HONOLULU — The Hawaii Legislature has three weeks left to wrap up all its business for the 2015 session, and most of the major legislation remains undecided.
HONOLULU — The Hawaii Legislature has three weeks left to wrap up all its business for the 2015 session, and most of the major legislation remains undecided.
Lawmakers in both chambers have passed bills that would set up a system of medical marijuana dispensaries, solve problems at Hawaii’s financially troubled health insurance exchange and allocate all of the state’s spending. But they have yet to agree on their versions for most of the bills. They’ll begin hashing out their differences in conference committees this week.
Here’s a sampling of the hearings planned for the days ahead:
BEAN COUNTING
Where will all of the $26 million in the two-year state budget go? A conference committee will begin combing through the latest draft of the state budget on Tuesday afternoon.
CORRECTIONS
Dozens of corrections officers have repeatedly called in sick on holidays, leading the prison system to cancel visits to inmates and to have officers work overtime. A House resolution calls on the state auditor to investigate. That resolution will be heard in a Senate committee Monday afternoon.
GOVERNOR’S NOMINEES
Senate committees will hear testimony on dozens of Gov. David Ige’s nominees to various boards and panels. The full Senate may take a vote on William Balfour, a nominee for the Commission on Water Resource Management, who was approved by a Senate committee Friday. Some environmental groups have opposed the nominee.