Hawai'i Sierra Club
🛑SB3148 is the Governor's attempt to allow public lands - including but not limited to beaches - to be leased or otherwise used exclusively by private entities, without consideration of potential impacts to public use, access, or enjoyment.

Please submit written testimony in OPPOSITION to this measure and consider testifying verbally at its hearing on Wednesday at 1:01 p.m., virtually or in person in capitol room 224.

Why this is bad:
The public trust doctrine, rooted in Hawaiian worldview, requires our public lands and resources to be protected, managed, and used for the benefit of the public, including both present and future generations. This doctrine has long been used to safeguard the public interest in public lands and resources - including our beaches, which are considered public lands up to the highest wash of the waves, during the season when the waves are the highest.

This bill attempts to allow the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to define private hotel and resort uses of public lands and beaches as "public uses" under the public trust doctrine, entitled to a favorable presumption equal to or superseding the public's right to use, access, and enjoy these places.

Private, exclusive, profit-driven uses of other public lands and watersheds for logging, mining, or industrial agriculture would also be entitled to a presumption in favor of such activities, under this incredibly misguided measure.

Not only does this bill fly in the face of the public trust doctrine, but it specifically envisions allowing our beaches and public lands long used for recreational, subsistence, and cultural purposes to be sold off to the highest bidder, for decades at a time.

If passed, this bill will only create confusion, legal challenges, and the erosion of our rights and that of our children and future generations, as beneficiaries of the public trust.

Why is the Governor and Department of Land and Natural Resources behind this bill?
In 2025, the Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that the public trust doctrine requires the Land Board to begin with a presumption in favor of public use, access, and enjoyment of public, "ceded" (i.e. stolen from the Hawaiian Kingdom) lands, before permitting a resort to exclude the public from the public lands and beach fronting the resort's property. The court also held that the Land Board must examine alternatives to restricting public use, access, and enjoyment of these public and "ceded" lands, and make clear the basis of any decision that would do so.

Instead of accepting this ruling and following the court's simple requirement to consider the public's interests before privatizing public lands and beaches, the Governor and DLNR are now proposing to re-define "public use," by referring to a statute (HRS §171-10) that lists logging, mining, hotel and resort uses, and "unclassified" uses, among others. As described in this measure's justification sheet, this bill intends to make such private uses equal to "public use" under the public trust doctrine (which is most likely still unconstitutional, but would require costly and potentially years-long litigation to make clear)

Sample Testimony and Testimony Instructions

Aloha Chair Lee, Vice Chair Inouye, and Members of the Committee,

My name is [your name] and I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to SB3148.

This Governor's package bill is a shameless, confused attempt by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to ignore the public's right to use, access, and enjoy public lands and beaches, when allowing hotels and resorts to lease and exclude the public from such spaces for decades or longer.

As described in this measure's justification sheet, this bill intends to make private activities listed under HRS §171-10 equal to public use under the public trust doctrine. Doing so would create a favorable presumption in favor of hotel and resort uses of public lands and beaches under the public trust - even when such uses include excluding the public.

In other words, the DLNR does not want to follow a simple court order to start with a presumption in favor of public use, access, and enjoyment, before allowing a hotel to exclude the public from a public beach. Instead, the DLNR is choosing to make the privatization of our beaches a default option under the public trust.

It is dumbfounding to see the primary trustee agency for our public trust lands, waters, and resources seek the ability to sell our public beaches to the highest bidder, for generations at a time. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the DLNR has failed to demonstrate an understanding of the public trust, its duties under the trust, or the incredible harms that it can inflict and has inflicted, through the abdication of its kuleana to present and future generations of the public.

Please do not let the DLNR sell out our public beaches and continue to undermine the rights of our present and future generations under the public trust, for nothing more than its administrative convenience. Please HOLD this terribly misguided measure.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

Testimony instructions

Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email).

Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.

Enter "SB3148” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

Input your information, select “OPPOSE”, write or copy/paste your testimony, and select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!

Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.

If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4).

Spread the word!

Wayne Chung Tanaka
Executive Director
he/him/ʻoia
Kahaluʻu, Hawaiʻi
(808)538-6616

www.sierraclubhawaii.org

Occupy Hawaii Waimea Supports Occupy Wall Street Occupy Hilo - in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" Occupy Hilo Light Brigade Occupy Maui Occupy Oahu DeOccupy Honolulu Occupy Maui

We work to advance climate solutions, act for justice, get outdoors, and protect Hawai‘i’s lands, water, air, and wildlife. With 50 years and counting under our belt, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi works on both statewide and county-based issues, activating our 27,000+ members and supporters to get...

01/19/2026

Hawai'i ~ UNBELIEVABLE!!!
The Hawai'i House of 'Representatives'
REFUSES to follow the Hawai'i Constitution AND THEIR OWN RULES of transparency!!!

Da buggars INSIST on SECRET MEETINGS and are FORCING RESIDENTS to take them to court!!! DO NOT let this stand!!!

DONATE ~ DONATE ~ DONATE!!!
SHARE ~ SHARE ~ SHARE!!!!!!!!!!!
https://gofund.me/aac612f95

Aloha mai kākou,
We are a small group of everyday citizens who love Hawaiʻi and believe deeply in a transparent, accountable government that works for the people. We never set out to file a lawsuit, but when we discovered that a key constitutional protection for public transparency was being ignored, we knew we had to engage the judicial branch’s authority.
Our case, Acasio v. House of Representatives, is about upholding a simple promise written directly into Article III of the Hawaiʻi State Constitution:
“Every meeting of a committee… held for the purpose of making decisions on matters referred to the committee shall be open to the public.”
This provision was designed to protect our collective right to be present when decisions are made. Participating in our own self-governance requires that decisions are not made behind closed doors, but WITH the people at the table.
What Happened
The House of Representativesʻ House Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedure met multiple times in private, without public notice. Decisions on matters referred to this Committee were made behind closed doors, even though the Constitution requires these meetings to occur in public.
This constitutional requirement applies to every committee the legislature establishes, with only two narrow exceptions: Committees dealing primarily with personnel matters and Party caucuses. The Rules Advisory Committee is not one of those exceptions.
Why This Case Matters
When a committee that shapes House procedures and decision-making rules meets behind closed doors, it affects every resident of Hawaiʻi. These rules determine how bills move, how testimony is heard, literally, how democracy functions at the people’s house.
We filed this case to affirm a basic, non-partisan principle: Government works best when its decision making process happens in public. The House of Representatives MUST follow the state constitution, which affirms this same principle.
At significant expense, the Plaintiffs have spent the past year in court and in formal communications with the House, requesting that House leadership acknowledge its failure to require the House Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedure conduct its meetings and decisions in public, redo the process accordingly, and abide by the outcome.
Further, we asked the House to agree to instruct its members to hold future meetings of all committees in a manner supporting the spirit, intent and plain language of the state constitution requiring all committee decision making to be conducted in public.
Unfortunately, House Leadership has been reluctant to settle the matter in an amicable manner that honors our state constitution and the right of the public to meaningfully participate. Therefore our next step in the process is to “go to trial” and for this we are requesting your help and support.
Why We Need Your Support
We are encouraged by the public support we have been given over the last twelve months and will see this case through. We are hoping to raise $20,000 to cover the costs of legal fees for our attorneys, filing fees and court-related expenses, research and document preparation and public education so our community understands what’s at stake.
We are everyday people—not a PAC, not a corporation, not a political operation. We are engaged community members doing our part to ensure our constitution is followed by the people who vowed to uphold it.
Your Contribution Helps Protect Open Government
By donating, you help ensure that:
Hawaiʻi’s constitutional protections remain strong
Public access and open meetings are honored
Future legislative decisions are made transparently
Our community can trust that the rules are fair and openly debated
Every contribution, whether itʻs $10 or $1000, makes a real difference. And if you can’t donate, sharing this campaign with your ʻohana and networks is just as meaningful.
We Believe in a Hawaiʻi Where the Public’s Voice Matters
This case is about strengthening our democracy, caring for our island home, and ensuring that the people—not backroom decisions—guide how our government works.
From the bottom of our hearts, mahalo for standing with us. Help us defend Article III of the State Constitution and ensure every decision-making meeting in Hawaiʻi’s House is open to the public.
Mahalo nui for your support,
The Plaintiffs of Acasio v. House of Representatives
Laura Acasio, Kaʻapuni Aiwohi, Sergio J. Alcubilla III, Tanya Aynessazian
Doug Cobeen, Karen Cobeen, Michaela Ikeuchi and Robert H. Pahia

