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San Francisco Chronicle
03-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hawaii legislature passes bill to limit police chases following Chronicle investigation
Lawmakers in Hawaii overwhelmingly passed legislation this week to restrict police pursuits to the most serious crimes following a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that revealed more than 3,300 deaths tied to chases, including more than 500 bystanders. The legislation is poised to place Hawaii ahead of much of the country, where officers operate under often permissive rules that vary by department. It was sent this week to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green for his signature. 'The whole point is to make bright lines – so police can make split second decisions – limiting them to chases over the most serious offenses,' said state Rep. David Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, who introduced the bill in January. The Chronicle's ' reporting helped us establish clear guidelines to protect the public. Left without clear guidance, the results can be tragic for the public and the police, and your reporting made that tragically clear.' The bill would become the first statewide pursuit policy that draws on new model state rules from the New York University School of Law's Policing Project. The school developed the model rules in response to ' Fast and Fatal,' the Chronicle's investigation, among other sources of inspiration. The Chronicle's investigation revealed that most chases begin with a low-level crime – or no crime at all. Additionally, passengers and bystanders account for most of those killed. There is no binding national standard governing whether and how police should chase suspects. Few officers are held accountable for reckless pursuits. The legislation sailed through both chambers with bipartisan support. It establishes stricter guidelines, better data collection, including on pursuits that maim and kill, and more accountability for officers who initiate chases. It would limit pursuits to incidents in which drivers or passengers are attempting to commit or have committed certain serious offenses, such as felonies involving actual or potential physical injury, sexual offenses and certain types of assault and domestic abuse. If enacted, the legislation will also provide more transparency and public accountability. The state's Law Enforcement Standards Board will be charged with developing a model pursuit policy for all of Hawaii's law enforcement agencies by July 1, 2026. The legislation requires the board to include in its model policy additional rules that cover riskier activities, including PIT maneuvers — a dubious tactic adopted from stock car racing that the Chronicle found had killed 87 people in six years, nearly half of them bystanders and passengers. Further, the Hawaii Attorney General must adopt rules for the collection and reporting of data on every pursuit to its office. Police agencies will have to provide data each year on pursuit-related injuries and fatalities, enforcement outcomes and the unique identification numbers of police officers and their supervisors involved in each chase. The state's police agencies must adopt written policies that align with the pursuit bill's requirements and these pursuit policy and data collection rules by Jan. 1, 2027, and sworn officers will have to complete related training every two years. Josh Parker, deputy director of policy for NYU School of Law's Policing Project, credited the newspaper's series with helping compel Hawaii's reforms. "The Chronicle's thorough, data-driven reporting on the dangers of vehicle pursuits provided firm national evidence for both my organization and lawmakers across the country that legislation and policies restricting pursuits to serious crimes is vital to protect the lives of community members and officers alike,' Parker said. 'By not allowing dangerous chases for low-level crimes and traffic infractions like having one broken taillight or playing loud music, Hawaii joins a growing number of jurisdictions and agencies nationwide that recognize that restrictive pursuit policies are necessary to save lives and protect public safety.' Hawaii's legislation is part of a larger discussion about limiting when and how police chase suspects on the roads. The president of the New York City Police Benevolent Association, the nation's largest police union, recently praised a restrictive pursuit policy instituted by the NYPD, Parker noted. A 2023 report paid for by the U.S. Justice Department urged police to limit pursuits to people who have committed a violent crime and pose an imminent threat to others. The Honolulu County Police Department currently permits high-speed cases for any crime or traffic infraction, no matter how minor. State lawmakers in Hawaii introduced a similar bill last year that would have established a statewide pursuit policy, but it stalled in the Senate amid opposition from local law enforcement. In 2021, Honolulu police launched a high-speed chase over a noise complaint, reaching speeds of 108 mph before an officer in an unmarked SUV bumped into the fleeing car and sent it careening into a field. The ensuing crash seriously injured one adult and five teenagers, including a passenger whose eye split open. Instead of rendering medical aid, the officers drove away, then returned to the scene and acted as if they hadn't caused the crash, video and records later showed. The driver of the car settled a lawsuit against the city of Honolulu for $12.5 million after suffering severe brain damage.
