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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PCHSW 2023/12/05 (2022-2024) Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being 7th Session Hawai`i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai`i December 5, 2023 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being ORDER: was called to order at 4:27 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo,by Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Ms. Cindy Evans,Member (came in later) Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member (came in later) Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy,Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Timothy Rowan: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. (representing Malama 0 Puna) Carrie Kowalski: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support Greg DiBenedetto: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. Stephanie Bath: Bill 82 (Comm. 496); and Bill 102 (Comm. 593), in support. Jon Olson: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. Patti Pinto: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), comment. PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Glen Barfield: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), comment. Don Weisman: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), in support. Tiffany Edwards-Hunt: Bill 82 (Comm. 496); and Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. John Matson: Bill 103 (Comm. 599), comment. Lillian Tao: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. Jill Tamashiro: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. (representing Hawai`i State Department of Health) Jasmine Rios: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. Destin Martines, Jr.: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. (representing Hawai`i Island Youth Academy) Zoe Gacayan: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), comment. Liza Ryan Gill: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. Dr. Gay Barfield: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. Caleh Carvalho: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), in support. (representing Kamehameha Schools Youth Council) Keshia Madriaga: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), support. (representing Hawai`i Island Youth Academy) Jay Ihara: Bill 102 (Comm. 593), comment. (representing Hawai`i Public Health Institute) Jordan Epperson: Bill 82 (Comm. 496); and Bill 102 (Comm. 593), comment. Geneva Jackson: Bill 82 (Comm. 496), in support. Page 2 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much for all the testifiers today. I know you had to wait a very long time. We really appreciate you hanging in there, and hearing from everybody today. So, thank you so much. For some of you, this may have been your first time testifying, and you all did a great job. We're going to take these items out of order today. We're going to start with Bill 102, go to Bill 103, and finish up with Bill 82,because we have presenters and people here for the first two items. So,Mr. Clerk, can you please read in Bill 102. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following item was taken out of order: BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 102: AMENDS CHAPTER 14 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED),BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO THE PROHIBITION OF FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS Prohibits retailers from selling, offering to sell, marketing, displaying, or advertising for sale any product made of or derived from tobacco or nicotine that imparts a taste or smell other than the taste or smell of tobacco. Includes a prospective effective date of 42 days after the day that State law governing the sale of tobacco products is either repealed or suspended. Reference: Comm. 593 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy ; and Comm. 593.1: From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated November 14, 2023, transmitting a presentation by Tobacco Free Hawai`i Island. (Note: Comm. 593.2 dated December 1, 2023, from Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy transmitting a presentation by Tobacco Free Hawai`i Island; and, Comm. 593.3 dated December 5, 2023, from Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy transmitting proposed amendments to 102, were circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 102 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. First of all, thank you to all of the testifiers. You guys really did do a good job. You know, I want to kind of direct the attention of my colleagues to Communication 593.2. It is a copy of the presentation that's going to be provided to us that we can follow along. Page 3 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Today, I'd like to introduce Ms. Kealoha Madriaga, Tobacco Free Hawaii Coalition Coordinator. Kealoha will present and be able to answer any questions that my colleagues might have around Bill 102; provide some really great data and information and why we see so many youths today, here in our Council Chambers, really urging us, as policy makers, to help make a brighter future for them. You want to go ahead, Ms. Kealoha? (Note: At this time, Tobacco Free Hawai`i Island Coalition Coordinator Kealoha Madriaga came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. MADRIAGA: Aloha, Chair, Coach. Sorry, this has been an emotional day, and it's very humbling to see. Aloha Chair, Vice-Chair, and Members of the Committee. We are here to present to you with our panel presentation to educate and just to spread that awareness. (Note: At this time, Ms. Madriaga and other members of the Youth Council provided a slide presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the presentation, see the DVD copy of the proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office, or online at http://hawaiicounty.granicus.com. A copy of the presentation is made part of the record, see Comm. 593.2.) MS. CARVALHO: So, in closing, I just want you guys to know that we as the aunties, you know, have created this awesome group of students, Hawaii Island Youth Academy by adopting the Youth Council of Hawai`i Public Health Institute, where they're at all of these events, paving; talking to our mayor; talking to kids their age, talking to families. So, we're doing all we can in different ways, being innovative to really share the message. But at this time, again, we just encourage you all to consider passing Bill 102, so when preemption is removed, we'll be ready. We'll be makaukau (ready) to move forward. Mahalo nui for your time and sharing this space with us. Lastly at this time, we just wanted to reintroduce our kumu online on Zoom, Ms. Tiffany Edwards-Hunt of Kea'au Middle School, to close us off. (Note: At this time, Kea`au Middle School Teacher Tiffany Edwards-Hunt came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. EDWARDS-HUNT: Aloha, thank you for allowing me to speak one more time about this issue. I'm happy to entertain any questions. I am also humbled by the youth testimony today. And honestly, they all seemed to come from different backgrounds and different social circles. But they should give you an indication of what they're seeing from their vantage point. Page 4 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Because I try to pride myself in being a pretty observant teacher who walks around the room a lot. But the kids know a lot more, and a lot of this stuff, if it's not the thrill of trying to get away with it in the classroom, it's happening in our bathrooms. And that is also troubling because a lot of people will commandeer the bathroom stalls and use them for vaping. And what ends up happening is you have these secondary problems that occur. My own—well, maybe I shouldn't reveal so much. But I had a