ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office called for a special session following the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated the use of preliminary hearings to indict serious felons.

Dozens of House and Senate seats were on the primary ballot Saturday.

In the Aug. 13 primary, Sen. Lorraine Inouye will challenge Sen. Laura Acasio and former HSTA President Wil Okabe to represent the greater Hilo area.

The former Senate majority leader must report to prison on Aug. 16 and was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

But defense lawyers say attorney Gregory Meyers followed standard procedure when he delivered a witness statement to Kauai County prosecutors and described the complaint as “frivolous.”

Former Rep. Ty Cullen has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes when he was a state lawmaker.

The commission is expected to have bill proposals ready ahead of the 2023 legislative session.

But the state senator in charge of budgeting said positions that were eliminated have been vacant for years.

The package would cost the state about $250 million, and would provide the first substantive state tax refunds or credits of their kind since 2007.

She succeeds Clare Connors, who is now the U.S. attorney for the District of Hawaii.