RNZ News
30-04-2025
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 30 April
Photo: Tonga Geological Services A satellite image of Tonga's Home Reef volcano at the weekend shows volcanic steam and discolouration around and from the volcano. Tonga's Geological Services has reported moderate thermal activity over the past two weeks. Authorities say the volcanic activity poses a low risk to the Vava'u and Ha'apai communities. But all mariners are advised to keep at least 2 nautical miles away from Home Reef until further notice, and an orange alert is in place for aviation. Two laboratory-confirmed cases of measles have been confirmed in Hawai'i, as parts of the US grapple with outbreaks of the disease. Hawai'i's disease outbreak control division said one case is a school-age child and the second, an adult member of the child's family. Both returned from international travel just before the diagnosis and recovered at home. Three potential public exposure times have been announced by the health department on 30 March and 4 April. Ninety-two people who were exposed to one or both cases of measles have been identified. Lawmakers in Hawai'i have approved two legal measures related to the New Year's Eve fireworks tragedy in Aliamanu. On 31 December last year, a fireworks explosion killed six people died and left dozens injured. State representative David Tarnas said the measures included "heightened penalties if another person suffers substantial bodily injury, serious bodily injury or death as a result of fireworks offenses". Another measure would allow law enforcement officers to use drones to monitor illegal fireworks activity and make arrests, "if the unmanned aerial vehicle is recording directly above public property, and the act leading to the arrest is committed on public property". Hawai'i News Now reported the approved measures still have to be voted on by the full house and senate next week. A mother charged with the murder of her newborn baby has been acquitted by the Labasa High Court in Fiji. The FBC reported the police found the baby girl in a bucket under a bed, wrapped in a blanket. The court heard that her husband was unaware she was pregnant and rushed her to Labasa Hospital after finding her covered in blood. The woman's lawyer, John Prasad told the court that she collapsed after the birth and woke up in hospital. The High Court judge found the baby died of suffocation. The Fiji Police Force has received an underwater robot vehicle to support its maritime work. The remotely operated machine allows police units to assess potentially dangerous situations from a safe position. The robotic vehicle was provided through support from Japan and the UN Office on Drugs Maritime Crime Programme. The number of Pasifika people sentenced to prison terms in New Zealand has increased between the last two fiscal years (2022/23 and 2023/24) from 447 people to 660. According to the latest figures from Stats NZ, released 24 April, Pasifika prisoners made up around 10 percent of overall sentences in the 2023/24 fiscal year, up from 8 percent in the previous year. Howeverm it is a drop in the bucket compared to Māori sentences, which increased from 3375 to 4041.