Occupy Hawaii Occupy Maui Occupy Maui DeOccupy Honolulu Waimea Supports Occupy Wall Street Occupy Oahu Occupy Hilo - in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" Occupy Hilo Light Brigade

Aloha mai kākou, We are a small group of everyday citizens who love Hawa… Tanya Yamanaka needs your support for Protect Open, Honest Government in Hawaiʻi

07/24/2025

Occupy Hawaii Occupy Maui Occupy Maui Occupy Oahu Waimea Supports Occupy Wall Street Occupy Hilo - in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" DeOccupy Honolulu De-Occupy The Sovereign Hawaiian Kingdom

Nuclear power is long known for its destructive power and potential health risks. But it's also a source of energy. And there is a working group set to meet ...

05/12/2025

via Kyle Kajihiro

Land Board rejects Pohakuloa EIS but lease negotiations to move ahead
By Kevin Knodell

The U.S. Army hit a speed bump in its effort to retain training land in Hawaii with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voting to reject its final environmental impact statement on its proposal to keep a state-owned parcel at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island.

The ruling is an embarrassing setback for the Army after years of working on the document and submitting several drafts since 2022. The many hours of public comment from hundreds of people who turned out to testify both in person and over a Zoom teleconference before the BLNR vote Friday evening overwhelmingly called on the board to reject the EIS and lambasted Army officials.

The public rebuke comes as Army leaders in Hawaii are preparing to host the Land Power in the Pacific Conference this week in Waikiki with a record 32 countries participating and 16 national chiefs of army expected to attend. But it’s not the end of the service’s efforts to retain training land in Hawaii after its leases expire in 2029.

“The issue today is whether we should accept the EIS or not accept the EIS,” BLNR Chair Dawn Chang said during Friday’s hearing. “It is only with respect to PTA. It is not on whether what the Army is doing is good or bad, or if we provide them land retention or not. So I want to be really clear on what this is, I want to manage everyone’s expectation, including my own and the board.”

The board ultimately concluded that the EIS, the culmination of years of work, contained significant data gaps on potential environmental and cultural impacts, ranging from effects on endangered species, surveys of traditional Native Hawaiian burial grounds, potential threats to groundwater and a litany of other issues raised both by community members and by staff at the Department of Land and Natural Resources who evaluated the document.

Notably, the Army’s most recent biological survey was from 2013, and the service is currently working on a new one expected to be completed this year that takes into account sightings of two previously unaccounted for species at PTA — the yellow-faced bee and Blackburn’s sphinx moth.

The EIS also didn’t address concerns about the handling of funerary artifacts discovered in 2022 that the state and experts consider to be among the most significant archaeological finds in Hawaii’s history.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chair Kai Kahele released a statement Saturday in support of rejecting the EIS.

“This decision reflects a thorough review of the document’s legal, environmental, and cultural deficiencies, many of which OHA and others identified in public testimony,” he said. “As the State and Hawai‘i’s Congressional Delegation consider next steps, OHA remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that any future course of action honors the unique legal status of these lands and the trust obligations they carry. These lands are not ordinary — they are part of an unrelinquished legacy. OHA will continue to prioritize protecting the rights and interests of the Native Hawaiian people and preserving the integrity of the public land trust.”