relative, I'll say, that actually would get urinary tract infections from holding going to the bathroom during breaks because of not wanting to deal with the crowd of people in the bathroom vaping, and this is locally, folks. People who are listening to me testifying, you know me. So, you need to hear the sense of urgency that I'm giving you. Because I am blown away, and I cannot emphasize enough that I actually am a traditional laissez-faire capitalist, and when I heard that person who worked at the vape shops talking, I had a little bit of compassion for small business. But I have to tell you, this industry doesn't even care about them. We all live on this island together, and everyone is affected. And when our children's health is going to be drastically impacted by something, that's where I draw the line. And the other thing that was really disturbing to me was the Connections Public School student referencing the vape shop that's going to be located within this proximity to the school. You know, that's where the County Council can also do some zoning regulations because that's ridiculous. Here's the thing, we have one right across the street over here. It's not working very well to have the vape shop right across the street from the school. And, we had a lot of publicity over cameras at our Kea'au High School. I just want to tell you why those cameras were put it, a student alluded to it. Because we have people who are give an inch, take a mile squad. And they go and they abuse these privilieges because, like I said before, I use the word and.I mean it,they're fiends. And I really appreciate the expert noting the teenage brain, and how it's still in development. Like a lot of people don't even know, these brains are still physically growing. And these babies are sucking on this little toy that they see laying around that their parent, or their aunty has. And it's just like the cell phone, where they've become obsessed with it because as a toddler, they've had it in their hands. So, you drive down the road,these people have their babies in the back seat of the car and they're puffing on it. That's what the kid ends up wanting. So, unfortunately, people like me, who have been laissez-faire capitalist, we have to accept the fact that we have evil businesses. It's so sad that we have gotten that way. We have turned into a nation of greedy people, who just want to make a Page 5 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 buck at the expense of our kids. I will protect children till as long as I live. And I'll yield to the Council Members after this. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you all for the presentation. I'm going to go back to Council Member Lee Loy to say a few words here and then if people want to chime in, we can. MS. LEE LOY: Thanks, Chair. I think we've heard compelling testimony and very strong data that makes it really easy for me to encourage each and every one of you to support Bill 102. It does a lot for our youth. It does a lot for the health of our community and our future. Just really the highlights of Bill 102 really mirrors a lot of what City and County of Honolulu did,just about a month ago. And we are just really in alignment. As mentioned, the small business owners, this is a preemptive law. You know, nothing's really going to happen to them unless something else happens at the State. And as so many of our testifiers have mentioned, this is really us being makaukau to when anything happens at the State within forty-five days, this law comes into effect and protects our youth, provides the home rule that we ask for, and that these kids are asking for. So, with that, again, humbly asking for your support. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Anyone else care to make comments or ask questions? Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Okay. Yes, in support of the bill. I just have a question, under flavored tobacco product, the definition in Section 1 and in Section 2. We're saying, a taste or smell, or both, other than the taste or smell of tobacco, that is distinguishable by an ordinary consumer. My question is, what does "by an ordinary consumer" mean? And what is the intention of that? And is it necessary? MS. LEE LOY: Yes. I absolutely think it is necessary. We heard them talk about how they're targeting with POG and ube flavors. And so, it's hard. I think the perception here is that, if an ordinary person thinks it's candy, how do they differentiate between it being unhealthy? When we know so many other flavors like, I mean, we've heard the Skittles conversation about—It's hard for them to differentiate. So, keeping it,just very broad strokes, that an ordinary consumer can distinguish from. MR. INABA: Okay. This is just maybe something I'm going to want to sit with, just the "by an ordinary consumer". Because I don't know if, in my reading, it might limit the application of definition when we don't want it to limit. We want it to just be, does it smell like it? Who is ordinary? Who's not? We have some super ordinary up here. So just, that's the only thing. Page 6 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 And then one last part was similar to the sunscreen ban, the non-mineral sunscreen ban that we took up, in Section 14—the Prohibition Section, subsection (c), it says that, you know, if a retailer is found to be in possession of any of these prohibited items, that the contraband is subject to immediate destruction or disposal by the retailer in accordance with the Hawai`i Administrative Rules. If we are sending the Police Department out, and they are being tasked with enforcement, I just want to put it out there that we might consider that these contraband items are immediately taken by the Police. Because whether these retailers are going to send it back to where they came from, or give it away, we don't know. But, if they chose to bring it in, then they should bite the bullet and the cost of having brought it in and we're just going to take it from the shelves. So, that's just my only thoughts, having read through it, and mahalo to all of our testifiers and community across the island who came out to support and testify today. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Yes. Wow, good job! It was a wonderful presentation and all of you really, you know, really shared your heart and feelings on this subject and just did a wonderful job. The one comment I have is, I respect the fact that you realize that, that regular tobacco versus flavored tobacco, that you've made that distinguishment. And I think that was really smart because we have a lot of—we have a lot of adults and a lot of people that just smoke cigarettes, right? But what you've pointed out to all of us, is that this flavoring of tobacco was not meant to get adults on tobacco. You know, it was really targeted—a targeted effort to get young people on this. If you just gave to kids, regular tobacco, I suspect a lot of them, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room or can even hardly stand the smell of it, right? To turn it into candy, and the things that they would go to— a movie. If you go to the movie theater and you get Skittles and all that other stuff, and then all of a sudden you give them something that has a flavor they like. You know, it's really twisted. So, I'm really glad that you're bringing this forward. The only thing I offer to think about is menthol cigarettes have been around forever, and you threw menthol in your description of flavoring. I'm just noting that because sometimes—sometimes when we try really hard to do a far-reach, sometimes we might just do one thing that we put in there that makes certain people back off from it and it just might be menthol might be that one thing that you may want to consider maybe to get this through, or all the way, or get support from all adults around the island, you might want to