Associated Press
23-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Lawmakers agree to pay $807 million into Lahaina wildfires settlement fund
It's not often that applause breaks out in the audience after a vote at the Hawaiʻi Legislature, but that happened Tuesday afternoon. The measure was House Bill 1001, and the subject was settling claims related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires. 'This is a very important measure, and I appreciate the support of the Finance Committee to approve this, and the Senate and your Ways and Means Committee to approve this as well,' Rep. David Tarnas said to Sen. Karl Rhoads, his counterpart in negotiating passage of HB 1001 in conference committee. If approved by the full House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Josh Green, as is widely expected — HB 1001 was part of the administration's package of legislation this session — the state of Hawaiʻi will deposit $807 million into the Maui Wildfires Settlement Trust Fund over the next four years. That is the state's share of a $4.04 billion global settlement that includes $1.99 billion from Hawaiian Electric Co. and $872.5 million from landowner Kamehameha Schools. The rest of the monies are expected to come from West Maui landowners and telecommunications companies, including Hawaiian Telcom and Spectrum. The trust fund will be used to settle lawsuits from more than 1,000 homeowners, businesses and others harmed by the fires, which took 102 lives. It will be used to compensate individuals or representatives of the dead who suffered real and personal property damage, personal injury, wrongful death, emotional distress and inconvenience, or economic loss as a result of the wildfires, according to the legislation. The bill says the settlement 'will offer a timely and compassionate resolution to those affected by the Maui wildfires while relieving the burden on the judicial system and contributing to the rebuilding of lives and community.' In February, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court approved the settlement, rejecting a challenge from the insurance industry. Nearly 200 insurers had paid out more than $2.3 billion to home and business owners and were looking to recoup that money from lawsuits against HECO, Kamehameha Schools and other parties that allegedly allowed the fire to spread. The fires were investigated by Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez, the Maui Fire Department, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and HECO itself. The allocation of state funds and the determination of individual compensation amounts have yet to be finalized, according to HB 1001. Kamehameha Schools still needs approval from the state probate court and the IRS for its portion of the settlement before it can be finalized. Since last year, HECO has raised $500 million needed for the first installment of its share. About one-third of the settlement is expected to go to the victims' lawyers. The state's wildfire settlement amount is in addition to a state contribution of $65 million to the One ʻOhana Fund for wildfire assistance. That fund was set up by the Green administration to help aid the recovery of families who lost loved ones as well as people who suffered severe injuries in the disaster. HECO contributed $75 million to the One ʻOhana Fund, $17.5 million came from Kamehameha Schools, Maui County's share was $10 million and Charter/Spectrum, Hawaiian Telcom and West Maui Land Co. $2.5 million each. ___ Civil Beat reporters Stewart Yerton and Blaze Lovell contributed to this report. ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill ending religious exemptions to school vaccines makes headway
JAMM AQUINO / 2022 A house bill aims to end religious exemptions for school immunization requirements. Vaccine vials and empty syringes are seen during a booster vaccination clinic at 'Iolani School. JAMM AQUINO / 2022 A house bill aims to end religious exemptions for school immunization requirements. Vaccine vials and empty syringes are seen during a booster vaccination clinic at 'Iolani School. A House bill proposing an end to religious exemptions for school immunization requirements is making headway in the state Legislature. , which is part of the governor's package, passed its third reading in the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs on Friday, and is poised to cross over to the Senate in March. The measure passed the committee on a 5-3 vote, including two votes with reservations. Democratic Rep. David Tarnas, the committee's chair, voted for the measure, saying he was concerned with the growing rate of nonmedical exemptions in Hawaii. 'While immunizations reduce risk of severe illness for everyone, ' he said, 'this trend is especially concerning for students with medical conditions who are unable to be immunized and must rely on their vaccinated peers to prevent the introduction for vaccine-preventable diseases in their schools.' Republican Reps. Diamond Garcia and Garner Shimizu and Democratic Rep. Amy Perruso cast the three opposing votes. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Garcia said he thought the bill was 'clearly unconstitutional ' and that an overwhelming majority of the testimony received was in opposition to it. Hawaii state law requires students to be immunized with a before attending public or private school, unless they have exemptions. Required vaccines include those for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP ), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, meningitis and chickenpox for those in kindergarten through 12th grade. Starting July 1, 2020, the state added human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccines to requirements for seventh graders. The vaccination requirements do not include the COVID-19 or influenza vaccines. HB 1118 would still allow for medical exemptions but repeal any new religious exemptions for vaccines, which are allowed when a parent or guardian writes that it conflicts with their 'bona fide religious tenets and practices.' Any child already attending school with an already approved religious exemption, however, can remain exempt. Heated debate The vote came after hours of testimony, and debate over the safety and efficacy of vaccinations, religious freedoms, parental rights, bodily autonomy and constitutional rights. The Aloha Freedom Coalition, a grassroots organization started by former Republican candidate for governor Gary Cordery, held a rally Thursday at the state Capitol in opposition to the bill. The state Department of Health, which supports the bill, says its purpose is to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all children in the state. Advocates for the bill are concerned that the number of students seeking religious or nonmedical exemptions in Hawaii. In the 2023-24 school year, DOH said, the rate of nonmedical exemption more than doubled to 5.3 %, compared with 2.5 % in the 2015-16 school year. Fifty-five out of 382 schools reported nonmedical exemption rates exceeding 10 % of their student population. This trend, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also occurring nationally, according to KFF, a health policy research group—and public opinion on vaccine requirements is becoming increasingly bipartisan. In its latest poll, KFF found 1 in 4 Republican parents skipped or delayed some vaccines for their children. The bill also was supported by the Hawaii chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Pacific Health, State Council on Developmental Disabilities and American Atheists, among others. Opposition to the bill came from mothers who testified in person that vaccines triggered autism in their child, as well as those who suffered from vaccine injuries. Among those opposing the bill in written testimony were Kauai County Council member Felicia Cowden, along with groups such as the Hawaiian Islands Republican Women, Hawaii for Informed Consent and the Hawaii Christian Coalition. Some testified that repealing religious exemptions was government over-reach and a violation of constitutional, parental and cultural freedoms. Some also said it would trigger legal challenges against President Trump's executive orders. Risk of measles The bill contends that immunization requirements have been effective in improving coverage rates—and that vaccines prevent deaths, hospitalizations and illnesses. DOH noted that all 50 U.S. states, including Hawaii, have school-entry vaccination requirements. 'If implemented now, ' DOH said, 'this measure can help us re-establish herd immunity to protect our community against life-threatening communicable diseases, hopefully before we experience a large-scale outbreak.' Those diseases include measles, which is highly contagious and currently rising in the U.S., according to Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink, after it was officially declared eradicated in 2000. The recent outbreak of measles in rural Texas—among mostly unvaccinated children—has now infected more than 120 and spread to New Mexico. Texas has a statewide measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rate of 94.3 %, he said, and a nonmedical exemption rate of 3.6 %. By comparison, Hawaii has an MMR vaccination rate of only 89.8 % and a nonmedical exemption rate of 5.3 %. 'While we've not yet had a measles outbreak in Hawaii, we are at risk, ' he said. 'And digging into the data from Texas, I'm even more concerned about our risk.' Fink said he understood that the measure is controversial, with compelling arguments for and against it. 'While we may disagree on how, I would like to believe that we all share the goal of keeping our keiki healthy and safe, ' he said during the hearing. 'Too often, it seems a crisis happens and then we react. We might ask ourselves, What could we have done to prevent it ? Now is the time to prevent a measles outbreak with the opportunity to be proactive and protect our keiki and community from vaccine-preventable diseases.'
Associated Press
06-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Bill to close pay-to-play loophole in Hawaii moves to full House
State legislators are seeking to close a 20-year-old loophole that has allowed government contractors to donate to politicians despite a law that purports to ban such contributions. Last year, an investigation by Civil Beat and The New York Times found that people with ties to contractors contributed $24 million to political campaigns — about $1 in every $5 donated since 2006 — and the donations often coincided with key decisions by lawmakers regarding the contracts. On Wednesday, lawmakers moved closer to closing the loophole, which banned donations from companies with government contracts, but not from company officers or their families. The House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 371 for a full vote in the House. The legislation would prohibit campaign contributions from officers and immediate family members of contractors as well as recipients of government grants. State and county agencies would be required to send the Campaign Spending Commission lists of contractors as well as their officers and immediate family members. The commission, which is tasked with regulating political donations in Hawaiʻi, would use that information to enforce the new prohibitions. Rep. David Tarnas, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he included that provision to help address concerns from lawmakers, who were worried about accepting illicit contributions in the future. 