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My first full engagement in the state legislative session was an eye-opener.

The complexity of the process quickly became apparent — thousands of bills introduced at once, seemingly impossible deadlines, and strategizing how to turn no votes into yes votes. It became clear early on that the system is designed in ways that discourage public participation.

We were told by lead lawmakers that Lahaina recovery would be the No. 1 priority of the legislative session, that they would “let Lahaina lead,” and that the community would set the terms of the recovery.
Why then, did so few of the bills championed by the Lahaina community fail to pass or even see the light of day?

The answer is clear: to achieve true democracy, we need major government reform. From the very first day, the Capitol was buzzing with corporate representatives, shaking hands, meeting with legislators, and pushing their agendas. Meanwhile, grassroots groups like ours — Lahaina Strong — were scrambling for meetings and trying to get some face time.

Even so, we pushed through and ultimately scored a big win when — the bill to allow counties to regulate short-term rentals — was signed into law as Act 15.

I got my first hard lesson in how frustrating the process can be in the early days of session, with , a regenerative tourism bill I had worked on with Lahaina’s senator. Despite all the effort we put into it, our bill died without even getting a hearing in its first committee.

I thought maybe it was because I had clashed with the committee chair over an earlier issue. Later, I was told it slipped through the cracks when a staffer got sick.

The truth? I still don’t know. That chair wouldn’t grant Lahaina Strong a meeting the whole session, and no formal vote ever took place. The community never got a chance to weigh in. It was a complete shutout.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Take — a bill to stop rent gouging after a disaster such as our mega-fire. Unlike the regenerative tourism bill, this one made it through all of its assigned committees and passed three floor votes in both the House and Senate. I’ve come to learn what a rarity that is.

Just when we thought we were approaching the finish line, it was killed by an all-powerful lead committee chair who refused to schedule it for the conference committee — despite the bill receiving unanimous support from colleagues in both chambers.

An Unfortunate Pattern

We saw the same pattern with other critical bills like , which aimed to protect tenants and provide relief to homeowners paying mortgages on properties reduced to rubble. Despite desperate pleas from fire survivors in virtual and in-person meetings, these bills were shut down by a powerful committee chair who refused to budge.

These survivors deserved to have their bills heard, with a transparent vote and discussion — not a unilateral decision made behind closed doors.

The session rules need to change to ensure that every legislator on a committee is held accountable and that no one person has the power to quietly kill bills. This is especially important for bills that arise from the lived experiences of disaster survivors and directly address urgent community needs, with the potential to improve outcomes for future victims of disasters.

As we followed the journey of over 120 bills related to Lahaina’s recovery, it became obvious that personal relationships and alliances between legislators can make or break a bill. The system is set up so that interpersonal politics can sink even the best ideas.

Implementing term limits for committee chairs and other leadership positions would prevent power from concentrating in just a few hands, reducing the impact of personal grudges or favoritism on decision-making.

I saw firsthand how critical grassroots advocacy is for making local voices heard, but the system makes it incredibly difficult for regular people to stay engaged. Of all the bills related to Lahaina’s recovery, we focused on 28 bills and resolutions, yet only two made it through, despite gathering over 2,200 pieces of testimony.

Our persistence paid off with the regulation of short-term rentals, but the inefficiencies of the system show that, without major reforms, important bills will continue to die on the vine.

Some of the bills we fought for, like long-term environmental monitoring and mortgage protections for fire survivors, were recommendations from the leadership-sanctioned . They spent 14 weeks researching and presenting recommendations for a session that was supposed to be about Lahaina.

The fact that so few of those recommendations were seriously considered — let alone passed — highlights just how broken the system is.

Community-led efforts also seem to get brushed aside more easily. Even though we passed SB 2919, the fact that bills like (for water protection) and (for publicly funded elections) died despite massive community support makes me question who the legislature is working for. Meanwhile, banks and energy conglomerates get their interests quietly served without the same battles we had to fight.

The legislative process is grueling, and after my experience last session, I know it is designed to wear you down. But after everything we went through, I’m more determined than ever to push for changes that will make it easier for people like me to engage.

Without reform to “business as usual” at the Legislature, the people of Lahaina will keep getting left behind while those with money and influence shape policy in their favor.

If we want a government that truly serves the people, we need transparency, accountability, and fairness at every step of the process. Without these changes, those with wealth and connections will keep the upper hand, and communities like ours will continue to struggle just to be heard.