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Hawaii state senators on Tuesday voted against the confirmation of Alapaki Nahale-a to serve a five-year term on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents.

With the nominee, his family and supporters sitting in the gallery, the Senate voted against the confirmation. It followed unanimous approval of another interim regent, Lauren Akitake, and a 22-3 vote confirming Neil Abercrombie, who is also serving in an interim capacity.

Nahale-a was first confirmed to the board in 2019 and has been board chair since July. His current regent term ends in June.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, whose Senate Higher Education Committee voted last week against the nomination, reiterated her reasoning in a floor speech.

She said Nahale-a had failed to exercise oversight of the university and its administration, which she said demonstrated he is not an advocate for students.

Kim also defended the confirmation hearing process, which has been criticized as unduly harsh on the nominee.

“None of the questions were inappropriate,” she said. “The two-hour hearing covered the university student housing, student safety, graduate assistants, the university’s budget, athletics, the Cancer Center, community colleges and the Board of Regents priorities. All subjects have been of ongoing concern over the many years.”

Kim characterized Nahale-a’s responses to senators’ questions as “generally neutral” and lacking in specifics, and that he wrongly deferred setting the board’s agenda to the administration.

But Sen. Les Ihara spoke in support of the nominee and expressed concern over what he described as a serious divide between citizens and legislators. The debate over Nahale-a illustrates what Ihara sees as “parallel universes” inside the Capitol and out, with the latter “very hurt” by the divide.

Ihara said constitutional conventions and legislation establishing autonomy for UH so that it may serve as an economic engine for the state have “never been implemented.” Though UH has lots of problems, Ihara said it must be allowed to make and correct its own mistakes.

Voting against Nahale-a with Kim were Sens. Henry Aquino, Stanley Chang, Lynn DeCoite, Donovan Dela Cruz, Kurt Fevella, Troy Hashimoto, Michelle Kidani, Ron Kouchi, Chris Lee, Angus McKelvey, Sharon Moriwaki and Glenn Wakai.

In sharp contrast to her opinion of Nahale-a, Kim had great praise for Akitake, a Maui attorney whom she credited with driving change on the Board of Regents and for playing an instrumental role in addressing the “shameful neglect” of student housing.

Kim also hailed the arrival of Abercrombie, a former governor, on the board. She noted that, unlike his colleagues, he showed fiscal responsibility in voting against the university’s budget.

As to complaints from some students that Abercrombie has not been listening to their concerns and has a tendency to rant, Kim said Abercrombie would publicly address that at the next regents meeting as well as speak directly with legislators.

Money, Guns And Pot

Thursday is “first crossover” in the Legislature, essentially the halfway mark in the session when the House and Senate work to meet a key deadline to advance bills.

Among the most significant in the Senate is , which would appropriate funds to support the continued response to the August 2023 wildfires in Maui and Hawaii counties.

Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz explained that the bill tries to put together all the fire expenses for fiscal year 2025, which begins July 1. The senator said he was frustrated that his chamber has not been able to get a clear picture from the Green administration of what those costs might be.

“We’ve had a number of hearings, and we still have yet to ascertain what are going to be the complete costs for sheltering in hotels and what is the housing plan, so that we can transition survivors from the hotels into housing programs,” he said. “I’m hoping over the next couple of weeks, we can work with the administration to get a better idea of what we can support to make sure that Lahaina residents can move on. And at the same time, ensure that we have some fiscal restraint so that we can support all the residents of our state.”

Dela Cruz added that Gov. Josh Green over the weekend informed the Senate that he’s asking the Legislature for $400 million more for the fires in the current fiscal year.

In an unusual move, 20 of the senators, including Dela Cruz, voted “with reservations” on SB 3068. While that still equates to a “yes” vote, it illustrated how uneasy many senators are about the communication between the Senate and the administration regarding Maui recovery, rebuilding and resiliency.

Sen. Jarrett Keokokalole criticized Green directly for what the senator described as disparaging remarks the governor made recently about FEMA providing trailers and tents to fire survivors.