'We're trying to make the information available to the public and to the candidates,' Tarnas said. HB 371 goes further, banning people tied to contractors from donating to noncandidate committees, which in Hawaiʻi could include super PACs that have no limits on fundraising from any one source and no limits on spending to support or oppose candidates. Experts have said the provisions targeting PACs are likely to be challenged in court. The prohibitions would last for the duration of the government contract. Any donations made in violation of the new law would need to be returned to the donor in 30 days. Otherwise, those funds would go to the state. Efforts to close the loophole and ban donations from company executives and family members failed in the last two legislative sessions. Lost In Translation Tarnas chose to advance HB 371 out of his committee over another proposal that promised more sweeping reforms. That bill, House Bill 894, sought to ban prospective bidders, subcontractors, and pre-qualified bidders from contributing to campaigns. Tarnas, who sponsored the bill, based it on laws from Connecticut, but found that not everything from Connecticut could work in Hawaiʻi. For example, Hawaiʻi doesn't have a statewide system for prequalifying contractors. 'It just doesn't translate well to our system,' Tarnas said during a hearing on the measures. State Procurement Officer Bonnie Kahakui told lawmakers that provisions in the Connecticut proposal requiring agencies to send lists of contractors and bidders to the Campaign Spending Commission could be 'administratively burdensome.' For example, Kahakui estimated that state agencies received nearly 8,000 proposals last year in response to solicitations. She suggested an alternative: Instead of sending the commission that information, the agencies could collect information on officers, immediate family members and subcontractors of winning bidders and post them to a public database. 'It could be done,' Kahakui told lawmakers. 'It would just take more effort on the agencies' part to collect that information from vendors.' Lawmakers are separately proposing to increase staffing for the Campaign Spending Commission, which is tasked with regulating millions of dollars in campaign funds every election cycle. Gov. Josh Green has included funding in his budget proposal to add staff to the commission, which currently has just five employees. A separate bill would give the commission, which is tasked with investigating campaign spending violations, an investigator. It currently doesn't have one. Craig Holman, a Washington D.C. lobbyist and expert on campaign finance, applauded the proposals. 'It sounds like a very good law,' he said in an interview. But he said that Hawai'i also needs to include provisions in contracts that would allow the government to cancel a deal if a contractor violates the campaign spending provisions. The threat of losing potentially lucrative contracts should be enough to force businesses to police themselves, Holman said. Targeting Super PACs Would Be Difficult Efforts to end contractor contributions to super PACs will likely run into legal challenges related to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling. Citizens United established that business entities have rights to political speech and essentially defanged states' attempts to limit spending by super PACs, which are called independent expenditure committees in Hawaiʻi. For example, even with stronger restrictions than those in Hawaiʻi, government contractors in Connecticut continued donating to campaigns through outside super PACs, according to media reports. Jim Hochberg, a lawyer who challenged Hawaiʻi's campaign spending laws shortly after the Citizens United ruling, called the Legislature's latest attempt to prohibit donations from contractors 'ridiculous.' 'If I was still in Hawaiʻi, I'd sue them,' Hochberg said, adding that political speech 'is the most important speech we have.' Since 2012, independent expenditure committees in Hawaiʻi spent more than $12.4 million to sway elections, according to data from the Campaign Spending Commission. Some of those efforts have been funded by government contractors. In 2016, Dennis Mitsunaga, president of the engineering firm Mitsunaga & Associates, provided financial backing to a super PAC that supported Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell's reelection campaign. Mitsunaga's family members also contributed to the PAC, called Save Our City. The PAC and its chairwoman at the time, bar owner Sarah Houghtailing, were fined $15,000 in 2019 for misreporting the group's flow of money. Mitsunaga was acquitted of federal charges last year. In 2020, seven employees of the engineering firm R.M. Towill, a major state contractor, contributed to a PAC set up to support Democratic candidates for the House. The company also has its own PAC called the Kilohana Corporation, which contributed to the campaigns of more than three dozen candidates between 2008 and 2023. Holman, the D.C. lobbyist, acknowledging that the outside spending restrictions in the bill could be challenged in court, recommended that lawmakers include a severability clause in measures this year. Such a clause would keep the new bans on contractor donations intact even if the provisions on PACs are deemed illegal. ___