Just minutes after the board voted Friday, the Army released its own statement saying, “The Army is currently observing a 30-day waiting period, after which the Army will determine how much land it will seek to retain in its Record of Decision (ROD). The method of retention, or real estate transaction (lease, fee simple), would be negotiated with the State of Hawaii after the ROD is confirmed.”

DLNR put out a statement that said, “An EIS is intended to support informed decision-making and does not, by itself, authorize any land use. No decision has been made on the Army’s long-term lease request. A separate review and determination will be required should such a request be brought before the board in the future.”

Staunch opposition

The Army has trained in the area since World War II and obtained the parcel at PTA and other land across the islands it uses for training for a mere $1 in 1964. Situated in between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, PTA is the U.S. military’s largest contiguous live-fire training area in Hawaii and perhaps the entire Pacific.

The state parcel of 22,750 acres sits between two federally owned pieces of land, collectively making up 132,000 acres. Army officials call the leased land “the connective tissue” of PTA. Lately PTA has become central to the Army’s new Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, a series of training ranges in Hawaii and Alaska aimed at preparing soldiers for operations in the Pacific amid tensions with China.
But the state now considers its parcel at Pohakuloa to be a conservation district, and DLNR staff have concluded that military use of the land is “not consistent” with that designation.

With its rugged fields of lava rock and volcanic soil, Poha­kuloa is classified as a sub-alpine tropical dryland forest — one of the world’s rarest kinds of ecosystems — and is habitat for Hawaii’s state bird, the nene, as well as the hoary bat and several species that exist nowhere else on the planet.

Public responses to the vote rejecting the EIS were swift. Maxx Phillips, Hawaii and Pacific Islands director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that “the board saw through the Army’s hollow promises and recognized that you can’t make informed decisions about protecting endangered species, sacred sites or clean water when you refuse to even do baseline surveys. This vote is a powerful affirmation that the future of these lands must be decided with integrity, not rubber-stamped based on incomplete and misleading information.”

A statement from Ashley Obrey, senior staff attorney at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said the BLNR decision “reflects well established Hawai‘i law that prioritizes the health of Hawai‘i lands and Native Hawaiian cultural practices over military convenience” and that “the state has a legal duty to honor the public trust and the rights of kanaka maoli. We commend the board members for standing firm and refusing to accept a document that would have paved the way for another generation of harm to these ‘aina.”

Wayne Tanaka, director of Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, said, “Pohakuloa has been bombed, burned and polluted for over six decades — and we now have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally say no more to such abuse of our ‘aina. Today’s rejection of the final environmental impact statement gives us a fighting chance to restore and protect this sacred place.”
According to a statement from Lt. Col. Tim Alvarado, the officer who oversees day-to-day operations at PTA, the Army in Hawaii “understands and deeply respects the concerns expressed by community members, cultural practitioners, and environmental advocates regarding the Army’s presence and activities at Pohakuloa Training Area. We recognize that past actions have caused harm and eroded trust, and we continue to seek a balance with consideration for the cultural and environmental significance of this land.”

History of litigation

In 1989, the Sierra Club sued the Army on behalf of University of Hawaii at Hilo botanist Lani Stemmermann. She had visited an area of dryland forest in PTA in search of research sites to study native plants and found Army bulldozers leveling native naio and mamane trees for a new training range.

In 1993, an Army investigation found planners knowingly cut corners during the survey process, intentionally limited access to scientists and ignored recommendations by Army engineers that called for a comprehensive botanical study of the proposed site.
In 2019, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled against the state in a lawsuit filed by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. on behalf of Hawaiian cultural practitioners Clarence “Ku” Ching and Mary Maxine Kahaulelio. The court found state officials had failed to ensure the military upheld its duties to clean up Pohakuloa and had harmed Hawaiian cultural interests, and that “as trustee, the State must take an active role in preserving trust property and may not passively allow it to fall into ruin.”