think about menthol. Just a comment because that one's been around, I don't know, for sixty years probably, menthol cigarettes. Did you want to comment on that? I'm seeing you shaking, you want to comment on—Did you have that discussion? CHR. KAGIWADA: Please state your name before speaking. Page 7 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 (Note: At this time, Hawai'i County Coalitions Assistant Jennifer Valera came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. VALERA: Sorry. Hi. Jen—Jennifer Valera. One thing that we come across too with the menthol is if we don't have menthol a part of it, big tobacco can make those flavors say, cool strawberry, right? Or cool berry, or whatever it may be. Because it has the menthol in it, it may be able to be a little bit not clear, right? And we've noticed that in other States that have banned flavors, if they have the menthol still part of it, there are ways that big tobacco can go around it and use menthol or mint or pink mint, you know. And the pink mint is actually not just mint. It's not just menthol. But it has, you know, their favorite strawberry mango— MS. EVANS: Right. Well, yeah. So, which tells me it needs more research on menthol. Maybe it's menthol—menthol—menthol additive to other flavors, or menthol that—traditional menthol that's been around for sixty or seventy years. I mean, you know, it's just menthol's been there forever. Because you know, I grew up in a family where everybody smoked, and the majority of them smoked menthol cigarettes, instead of regular cigarettes. But it's just something to think about because, you know, I'd like to think most adults will love this bill,but throwing in menthol might—you know,because that's what they smoke, you know. Anyway. Just to throw it out there that, you know, maybe a little more defining of it. Okay. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you, Chair, and wonderful presentation. Thank you everyone for coming and staying so late. I think you guys were here about three o'clock, so you're going on three and a half hours almost. Good job. I just have a simple question for the maker or for the presenters. This prohibition is for any and all tobacco products, including cigarettes? So, menthol cigarettes? Okay. That's sweeping, yeah? Okay. So, not just the vapes and the e-liquids, but for all the adults out there who smoke menthol cigarettes, we would be removing those from the shelves. MS. CARVALHO: Aloha mai. Kai Carvalho. Just to reemphasize what Jen was saying. If we don't include menthol, that will be the loophole for big tobacco companies, for vaping companies, to include that—Like she mentioned, the, you know, fresh pink, whatever it may be, to include that because it has that menthol flavor that they can add any other flavor to it, and we've seen this already time and time happen again. Another point I want to bring up, when it comes to menthol, is what one of our presenters talked about, was the fact that when it comes to menthol flavors, and Page 8 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 folks who use them, it is our lahui, it is our Native Hawaiians, it is our African American people. So,by removing that menthol flavor from being on, you know, being sold—I apologize. I need to just say I am a na pua o Pauahi Kapalama and as a Native Hawaiian, as a—mahalo, mahalo—as a kanaka maoli, it is important to me that we do also look at those small details. When we look into the vaping products and the youth who are using them, it is thirty-one percent of our Native Hawaiian population and other Pacific Islanders. So again, hard yes for menthol flavors. We are very well aware of what that sounds like, what that looks like,but at this time and in this space, we must include that. MS. VALERA: Sorry. Jen Valera. So, with that pigment, there is a scientific fact that there is something in their skin pigment that makes them highly addicted to the menthol cigarettes. And that is why we're specifically saying the Native Hawaiians and the African Americans. Because there is background on that, that shows that menthol cigarettes were targeted towards them because it was created, because it was highly addictive for them. Menthol cigarettes. And another point too is, our youth who can't afford to vape any longer, are moving to menthol cigarettes. Because it's still cool and it's a little bit less harsh than the other cigarettes. And so, when they can't afford to use the vape, they can use the menthol cigarettes and it's still a little bit easier for them to inhale and get that nicotine fix. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I understand that now. A very broad audience of potential haters out there for a bill like this, with that in mind. Yeah, with our youth, yeah totally understand with the vaping, and the e-liquids, and the e-cigarettes, completely understand. I texted my daughter. I said, how many kids in school? She goes, seventy-five percent. That's a high school. So, the intent, I agree with. Adult smoking and making that decision is different. But, I also know the kids are getting their hands on these from the adults in the situation. So, okay. I got to think about that. Thank you. I yield, Chair. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you for being here. All of you young people, you are our future, and it is our responsibility to do the best we can with the opportunities and the circumstances that come before us,to create policy that helps to keep you safe. I will humbly admit that smoking is a horrible habit that I have ironically picked up in my older age as a stress, meditative, something wonky. But I also humbly admit that it's something that I need to take care of for myself. And I'm a grown person. And I was protected from those temptations when I was younger. The reason I'm just admitting it is because when I was in California this summer, I went to buy a pack of menthol cigarettes. Once again, the facts are, you know, it's the easiest one to try. It's the lightest—da da da. Page 9 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 They don't sell menthol in California anymore. So, if California can do it, I mean, I'm sure there were a lot of annoyed people there too, if they're really connected to that specific flavor profile. But I see the benefit far outweighing any harm done by removing that. And you know, it's really hard growing up nowadays. You guys are inundated, absolutely inundated with temptations from all different sides. And it's hard being an adult these days too. Because we're inundated and this job is stressful and all these things. But I'm going to be in full support of this because you know, we had some conversations earlier today that it would be really nice if people just made the right decision. You know, if we just kind of like knew'what was going to be best and we did that. And especially when you're young, you can know that it isn't a good choice for you. But it is very seductive to have a little short high, essentially, is what you're getting, you know? Kids in school are just getting that little puff of high and it's an escape from everything we're dealing with. But I firmly believe that part of my job here is to try and align things to support brave, courageous, ambitious, determined aunties and uncles who are forging ahead, and you're on the front lines. And I have a grandson who is almost five, and I just think, oh in another, you know, three to four years, him having a vape in his hand makes my stomach churn and my heart break. So, I am really grateful to have this lined up and the home rule opportunity, and that the pressure it will put on the State to reverse. It was interesting, the story of how that preemption got snuck into another bill. Very sneaky. And unfortunately,big tobacco,big oil,big ag,big pharma,big chemical, have billions, unlimited resources to find the loopholes. But they don't have your heart, your soul, or being on the side of authentic care for our future. So, I'll be supporting this and thank you once again for all your efforts here. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Any other members? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I'll be supporting this bill. I have an eleven-year-old and a six-year-old, and they've already been exposed to people that have and do vape, at that age! Can you imagine? Second graders, six graders, vaping. And my daughter will look at the public record, and she'll know mom did the right thing. Right? Like we have an opportunity to actively safeguard well-being of our community, especially our most vulnerable, our kids. Excellent testimony. Wonderful presentations. All the evidence is so very clear, flavored tobacco leads to lifelong nicotine addiction. And the statistics that you provided, highest use among all the counties, here on Hawai`i Island? That is not something I want our kids to be number one at. Twenty-one thousand of our youth will die from a tobacco-related illness. That is so significant and really impresses upon the urgency to take some kind of action. Page 10 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 And I think as a body, we have a responsibility to steward this sort of environment where we are nurturing healthy and prosperous individuals. And doing everything that we can to curb addiction. Curb activities that lead to addiction. This is going to put significant pressure on the State to see now, Honolulu followed by Hawai`i County, going beyond just reacting to a problem. But we are taking a very proactive stance in talking about the kind of community we want to live in. And that's one that is—one where our kids are safe and healthy. I—you know, I don't smoke. My dad smoked and he drank, and he lost his life at fifty-eight. And it was just so sad because he could have lived a long and healthy life. But those were choices he made. And I remember, you know, he had a gas station and a junkyard, and everybody had Marlboro Golds. He sold them at his station. And I thought, oh, it must be real cool. I got to try it. So, at like twelve, I just grabbed a cigarette, and I started smoking just to be cool. And one of the uncles at the station caught me, and he sat me down, and he gave me a whole pack and he said you will smoke all of this right now. I don't even think I made it through the first one. He's like, okay, inhale it, c'mon. But he wanted to drive the point home that this is not good for you. It is disgusting. I don't smoke. I don't. I see what it did to my dad. And I think as I get older, and I have kids, I want to model the best sort of behavior that I can. Healthy habits. How I process stress is not—you know, I even, I mean, I started—I'm training for a marathon this weekend. Did my first half this year. But in that training, and wanting to treat my body well—Even cutting out the alcohol, right? Like I want to do everything I can to improve with age and show my kids that I don't have to resort to drugs and alcohol and smoking to deal with the stress and pressures of being a mom, being a council member,being an executive. I don't need to do that. There are other things that I can be doing. Going on a run. Lifting weights. And so, I just appreciate the opportunity for us to send a powerful message. That we will take the health and well-being of our community over profit. Health and well-being takes precedence. So mahalo nui, Council Member Lee Loy, for bringing this forward. And thank you to all of our youth from all over Hawai`i Island. I mean it's dinner time. You guys have been here for hours, and I know you guys worked really, really hard with Council Member and your different coalitions to build awareness about this bill. I hope it doesn't stop here. I hope that we can work to increase education and awareness in our schools and among our families. And also strengthen the accountability around, how are these kids even getting these devices? Right? Holding those individuals accountable for what they're doing to our kids. With that, I yield. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thank you, Council Member. Other members, comments, or questions? Council Member Galimba. Page 11 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. I really appreciate all of you coming and testifying. And some very compelling statistics, and arguments. I think I missed some of the discussion about preemption and some of the legal background on this. So, I'm understanding that even if we pass it, it doesn't come into play until the State does so. And just looking online, I was seeing that some of the states that have done so have actually been blocked from doing so. So, if Judge Strance wouldn't mind, if you could come up and give us some information around that. I think that would be useful, at least for me. MS. STRANCE: Good evening. Elizabeth Strance, Corporation Counsel. I'm not familiar with the information that you've read. But there's a principle of law that if the Federal or the State government has legislated in an area, the County cannot legislate in that same area. And so, with this legislation, the State has legislated in this area, but in particularly, they've prevented the counties from acting in this area. And so, there had been efforts at the State to enact legislation very similar to what's before you today, and I believe it was first vetoed and did not pass. And so, in a very real sense,this legislation asks the Legislature that if you folks cannot do it yourselves, then let the counties have the right to act, and so that's that home rule concept. And so, there is a hope that the State Legislature will enact, or actually repeal, certain provisions of State law that will allow the counties to go ahead and step into this area because it has not. And so, the legislation kind of does two things. One is that it lets the State know that there's interest by the County in this area. And then two, that if it does not wish to enter it, then to at least let the counties act. And so, the way that the legislation is set up is that it is kind of hoping that the State will remove the prohibition of legislation and then already have it in place to take effect, should the State take those actions. But it kind of does two things. One is that you often will enact resolutions encouraging the State to take certain action. This legislation goes a step further. It expresses that opinion,but then it's kind of teed up to already be in place should the Legislature act. Does that answer your question? MS. GALIMBA: Yes, it does. And I wanted to ask a follow-up which was, do you know what the reasons the State—what were the reasons the State had for prohibiting actions in this area? MS. STRANCE: You know, I would have to go back and check. I haven't looked at the legislative history. We can try to put that together for you at the next reading of the bill. It looks like there's a couple of pieces to it, and then the State has tried to bite off certain pieces of it. So, Governor Green signed it—the legislation, earlier this year. Certain bans to minors. So that's in place. So, it's kind of taking small steps in that direction. But the big lift that this bill calls for, and it was not approved at the State, or upheld at by State, still hasn't been taken. Page 12 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 But we can try to track that down. I_was kind of interested and thinking about that as well. MS. VALERA: Sorry. So previous to the preemption—Sorry, Jen Valera. Hi. So previous to the preemption that was snuck into one of our bills, Hawai`i County, we passed so many amazing laws and showed the Hawai`i State the way. So, the twenty-one and over to get tobacco, or any tobacco product, was actually passed here in our County first. And as well as, no smoking in vehicles with our keiki,that was passed here in Hawai`i County, and