“The governor appears to have responded by characterizing the idea as creating refugee camps,” said Keohokalole. “I would like to note, Mr. President, approximately 30 seconds later, the governor proceeded to talk about building kauhale (small villages for homeless people) everywhere in order to get a roof over people’s heads and treat them in a humane way. This kind of distraction is not helping.”

Senators also expressed differences over a bill to amend the state prohibition on assault weapons to include .50-caliber rifles and assault weapon attachments. passed on a 17-8 vote, but half of the yes votes were with reservations.

Fevella, who voted no, said he’s worried about the bill’s impact in trying to control feral animal populations and families hunting for food.

Another contentious measure, , would legalize the adult use of marijuana beginning in 2026 while also regulating all aspects of the cannabis plant including hemp.

Sen. Sharon Moriwaki voted against the bill, citing serious concerns for public health and safety. The measure passed 19-6, but six senators voted with reservations.

Stadium For Halawa, Or Manoa?

The Senate is not alone in its concerns about the unclear and evolving costs of the August fires. The issue came up during a House floor session Tuesday, including during a discussion of a proposal to alter the plan to rebuild Aloha Stadium.

would move nearly $400 million currently slated to be used to plan, design and construct a new stadium in Halawa to the state’s general fund. Bonds would be issued instead for more than $200 million for a new stadium on the University of Hawaii Manoa campus.

The author of HB 2664, Rep. Andrew Garrett, brought up the fire costs in his speech to colleagues.

“It is only within the last week that we have begun to comprehend exactly how dire our fiscal situation is with uncontrolled costs due to the wildfires,” he said. “We were initially told by the administration that the impact in this fiscal year would be about $200 million. And the governor’s team … did the best they could to free up funds, mostly by converting the means of financing for several projects and initiatives.”

Now, Garrett continued, the Legislature has learned that the state will need to spend three times that amount.

“And without a clear plan on how to house the survivors at something less than $1 million per day, we really don’t know how much we’re in for it.”

Garrett argues that the ambitious plan — envisioned as a mixed-use district with a new sports and entertainment venue — is too much to take on in a fiscally uncertain year.

“Everything must be on the table as we decide how to salvage our financial plan for this supplemental year,” he said.

But Rep. Sean Quinlan, who chairs the House Tourism Committee, warned that it would be a mistake to cancel requests for proposals that have already been issued for Halawa.

“My concern is not necessarily the merits as it relates to the budget, but whether or not we as a state are going to keep our word,” he said. “And we’ve seen this over and over with large-scale projects. So we’ve had to pull out for various reasons, whether they’re political or financial disaster related. And I worry that it’s creating a climate of business that is not friendly.”

HB 2664 passed with four members voting with reservations and 14 voting no in the 51-member House. It now goes to the Senate, which has long championed the entertainment district.

Also passing the House was , which proposes a constitutional amendment to repeal the Legislature’s authority to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Rep. Elijah Pierick opposed the bill.

“If the government needs a framework to define a marriage for tax purposes, they can simply create laws of civil union and taxing people that are multiple people living in the same household,” he said. “It’s not the government’s job to define marriage. It’s God’s job to do that.”

But Rep. Adrian Tam was in strong support of HB 2664. He pointed out that, for 26 years, Section 23 of the Hawaii Constitution has given the Legislature the power over marriage — even as same-sex marriage has become the law of the land.

“That has caused a lot of damage and hurt in the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “Lifelong partners were unable to be by each other’s side as they take their final breath. Partners couldn’t make financial decisions together. Many were unable to have their love recognized legally, and were forced to live with the stigma not felt by their heterosexual peers.”

The bill passed with six members voting no.

Most bills in the House and Senate Tuesday faced little or no opposition. Among them are and companions making the shaka the official gesture of the state.

House and Senate floor sessions are scheduled for Thursday to take up any remaining legislation not dealt with Tuesday. The 2024 session concludes May 4.