The terms of the Army’s lease state the military must “make every reasonable effort to … remove or deactivate all live or blank ammunition upon completion of a training exercise,” and disagreement over what “reasonable effort” means has been an ongoing sticking point.

The military only fires live munitions into PTA’s “impact area,” which is on federally controlled land. Because it’s considered an active range, the impact area is regarded as too dangerous for regular removal of ordnance. The board as well as several critics who testified noted the EIS did little to evaluate potential impacts of military action on lands surrounding the state parcel.

A small handful of people testified Friday in support of approving the EIS. Matthew Chalker, a Waikoloa Village resident and self-described wildfire safety advocate, said he believes the EIS was thorough and argued that firefighting facilities at PTA have been critical in protecting his community and training other firefighters across the state.

Riley Smith, who represents Hawaii island on the BLNR, opposed the motion to reject the EIS and argued the Army had acted in good faith to provide the best data it could.

BLNR at-large member Vernon Char, who abstained from the vote, said the public testimony “was very one-sided. It was very well-planned and very emotional … many of the statements made today in opposition were very sincere. But some of it, I thought, was misdirected and maybe not really relevant to the issue of whether the EIS should be accepted as having positioned everything, subject to negotiation.”

Negotiations unsure

The EIS was largely crafted during the administration of President Joe Biden. With the leases expiring in 2029, future efforts and actual negotiations going forward will be undertaken by President Donald Trump’s Pentagon team, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll promised U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D- Hawaii, during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would work with her office and community groups in Hawaii on Army land leases and would listen to local concerns about the future of the land.

But while Hegseth has prioritized funding for U.S. forces in the Pacific, he has also vowed to drastically scale back or outright eliminate most of the military’s environmental and cultural programs, charging that such programs are “woke” and have distracted the military from “warfighting.”

When active training isn’t taking place at PTA, only five uniformed soldiers are stationed there. The rest of the workforce of about 200 people is made up of Army civilians and contractors. Among them are scientists working to catalog and preserve native species living on the base, archaeologists and firefighters tasked with putting out blazes — whether they be natural or caused by military training.

Col. Rachel Sullivan, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, said in a statement that “the Army is committed to continuing its environmental and cultural stewardship in support of the U.S. Army Pacific training strategy while maintaining an enduring partnership with the Hawai‘i Island community.”

However, Hegseth has proposed cutting large portions of the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce, especially any job that doesn’t “directly contribute to lethality,” such as those working on environmental programs, and has proclaimed that the military is done with “climate crap” under his watch.

It’s unclear what that will mean in Hawaii as the Trump administration continues to take shape.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/05/11/hawaii-news/land-board-rejects-pohakuloa-eis-but-lease-negotiations-to-move-ahead/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKOdY9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE3YWxidE1RZkRYVjZlWnNCAR6h_b8D4gN1tFO9hUyz8ZqLAmWkNH5a5Szo9VP-msM1lfG13zKPxu9NTsiCPg_aem_NTCJnNd986riB2RZtyH9MA

The U.S. Army hit a speed bump in its effort to retain training land in Hawaii with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voting to reject its final environmental impact statement on its proposal to keep a state-owned parcel at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island.

04/01/2025

Hawai'i ~ All Islands ~

Occupy Hawaii Occupy Oahu Occupy Hilo - in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" DeOccupy Honolulu Occupy Maui Occupy Maui

02/10/2025

MAKE A FEW CALLS NOW!!!
TESTIFY on a few bills NOW!!!
Here: capitol.hawaii.gov

via 350*Hawai'i

HELP KEEP CLIMATE BILLS ALIVE!
PLEASE CALL/EMAIL ASAP

There are several important bills helping to fight the Climate Crisis that need to be scheduled and heard and filed by Thursday, February 13th or they will die. Please contact the Committee Chairs to schedule and hear these bills without delay!

