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Take that, special interests!: In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Hawaii Senate passed legislation setting up a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices. It’s widely described as the most important government reform bill in the 2024 legislative session.

now awaits action in the state House of Representatives. If approved by both chambers and Gov. Josh Green, full public financing could begin as early as the 2028 election cycle.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Karl Rhoads, spoke approvingly of his bill on the Senate floor. And this statement was issued shortly after in a press release:

“Comprehensive publicly-funded campaign programs allow candidates to compete without reliance on special interest money and by also allowing elected officials to make decisions without the influence, or appearance thereof, of private individuals, lobbyists, political parties, political action committees, unions, corporations, and other entities.”

A from House Speaker Scott Saiki has not been heard and is dead for the session, barring the unexpected. That is likely in recognition that the Senate version is the favored “vehicle” moving forward.

Concealing concealed carry: Under a 2023 law, the Attorney General’s Office is required to present an annual report to the Legislature on concealed firearm permits. The reports are intended to provide lawmakers and the public with insights on gun ownership, including a breakdown of reasons for license denial and revocation.

Companion bills this legislative session would clarify what information should be included in the AG’s report, and would give county departments more time to submit it for vetting. Among the amendments to that moved out of the Senate Public Safety Committee last week is the removal of demographic information the AG thinks will “allow the report to provide data without attaching any unintended stigma to a particular age, gender, or racial group.”

But, during the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee hearing on companion , a more immediate problem emerged: There is currently no statewide database of concealed carry permits, something that has created headaches for police departments trying to determine who exactly is licensed and who is not.

Maj. Carlene Lau from HPD’s Records and Identifications Division acknowledged that confirming permits across counties currently happens only only via email and phone, creating delays. (At least they aren’t using fax.)

A solution may be in the works, however. Phil Higdon, administrator of the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, said members of its program are already in discussion with IT staff from the counties to develop that statewide integrated database. There is no timeline on when that will launch.

Hobby lobby: The language of bills at the Hawaii Legislature can often be easily misunderstood. Such is the case of , a sunshine measure that would amend the definition of lobbying to include communications regarding “procurement decisions” with “certain high-level government officials.”

The bill would also include among lobbyists “certain persons” who submit testimony 10 or more times in a calendar year.

That language alarmed testifiers like Alfred Medeiros, , “It seems little by little we’re turning into a dictatorship government and there’s no such thing as democracy anymore.”

Another testifier, Tania Victorine, was more blunt: “You guys are all donkies. No wonder Hawaii is a crap hole.”

At a hearing last week Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads noted that SB 2219 received well over 100 testimonies in opposition, even though they were mistaken about what the bill actually means.

One person who does understand is Robert Harris, executive director and general counsel of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. The bill was his idea. The expansion of the lobbying definition will increase transparency and oversight over state procurements, “which directly reduces the potential for corruption, waste, and fraud,” he told Rhoads.

SB 2219 passed with a few technical amendments and the deletion of that business about submitting testimony 10 times or more.

In the dog house: Every year at the Legislature there are bills submitted to protect animals. This year is no exception, but one particular bill stands out.

Consider the sad story of Exxy, a 3-year-old bulldog mix who was brought into the Hawaiian Humane Society with a large ventral abdominal hernia. The veterinarian who examined Exxy determined that the injury was the result of a backyard cesarean section.

That comes on , which would forbid people without a valid veterinary license from performing any surgical procedure on any animal. As currently written, the bill also makes ear cropping and tail docking offenses of cruelty to animals in the first degree.

Also to be banned: Ventriculocordectomy, or devocalization or debarking; onychectomy, or claw removal; and elastration, or castration via banding.

“Ouch,” says The Blog.

“Exxy was lucky enough to survive the mutilation and get the care she needed, but it is safe to expect that many animals in similar situations die without ever making into the care of a shelter or veterinary clinic,” testified Stephanie Kendrick, director of community engagement for the Hawaiian Humane Society.