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With the legislative session approaching its conclusion, lawmakers rush to navigate the final stages of bill deliberations and advance crucial bills before it’s too late. As of Friday, the legislature had sent 60 bills to the governor and was preparing to take a final vote on at least two more.

At the forefront of legislative proceedings are the numerous bills making their way through conference committees. These committees, composed of conferees from both the House and Senate, are tasked with resolving differences and reaching consensus on bills that have passed both chambers but with varying amendments.

Currently, nearly 300 bills reside in conference committees, but less than a third of them have received hearings. And 40% have yet to receive conferees from either the House or the Senate, meaning they’re unlikely to make much progress this session.

Conference committees have experienced a sluggish start due to the delay in budget negotiations, particularly affecting bills with financial implications, which are progressing slower than usual.

As of Friday, the conference committee on the state budget convened five times for a total of 25 minutes and made little progress on the 588 pages of disagreements still unresolved. The next conference committee will be on Monday at 2 p.m., which is the legislative deadline for the committee to pass a final budget and submit it for final reading.

Among the critical appropriations awaiting resolution is any significant allocation of funds in the state budget for wildfire recovery, response and prevention. Another appropriation bill that would provide nearly $360 million specifically for Maui wildfire recovery is still under negotiation.

Several more bills remain under discussion in conference committees, covering a range of urgent issues. These include measures to safeguard public officials’ personal information, allocate funds for invasive species management and support health care workforce development in public high schools.

Other bills address election integrity by requiring the Office of Elections to join a national organization for voter registration accuracy and combating misinformation by penalizing the distribution of materially deceptive media. Further proposals are related to housing regulations, financial deficits in the Department of Education and enhancing mental health support through peer support specialist frameworks.

Despite progress on some significant issues, many bills that would address major state crises such as mental health, housing and the cost of living have yet to receive a hearing. These include bills to expand mental health services through increased funding, new programs, law enforcement intervention training and new licensure options for behavioral health workers.

Measures to address Hawaii’s housing crisis, including proposals to increase loan limits for direct loans provided by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, empower counties with more zoning and development authority, and allow residential uses in commercial zones, are stalled in conference.

There is also a lack of progress on bills aiming to address housing shortages on Maui, including bills to establish a pilot program to provide housing for school employees on Maui and create the Interagency Council for Maui Housing Recovery to coordinate and facilitate housing recovery initiatives.

Notably, a vital piece of the governor’s package, which would adjust income tax brackets and standard deduction amounts to reflect cost-of-living increases and blunt the impact of inflation, has not yet received a conference hearing.

On the good government front, an ethics bill that would require legislators to disclose any clients of the member, their partner or their employer who the legislator knows or should know provided at least $5,000 of income in the previous year is also stalled, along with a variety of bills to limit executive emergency powers.

While the legislature has not progressed significantly on most of its 2024 priorities, they have had a few successes. Several bills have successfully passed or are on the verge of passing, including adjustments to civil service laws, tighter firearms regulations and reduced penalties for possessing specific amounts of marijuana.

Additionally, there are bills designating official state symbols, such as the state snail and “Kimchi Day” in Hawaii, along with initiatives to increase diversity in law enforcement, prevent animal cruelty, address charitable fraud during emergencies and expand dental health services in schools. A few good updates to sunshine, campaign spending and ethics laws show movement toward increased transparency and accountability in government.

Of course, that’s not enough to meet the state’s ongoing challenges, and the urgency to tackle Hawaii’s most pressing issues becomes increasingly evident. With formidable challenges such as widespread inflation, a rising cost of living prompting outmigration and the critical need for resources to aid Maui’s recovery from devastating fires, lawmakers are under immense pressure to act swiftly and decisively.

However, time is running short, and the legislature must grapple with these significant challenges while facing unprecedented expenses and budgetary constraints. And they’ll need to do it all by Friday.