Calling and/or emailing just takes a minute. If you call after hours or over the weekend you can leave a message. The more they hear from folks the more it will show that the public supports these measures-- and the more likely they are to schedule the bills. If you are a constituent, be sure to let them know.

HELP SB669 THAT MANDATES ROOFTOP SOLAR GET HEARD IN THE EIG COMMITTEE!

Sen. Wakai, Chair Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs

808-586-8585; [email protected]

RE: Please Schedule and Pass SB669

Aloha Senator Wakai,

My name is ______________.

There is an important bill that would support a healthy economy, environment, and climate, which has been assigned to your EIG Committee and needs a hearing in your Committee before the upcoming lateral deadline. SB669 would mandate rooftop solar for new homes that are part of a development of twenty or more dwellings. We need to pass policies that would help the State stop building for perpetual fossil fuel dependency, and to ensure we don’t leave anyone behind in the clean energy transition. SB669 is such a measure.

There have been bills introduced in the past that addressed a rooftop solar mandate on all new home construction, including a bill you yourself sponsored. Unfortunately none of these measures passed, and as a result Hawaii is falling behind. California has already implemented this mandate and with great success.

Opponents have criticized that the solar mandate will increase new home prices. However, what they have found in reality is that despite increasing the cost of a new home, the California Solar Mandate is saving homeowners money. It's way past time for Hawaii's families to reap these same benefits.

Please schedule and pass SB669 before the upcoming lateral deadline.

Mahalo!

********************

HELP CLIMATE BILL GET HEARD IN THE AEN COMMITTEE!

Sen. Gabbard, Chair, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment (AEN)

808-586-6830, [email protected],

RE: Please Schedule and Pass SB1152

Aloha Senator Gabbard. My name is _____.

There is an important bill that needs a hearing in your Committee before the upcoming lateral deadline. SB1152 would establish the Hawaii farm to food bank program, and by doing so, would support our local farmers, offer healthy options for our families in need, while also supporting the health of our climate.

Many families in Hawaii struggle to put food on the table on a consistent basis. This measure is a wonderful idea that supports our farmers and at the same time helps our local families in need by providing local, fresh, healthy options. Efforts to support our farmers also builds our resiliency and avoids the greenhouse gases that would have been emitted from shipping in food.

Please schedule and pass SB1152. Mahalo!

*****************
HELP CLIMATE BILL GET HEARD IN THE EDU COMMITTEE!

Sen. Kidani, Chair, Senate Committee on Education (EDU)

808-586-7100, [email protected]

RE: Please Schedule and Pass SB409

Aloha Senator KIdani, My name is ______________.

There is an important bill that needs a hearing in your Committee before the upcoming lateral deadline. SB409 would put photovoltaic panel coverings over playgrounds at all Department of Education schools.

Rising energy costs across the State have led to increased spending for utilities. Installing solar photovoltaics will provide shading over playgrounds while it lowers energy costs. Further, taking advantage of solar photovoltaics will be an important part of meeting Hawaii's one hundred per cent renewable energy target. This is a win:win!

Please schedule and pass SB409. Mahalo!

*****************
HELP SB559, THE GREEN AMENDMENT, GET HEARD IN THE WAM COMMITTEE!

The Green Amendment, SB559, will for the first time truly give the People of Hawaii their Right to clean water and air, a healthful environment and climate. Currently environmental protections are an afterthought in government decision making, and sometimes not considered at all. The Green Amendment will change that.

The deadline for this bill to be heard in WAM is later this month. However Sen. Dela Cruz has been unwilling to schedule the Green Amendment in the past so we are starting early to convince him to do otherwise this time!

Sen. Dela Cruz, Chair Ways and Means

808-586-6090; [email protected]

RE: Please Schedule and Pass SB559

Aloha Senator Dela Cruz,

My name is ______________.

