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Republicans in the �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� House of Representatives are advocating for bills this session that they believe have appeal beyond party ideology.

That includes what is described as a stand-your-ground measure that would remove the current legal requirement to retreat prior to using lethal force.

A state law, , says that force is justifiable when someone believes it is necessary to protect themself. But force is not justified if it can be avoided by safely retreating.

“It’s a common sense law that exists in many other states, unfortunately not here in �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��,” said Rep. Diamond Garcia at a press conference Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda. “And this isn’t partisan. This has been introduced time and time again by people in both parties.”

Stand-your-ground has gained support following a shooting in Waiʻanae in August that left four people dead. Hiram Silva killed three people at a party before he was shot and killed by Rishard Keamo-Carnate.

City prosecutors declined to file charges, but the incident led to calls to protect people acting in self-defense. �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s farmers and ranchers have also talked about the need for a stand-your-ground law to deal with poaching and agriculture theft.

“If your life, your family’s life or your property is in imminent danger, every resident should have the right to use lethal and deadly force to protect themselves,” said Garcia.

The press conference featured seven members of the nine-member caucus announcing their legislative package for 2025.

The Legislature is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats, but Republicans do have three more House members this session compared to last year. Whether it will lead to more consideration of their ideas is not guaranteed, however. No bill from the caucus passed last year.

But the GOP representatives say their legislative suggestions come from surveys of constituents and Oʻahu district listening tours. (All nine House Republicans and three senators hail from Oʻahu.)

The outreach led to the creation of an advisory board to get expert advice “to make sure we could craft the best legislation,” said Minority Leader Lauren Matsumoto. “This session, our House Republican caucus package is responsive to community feedback.”

“Obtaining a building permit in the state of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� takes three times longer than the national average.”

Rep. David Alcos

The bills fall into six categories: cost of living (the GOP’s top priority), housing security, quality education, public safety, Native Hawaiian advocacy and government reform.

They include a cell phone ban in public schools to reduce distraction and cyberbullying.

“A recent poll showed that 90% of teachers support prohibiting student cellphone use during instructional time, which is already limited and precious,” said Rep. Garner Shimizu, who was elected last year. “This policy will foster an environment of growth and learning.”

Some local schools have already moved to implement their own cell phone policies.

Another measure seeks to have more voter service centers on Oʻahu during elections. Long lines at Kapolei Hale and Honolulu Hale on Nov. 5 saw many voters waiting for hours to cast ballots, delaying the reporting of election results until after midnight.

The GOP representatives want Oʻahu to have nine voter service centers, one for each of the Honolulu City Council districts.

There is also a call to join the nine other states that do not tax income.

Several of their bills this session have been proposed before, only to die quickly.

They include limiting legislators to 12 years in office (representatives and senators currently have no term limits), allowing counties to elect local school boards (�Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� is the only state with a single, centralized school district with one appointed Board of Education) and exempting food, groceries and medical and dental services from the general excise tax (the Legislature last year did approve GET exemptions for health care providers who treat patients receiving Medicaid, Medicare or TRICARE benefits).

Other bills from the House GOP are inspired by evergreen challenges such as housing.

One measure calls for a building permit “shot clock” to break through long delays from application to approval. It would require approval of applications for single family and multi-family residences if they are certified by licensed structural, civil, electrical or mechanical engineers and architects.

“This bill matters because obtaining a building permit in the state of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� takes three times longer than the national average,” said Rep. David Alcos. “We can start construction sooner. We can get planning ahead and get more houses for our families.”

Another bill would update the state’s Individual Housing Account Program to reflect current housing prices and make it easier for people to save for a down payment.

Other legislation seeks to tackle the decades-old problem of getting more qualified Native Hawaiians on Hawaiian homelands. The state’s current waiting list is more than 28,000 beneficiaries, and many die waiting.

The lawmakers want to ensure that the children of beneficiaries, who must have a blood quantum of at least 50% Hawaiian, can replace their parents on the waiting list. The measure calls for allowing successors who are 25% Hawaiian to inherit the slot.

A related plan is to let the inheritor of leases leverage ownership to be eligible for a mortgage. A bill calls for modernizing the language of lease awards so people are eligible for federal lending programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

And some GOP ideas reflect national populist trends, such as legislation to get rid of taxes on tips in the service and hospitality industries. President-elect Donald Trump boasted of the idea during the 2024 election, and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support as well.

The House will be posted on the Legislature’s website no later than Thursday. Bills for the Senate minority and the House and Senate Democratic majorities .