LIHUE — State representatives passed bills that may affect housing, homelessness, public safety, environment and protection of children.
The House of Representatives passed 128 bills on third reading Monday, moving them to the Senate for consideration. The bills addressed medical aid in dying, removing abandoned vehicles, making bump stocks on guns illegal, prohibiting liquor consumption in nearshore waters, funding ambulance services, supporting the Pu‘uhonua Homeless Village, providing more electric vehicle support, and other important issues.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said lawmakers are addressing a number of critical issues including needed services for homeless people, supporting
affordable housing for low- and middle-income working families, and protecting the people of Hawaii.
“When we began this legislative session, the House of Representatives took the position that we would prioritize critical, unfinished business. This included medical aid in dying and homelessness and housing initiatives,” said Saiki. “House members have taken tough positions on complicated issues because they, like the general public, do not want to defer decisions on some of the most important issues facing our state.”
The “Our Care, Our Choice” bill establishes a regulated process under which an adult resident with a medically confirmed terminal disease and less than six months to live may obtain medication to end their life.
The Hawaii House has approved a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients.
The House approved the bill Tuesday, sending it to the Senate, which last year overwhelmingly approved a similar bill.
There were several housing/homelessness bills. Highlights include requirements to identify available state land for establishing the Pu‘uhonua Homeless Villages, as well as a pilot project to shelter and treat homeless individuals with mental illness.
A Special Action Team on Affordable Rental Housing would also create rentals for extremely low-income households, while another bill exempts affordable housing projects from conveyance tax and increases allocations to Land Conservation and Rental Housing Revolving funds.
Public safety bills include one that prohibits bump fire stocks, multi-burst trigger activators and trigger cranks.
Another prohibits liquor consumption within a thousand yards of any shoreline.
Environmental bills were also passed, including one requiring environmental assessments and impact statements to include sea level rise. Another bill establishes the Plastic Pollution Initiative Program to eliminate plastic waste and the Plastic Pollution Advisory Council to collect data regarding plastic pollution. Other issues addressed in the bills include expanding electric vehicle charging requirements and supporting a managed shoreline retreat strategy in case of sea level rise.