There is an important bill that would support a healthy economy, environment, and climate, which has been assigned to your WAM Committee and is pending a hearing notice. Please schedule and pass SB559 as soon as possible.

SB559 proposes a Bill of Rights amendment, otherwise known as the Green Amendment. If approved by voters in a referendum, this proposed Bill of Rights amendment will help preserve a strong economy, human health, and a clean environment.

The Green amendment will allow the people of Hawaii to enjoy smart business growth rather than having to suffer harms to human health, property values, and financial security. It will also help avoid the burdens on county and state government budgets that environmental pollution and damage cause. The Green Amendment will encourage government decision-making, without delays, that considers environmental impacts early in the process--when prevention of pollution, degradation and environmental harm is most possible, so we can perpetuate the health and beauty of these islands.

We all need clean water, clean air, a healthful environment, and climate. Having the Green Amendment would support and secure better government decision-making that avoids environmental pollution and degradation.

Please schedule and pass this very important bill.

Mahalo!

EXTRA CREDIT FOR CLIMATE-LOVER OVER-ACHIEVERS
TESTIMONY NEEDED!
Some REALLY GREAT bills are moving forward and need testimony submitted by TUESDAY. See below for details and talking points. If you are short on time, just submit testimony in SUPPORT.

Hearing on WEDNESDAY, February 12, 9am HSG Committee

HB243 HD1 STRONG SUPPORT

HB243 HD1 requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a streamlined grid-ready home interconnection process.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? A streamlined grid-ready home interconnection process supports the rapid adoption of clean energy technologies and ensures power system reliability.

TESTIFY HERE by TUESDAY, 2/11, 9am. See below for sample talking points.

-- HB243 HD1 helps give residents access to clean, affordable energy, helping people save money on their monthly bills at a time when so many are struggling, and at the same time helping to save the planet from climate-destroying greenhouse gases. This is an important step to help Hawaii meet its climate goals, reduce costs for residents, and become more resilient.

-- This legislation will streamline the interconnection process, enabling faster and more affordable deployment of solar and battery storage, as well as electric vehicle charging.

-- By reducing interconnection bottlenecks, this bill will help stabilize and lower electricity rates for all ratepayers.

-- I urge the legislature to support this measure that helps lower the energy costs and carbon footprint of homes. These efforts are needed in earnest to increase resilience in our communities, and achieve a clean, sustainable energy future.

***********

Hearing on WEDNESDAY, February 12, 9am HSG Committee

HB346 HD1 STRONG SUPPORT

HB346 HD1 provides rebates for the installation of eligible electric vehicle-ready parking stalls for new construction of affordable housing.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The lack of adequate vehicle charging infrastructure presents a barrier to widespread EV adoption, particularly for residents who are renters or who live in apartment buildings. This barrier creates an equity issue for low-income families who are unable to access the savings and other benefits associated with electric vehicle ownership because they lack access to charging infrastructure.

TESTIFY HERE by TUESDAY, 2/11, 9am. See below for sample talking points.

-- HB346 HD1 would provide incentives for electric vehicle ready new construction for affordable housing. Access to vehicle charging infrastructure presents a barrier and an equity issue for low-income families who are unable to access the savings and other benefits associated with electric vehicle ownership because they lack access to charging infrastructure. As we transition away from gas vehicles, we need to take close account of our LMI/ALICE communities. They have economic concerns that must be accounted for as we decarbonize our transportation sector.

-- For Hawaii to achieve its sustainable transportation and climate goals, we must electrify ground transportation on our islands as soon as possible. To adopt electric cars, everyone must have access to charging. And in a just transition, no one is left behind.

SAY NO TO NUCLEAR POWER
IN HAWAII!
Contact EEP and WAM Committee Chairs ASAP!
Let them know you OPPOSE these bills!

JUST SAY "NO" TO NUCLEAR POWER IN HAWAII!

This BAD bill (HB558 in the House, and SB1588 in the Senate) is not only a distraction from Hawaii achieving our clean energy goals, it could pose serious harms to our health and environment.

HB558/SB1588 establishes the Nuclear Energy Task Force within the Hawaii State Energy Office. While this measure would just establish a taskforce, why waste the money on something that the Energy Office has already indicated would be an expensive form of energy, let alone the environmental risks?

Bottom line, if we are already having such an immense challenge just being able to site a landfill on Oahu, how would we ever be able to site a nuclear waste facility that would contain lethal radioactive waste, that according to scientists, must be maintained and funded for at least 200,000 years?

Here are just a few more reasons why this bill is a VERY BAD idea.

Transporting Nuclear Fuel is a Hazard
As an isolated island chain, Hawaii faces unique and significant risks in transporting nuclear fuel over vast ocean distances. Any accidents during transport could have catastrophic consequences for Hawaii's pristine marine environment and tourism-dependent economy.

Nuclear Waste Storage is Infeasible
Hawaii's geological instability, including frequent earthquakes, volcanic activity, and tsunami risks, makes it an unsafe location for storing nuclear waste. There are no viable long-term solutions for safely containing radioactive materials in such a volatile environment.

Hawaii's Renewable Energy Goals
Hawaii is already on the path to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045 through Act 97 (2015). Nuclear energy is not renewable, it is not "zero-emissions," and pursuing it would divert attention and resources from proven, sustainable solutions like solar, wind, and geothermal power.

CALL TO ACTION!
PLEASE CALL/EMAIL ASAP

Please contact the Chairs of the Energy & Environmental Protection (EEP) committee in the House and the Ways and Means (WAM) committee in the Senate. Tell them nuclear energy is the LAST thing we need in Hawaii and wasting our tax dollars on a task force to explore the idea won't change this! See details below and suggested script. Please contact them right away! Even if it is after business hours you can leave a message. If you live in their district, be sure to let them know.

Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, WAM Chair, Senate District 17 (Portion of Mililani, Mililani Mauka, portion of Waipi‘o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village)

Phone: 808-586-6090; [email protected]

SUGGESTED SCRIPT

"Aloha Senator Dela Cruz.

I am strongly opposed to SB1588 to establish a Nuclear Energy Task Force and urge you to not move this bill forward. This bill, which seeks to establish a Nuclear Energy Task Force, is unnecessary and misaligned with Hawaii's constitution, its commitment to renewable energy, and the values of its residents.

The Energy Office has already stated nuclear energy would be too expensive. Allowing SB1588 to move forward would waste our tax dollars, and risk steering our state away from its sustainable energy goals.

On top of that, if we are already having such an immense challenge just being able to site a landfill on Oahu, how would we ever be able to site a nuclear waste facility that would contain lethal radioactive waste, that according to scientists, must be maintained and funded for at least 200,000 years?

Please do not allow this bill to move forward.

Mahalo for all you do to protect our precious islands."

***********
Rep. Nicole Lowen, EEP Chair, House District 7 (Kailua-Kona, Honokōhau, Kalaoa, Pu‘uanahulu, Puakō, portion of Waikoloa)

Phone: 808-586-8400, [email protected]

SUGGESTED SCRIPT

"Aloha Representative Lowen.

I am strongly opposed to HB558 to establish a Nuclear Energy Task Force and urge you to not move this bill forward. This bill, which seeks to establish a Nuclear Energy Task Force, is unnecessary and misaligned with Hawaii's constitution, its commitment to renewable energy, and the values of its residents.

The Energy Office has already stated nuclear energy would be too expensive. Allowing HB588 to move forward would waste our tax dollars, and risk steering our state away from its sustainable energy goals.

On top of that, if we are already having such an immense challenge just being able to site a landfill on Oahu, how would we ever be able to site a nuclear waste facility that would contain lethal radioactive waste, that according to scientists, must be maintained and funded for at least 200,000 years?

Please do not allow this bill to move forward.

Mahalo for all you do to protect our precious islands."

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