we showed our State the way. And so, I feel that if preemption was taken off, we, Hawai`i County, could keep showing the way. We were doing a really good job. Our tobacco numbers, within our youth, were dropping rapidly before vaping came along. And then at the same time vaping came along, preemption hit us, and we couldn't do anything within our County. We have such a unique connection here within our Hawai`i County, compared to the other islands. And when we talk to our State coalition members, they're very intrigued on how we communicate here, and how we connect with everyone. Hawai`i County sets the way, and preemption is stopping us from doing that right now. MS. GALIMBA: I think I'm good as far as—I would—I am interested in the legislative history. So, that would be nice at the next hearing. MS. STRANCE: I'll jot that down for you. Thanks. MS. GALIMBA: Okay. Thanks. I mean just to sort of—I also had a family member die early because of tobacco. And my daughter went to KS (Kamehameha Schools), and she told me about all the kids that were vaping there, and this was a few years ago already. But I guess I am also somewhat on the fence, somewhat on this. Sort of from a logical point of view of perhaps we need to be—maybe it's not far enough. Maybe we need to just get rid of vaping instead of—just because this is just one kind of—or maybe we need to get rid of e-cigarettes entirely. So, yeah,just from a sort of logical point of view at this point, I am somewhat doubtful. And the fact that they're not supposed to have them at all under twenty-one. So, is it an enforcement issue, really? I hate to be the bad guy doubter but that's where I am at this point. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah,just briefly in response to Council Member Galimba's question. My recollection was that the preemption was tied to a statement of having consistency around tobacco regulation across the State. Whether or not Page 13 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 that, you know, was the true motivating factor, I think that was nominally what was on paper as the justification. I'm going to support this. I agree with Vice Chair Inaba, that that one bit of language, Council Member Lee Loy, about the "distinguishable by an ordinary person", I think that it's similar to the same issue we have with noise ordinances, and the detection of you know, sound, you know. So, it was something that I think is going to be easy to get around if we don't tighten that a little bit. But otherwise, appreciate you very much for introducing this. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, you already had a turn, I would appreciate you keeping this fairly brief, if possible. Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. You know, I'm going to go out on a limb here today. I will vote yes on this. I think we're going to get a lot of kick back tonight from this decision. I'm guessing when this hits the paper that the County Council has decided to ban a number of things that people are addicted to, you're going to get—well, not you—we're all going to get, yeah, yeah, you're nodding your head. Okay. But, I tell you this, when my daughter says we have seventy-five percent of the school vaping, when I hear that from our middle schools, when I know that some of the people that I work with have kids, ten, twelve-years-old, who are being caught vaping, and I know those are coming from adults, and the adults aren't doing their job, we have a problem. And I did not know that menthol was banned in California, for one. Two, that it's linked to being more addictive to those having pigment in their skin. That is very interesting. So, I will be voting yes for this today. I would be ready for a battle at the next council meeting if this will move to council. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Alright. I'm going to say a few words and then I believe we may have a—Council Member Lee Loy—okay. Well, let me just say a couple things about the main motion here. I will be totally supporting this. I am very happy to chair the Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being. I come from a background in education and working with our youngest keiki. And of course, I feel like this has got to be supported regardless of the blowback that we may all be getting. So, I'll be happily supporting, and I will ask my colleague—she has an amendment. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. Thank you, Chair. Motion to Amend: Ms. Lee Loy moved to amend Bill 102 with the contents of Comm. 593.3. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KAGIWADA: Discussion on the amendment. Page 14 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 MS. LEE LOY: I'll explain the amendment, Chair. We're just adding in the "numbing" into that section (4) to completely round out all of that minty discussion that we had earlier. I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay. Just adding the one word. Okay. Any discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. All those in favor of amending Bill 102 with the contents of Communication 593.3, please say "aye." Vote on Motion The motion to amend Bill 102 with the contents of to Amend: Comm. 593.3, was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright, back to the main motion. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yes. On the main motion, thank you to my colleagues for this opportunity. Thank you to the testifiers. I like where this is going. I really appreciate having heard this here. Our kids will continue to be available to us because they'll be on break which is why some of the strategies that we deployed were to make sure that our youth would be here to speak up for themselves. And as we go forward, I know they're courageous enough and I look forward—I look forward to any more comments coming forward because I'm willing to bet on these kids every single day. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Just one last point in the enforcement section, it says that the department and its authorized delegates, to ensure compliance with this article and shall generally enforce the provisions of this article. I think the word generally could be removed. We either are or we're not. So, if we make the amendment if you want to consider removing that. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you, Council Member. Seeing no more lights, I think we can take a vote on this. All those in favor of moving Bill 102 to the Council with a favorable recommendation, as amended,please say "aye." Page 15 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Vote on Bill 102: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 102, as (Approved) amended, on first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—7. Noes: Committee Member Galimba— 1. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you all so much, and we're going to move on to our next item, which is going to be Bill 103, please, Clerk. Bill 103: AMENDS THE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITY SCHEDULE, CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 15-68.1, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY NAMING THE BALLFIELD AT THE DR. FRANCIS F. C. WONG STADIUM IN THE HO`OLULU COMPLEX THE "JAMES "JIMMY" CORREA BALLFIELD" IN HONOR OF JAMES "JIMMY" CORREA Reference: Comm. 599 Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz and Ms. Lee Loy ; and Comm. 599.1: From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated November 14, 2023, transmitting a presentation by the `Ohana Correa. ; and Comm. 599.2: From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated November 28, 2023, transmitting a proposed amendment to Bill 103. Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 103 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KAGIWADA: Do you want to do the proposed amendment? Yeah, let's just go ahead and take care of that. Go ahead with the amendment. Motion to Amend: Ms.Lee Loy moved to amend Bill 103 with the contents of Comm. 599.2. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KAGIWADA: Any discussion on the amendment? MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. If I might explain, it's on your board actually, not in your pinkie folder. This was a refinement. We inaccurately described his wins at Page 16 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 the State level, but it was actually at the Big Island, the BIIF (Big Island Interscholastic Federation) level, and that's what Mr. Carter has helped us do, and that's what it's reflecting here. CHR. KAGIWADA: Oh, great. Any discussion on the amendment? Seeing none. All those in favor of amending Bill 103 with the contents of Communication 599.2, please say "aye." Vote on Motion The motion to amend Bill 103 with the contents of to Amend: Comm. 599.2, was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: We're back to the main motion. MS. LEE LOY: Chair, I do have a presentation from the Correa family that's been outlined in the Communication. I guess if I could have Mr. Carter come forward, along with, there's a—yeah, the video presentation. Yeah, go ahead. Thanks, Relley. If I could just tee this up. You know, as a proud Waiakea High School alumni, we had the kids at Waiakea High School develop a video. And this project was being done in school to help, kind of, express the testimonies of others around the naming of this facility. There's more to come,but this is just a real quick snapshot of what the kids did to gather so much support for this bill. Thanks, Relley. (Note: At this time, a video was played of testimonies in support of this bill. To view this video online, please type this address on your browser https://hawaiicoiznty.granicus.com/player/clip/2901?view id=l&redirect=tr ue&h=6b6760da4e004a8ec0e0c2e64ae4916b and click on Bill 103). MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. That's just a snapshot of some of the testimonials that Waiakea High School has gathered. But this actual request came from our good friend Morty Carter. In the past, I've usually asked for a petition that really showed or demonstrated support for the renaming or naming of a facility and I'm not going to lie, this petition that came back rivals a recall vote of any politician. That's how much is here. But I really wanted to turn it over to Morty and just kind of share with us how a whole bunch of people really got together and looked for an opportunity to honor the legacy of Jimmy Correa. So, Mr. Carter. Page 17 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 (Note: At this time, Department of Parks and Recreation Specialist Morty Carter came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. CARTER: Thank you. Good evening, Council Members. My name is Morty Carter. My purpose of being here today, or this evening, is to ask for the long, overdue recognition of a legend in Hilo baseball, the late James "Jimmy" Correa. A man regarded by many as the father of Hilo baseball. Efforts for recognition started several months ago with the formation of a committee comprised of well-known sports figures and others. The committee included Ramon Goya, Joey Estrella, Kaha Wong, Rodney Cambra, Aaron Chung, and myself. As you know, Section 15-67 of the Hawai`i County Code lists the requirements to name a structure or an open area for an individual. Jimmy Correa meets or exceeds all requirements. As part of our process, the committee, as Sue just eluded to, family and friends obtained signatures showing support of this recognition. I'm happy to share with you that we obtained approximately 1,000 signatures in support. Jimmy Correa was my uncle, my mother's brother, but like thousands of others, he was my coach too at various levels. And part of our due diligence for the committee was to reach out to Dr. Francis Wong's family and I was able to speak to his eldest son, Dennis, and a sister, Roberta, to seek out their approval of us doing this, taking the ballfield, and naming it after Jimmy Correa. Both have given their support but as Dennis states in part in his written statement, which I think will be part of the record, "I was able to see firsthand how much Hilo baseball and the participants meant to him." And"I was one of the fortunate ones to receive tips from him along the way." Dennis goes on to say that if my dad were here, he would agree that Jimmy deserves all the recognition that the County Council can bestow upon him. So, the question could be, why recognize Jimmy Correa by naming the ballfield at Wond Stadium after him. The video that you just saw, you saw my cousin, Jimmy's son, Tommy, talking about what a normal day would be like for Jimmy, not just this season, every year. The answer would be, he was a volunteer baseball coach in Hilo for approximately 60 years. Before it became Wong Stadium, it was the old Ho`olulu Park Ballfield and Grandstand with the termite wood and the chicken wire fence to stop foul balls from hitting people in there. But for virtually all of those years, Jimmy was coaching baseball on that ballfield, for months at a time, and like Tommy said in the video, one team, wrapped up practice, next team, same place, wrap up practice, next team, over and over. But don't look at him as just coaching games,because the true development of the athlete and person comes from a coach's daily contact. That's what he did. For his players, mostly on the field or after practices. Now, we all know that successes on the ballfield and elsewhere had to come from support from his immediate family. We have several of Jimmy's children and grandchildren here today. You Page 18 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 heard from some of them on the video. The person who is not here today, and may not be mentioned, will be his wife of 62 years, the late Kikue Correa. While he was developing Hilo's baseball players, she was making sure that their children, four girls and four boys, stayed the course in their development. Jimmy's children became well-known figures in education, law enforcement, and of course, coaching. As you know, his success on the ballfield and elsewhere had to come with the support of his immediate family, and it did. Now, the drafted ordinance shows many of his accomplishments. Some of those that are not listed include 1963, Big Island Sportsman of the Year; 1971, State Jaycee's Physical Fitness Award; and induction into the Big Island Sports Wall of Fame. There are many others and other speakers after me will share those. In his later years when he was not coaching, he turned to umpiring baseball. He couldn't get away from the game, he loved it so much. So, at this time, Council Members, I'd like to ask you to please support this effort to recognize this man, this legend. And I'd like to thank Council Member Lee Loy for sponsoring this and Council Member Kierkiewicz for being a co-sponsor. Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Carter. Yeah, at this time, Chair, if it's ok,I would love to turn it over to our co-sponsor,Ms. Kierkiewicz. You know, when Morty brought this to me and, you know, I just saw the pillars of community in support of this particular renaming, I quickly went to Ashley and I said, "You got to sign with me, Saint Joe (Saint Joseph) graduate, you got to be on board with this one." So, with that, if it's okay, I could yield to my colleague, Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, and yes, go ahead,Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy, for the invitation to co-sponsor this legislation. The connection to Saint Joe is very meaningful to me. I'm a proud graduate, class of 2004. I also see some fellow Cardinals in the room, my former teacher, Mr. Rodney Cambra, and father of one of my classmates, Joey Estrella, so thank you. I also just know the important role that sports play in building up the youth of our community and bringing our community together, and just so honored to be recognizing this really remarkable individual in our community. Some prepared remarks, and I'll keep it short because I know we've had a long day and I just want to thank everybody for sticking it out with us. We had a lot of things on the agenda but just really appreciate everyone's patience as we get through the process. Mr. Correa's life really embodied the spirit of the game. Just like a seasoned player stepping up to the plate, he tirelessly dedicated himself to service, serving our country, serving the people of this county, and then empowering the youth of our Hawai`i Island community, coaching not just the sport,but instilling in them the virtues of teamwork,perseverance, and Page 19 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 sportsmanship. Much like a sports team, our community thrives when we work together, supporting each other through the wins and the losses. Jimmy has been a coach, he was a mentor and a guide for countless of young players, imparting not just the technical skills, and a lot of the testimony that was submitted for the record and shared, not just the technical skills of the game,but really fostering the sense of responsibility, respect, and fair play, on and off the field. He recognized how sports really play a powerful tool in teaching kids the fundamentals of how you navigate life. So, I feel really blessed and honored to have this opportunity to not just honor this man, but to celebrate his legacy as father of Hilo baseball and the contribution to our island and inspiring local youth in helping to build their character, instilling resilience, and fostering connections that have turned into life-long friendships. If folks are wondering about the significance of why this ordinance takes effect in June of next year, it dovetails with his birthday, and it gives our county time to make sure that we have the sign fabricated for installation so that we can have a wonderful pa`ina(meal) in celebration of his memory and birthday next year. So just looking for everyone's support for this particular proposed ordinance. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Inaba. MR.INABA: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy, and Council Member Kierkiewicz, for bringing this forward. Everybody knows Hilo baseball but good to know the reason for Hilo baseball and somebody who contributed so much. So, definitely in support and look forward to the celebration when we get to do the renaming next year. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Council Member. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. First, mahalo for being here today, I know it was a long wait. We started about 3:00 and here we are. I can see this is important to every single one of you and I appreciate you bringing this forward and having or working with our Council Members to get to the point where we can rename a field after someone so important in our community. I didn't know Jimmy myself, but I do wish we could do these things before these amazing folks pass away and leave us, because we're honoring the memory. And it's a little late to the ball game,but we're getting it done in honor of their memory so that everyone knows that we find this to be something we can support, and when you go there, you remember that person and what they did for our community. I yield, Chair. Page 20 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 CHR. KAGIWADA: Ok, thank you. You have a few more people that would like to make statements? Ok yeah, please. Come to the front if you'd like to make a statement. Once again, thank you for hanging in there. I know we're all—it's getting late, we still have one more item after this so,just keep that in mind, please. STATEMENTS The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by FROM THE the Chair: PUBLIC ON BILL 103 Ramon Goya: In support. (COMM. 599): Rod Cambra: In support. Joey Estrella: In support. Vernon Quiocho: In support. James S. Correa: In support. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Mr. Correa. It's very wonderful to share these memories and these sentiments with us, really appreciate it. Does anybody else have anything they wanted to—Council Member Lee Loy, would you like to take us home? MS. LEE LOY: Absolutely. CHR KAGIWADA: Actually,before you do, can I just say one thing? MS. LEE LOY: Sure. CHR. KAGIWADA: Very, very short. Just that I appreciate everything you all said. I played a lot of sports, not baseball or softball when I was younger and, you know, for me, my experience was similar, which is a good coach can be really a wonderful thing, but a great coach can change life, and that's what I heard today. So, thank you. Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: First of all, Chair, thank you for giving us so much latitude and the grace at such a late evening. Thank you to everyone who testified. What I really wanted to share was so many of the testifiers mentioned starting to play at Ho`olulu Complex, and I want this to sink in. Mr. Correa was coaching people and transforming their lives before statehood,before we were even a state. So, to have the opportunity to name this field at Ho`olulu Complex that we know to be an advisor to Kamehameha I, to stand amongst other facilities like Aunty Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium, like Aunty Dottie, like Aunty Sally Kaleohano, the tapestry and the fabric of servant leadership that exists at Ho`olulu Complex, I can Page 21 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 see the perfect honor to put one more very prominent person that really transformed this community, and that is Jimmy Correa. So, for him to sit and stand along so many other pillars of servant leadership that we had over the course of time is really, really an honor. You know, part of this also is really transforming it into the future. Part of the reason why we are holding this off and saving it for his birthday is because we want to commemorate not only signage,but an interactive signage that would allow a QR Code to provide the place for all of this testimony to live on. So, to meet the goals of what Mr. Kaneali'i-Kleinfelder said when it's always sad that we wait so long after they pass to name these facilities, here we have an opportunity to capture all of that,preserve it in a video, and then make that a story for us to tell for just many more years to come,just on the sign. So, thank you all of you for standing alongside us and it really is an honor to advance this on behalf of the Correa family. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright. With that, we will take the vote. We have a motion on the floor to send Bill 103 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation, as amended, with Communication 599.2. All those is favor, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 103: The motion to recommend passage on first reading of (Draft 2) Bill 103, as amended to Draft 2, was carried by the (Approved) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much and thank you all so much for coming and hanging with us today. Have a good evening. Recess: At 7:32 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 7:38 p.m. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay, taking us out of recess. We have one item left on our agenda tonight. Clerk, let's see if we have any testimony. Page 22 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Bill 82: AMENDS CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 9, SECTION 2-40 AND ADDS A NEW (Draft 2) ARTICLE TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO IMPROVING, GRADING, REPAIRING, OR CONSTRUCTION WORK UPON PRIVATE, NONDEDICATED, AND NON-SURRENDERED ROADS Allows for entities who are authorized to make legal decisions regarding private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that are open to the general public and necessary for public transportation to request that the County improve, grade, repair, or perform other construction work upon such roads. Reference: Comm. 496.3 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Postponed: October 3 and 17, 2023; and November 14, 2023 (Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz, to recommend passage of Bill 82, as amended, on first reading.) Comm. 496.39: From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated November 8, 2023, transmitting a proposed amendment to Bill 82, Draft 2. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. To the maker, would you like to start us off? MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Yes, thank you, and the motion is on the floor already? CHR. KAGIWADA: The motion is already on the floor. MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. Okay, I'm not going to rehash where we are with this. We've had the bill for a substantial amount of time, I think enough for everyone to at least review it and read it and understand the intent. I do have an amendment that is based on the discussion with the department, both Public Works and Corporation Counsel. I did just speak with Finance, but they were not included in the discussion for the amendment and mostly, meeting the community's needs. So that is Communication 496.46, does everyone have that? Motion to Amend: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to amend Bill 82, Draft 2, with the contents of Comm. 496.46. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KAGIWADA: Discussion. MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. This Communication 496.46 moves to take into account a number of comments over a number of different meetings. I would like everyone to review it. I think some of the highlights of this are adding the Police Department in as well as the departments that are being informed of the Director's discussion for feasibility, as well as removing some of the sections that were deemed unnecessary, particularly Page 23 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Section K, which dealt with the Council authorizing the work. And then as well the request to have striping, marking, and lighting being an option. That was done through 14-26-4, as well as Section 14-26-5. The amendment itself is in your hands. Again, this is very much based on a number of things and a number of meetings to get us where we need to go with this bill. And just to level set everyone, the purpose of this bill is to create a process we can move forward in helping our communities with island wide. And I think that's where this gets us. So, I'd like to hear everyone's comments, appreciate your time and energy and I do understand it is late and that we have had a long day. But this is a very important issue that the community has really pushed as being one of their number one items, they want to see addressed. So, I look forward to everyone's comments. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Anyone like to comment, question, or weigh in on the amendment? Yes, go ahead. I'm sorry, Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Yes, in support of the amendment. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, generally supportive of the amendment. I see, I think, almost everything that I had concerns about, clarity, route. I will say in Section 2 of the amendment, there were—we talk about the signs, marking, and lighting. I had to read that like three times to fully understand what was being said there. I would want to take a little time and—I finally got to understanding what it says, right? It says what it says but it takes a few readings to understand it. So, I still think it's a—looks like you have the same issue here. You're going to fix it, alright. I won't say too much about that. And then, I'm still—I'm looking at the amendments with respect to the timing. So, this would be 14-26-6(d), there's the submission of the report, now it includes requests that have happened in previous years. I'm still a little cloudy on what happens over time. I now see that the report has previous years, but how are they falling into the priority in the order for requests I guess, is still a little cloudy for me with that amendment. Supporting the amendment, requesting perhaps further amendments I guess, for clarity. CHR. KAGIWADA: To the maker, would you like to clarify? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, I would, and I'm actually, I'm going upwards with that one. We wanted to clarify some of the comments that were brought up specifically, I think these were from both Heather and Ashley. We wanted to make sure we included this in the process,but I also leaned in, and I Page 24 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 heard the department say we need the outline. The department's going to have to implement this process, and they're going to create rules and standards and a list of things to be done. While I want to be absolutely clear and super detailed on how this lays out so that there's no question by community or by Council in the future or by department. I also want to give the department a little bit of leeway and not be overly descriptive with the terminology in this section. I do like the idea that came from this Council that we want to see these—sorry, it's been a long day. We want to see the requests for assistance that have been received and have those listed and have them continue to be on a list so that we can understand what's going on and it's transparent for the community. But also not, again,be overly prescriptive for Steve (Pause) and his folks. I'll just leave it with that. I will say it might be good to hear from Steve, if you have a comment, sir. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Director Pause, would you like to come give us your—share your wisdom with us on this? (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Stephen Pause came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. PAUSE: Steve Pause, Director of Public Works. I thought I was going to say, "good morning". CHR. KAGIWADA: Sorry. MR. PAUSE: So, as Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said, we've walked through this, and I think where we landed was to come up with something that was functional. I know that we took some care to incorporate a lot of, or all of the comments from the last session,but we wanted—I think it was really my urging to be as prescriptive as we could in the writing of this. Yes, there's an opportunity to do roles but I think where we landed with is, I'm.pretty comfortable with. As you know, you met with my Deputy and with Betsy (Strance) and, you know, I think based on my discussions with Malia(Kekai) after the fact and with you as well, I think we've gotten this cleaned up, if you will. Again, my desire of having it as prescriptive as possible. I think we're in a pretty good place there. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. On the amendment, any other comments? No? Okay. I'll just say thank you for listening to all of us. I see one issue that I was concerned about was amended here with it being clear that the director first looks to see if the subject row satisfies the eligible criteria and then moves into getting input from the departments if it does indeed meet that criteria. So, thank you very much. If there's no further discussion on the amendment, we can take a vote here. Page 25 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 All those in favor of amending Bill 82, Draft 2, with the contents of Communication 496.46, please say "aye." Vote on Motion The motion to amend Bill 82, Draft 2, as amended to Draft 3 to Amend: with the contents of Comm. 496.46 was carried by (Approved) the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright, back to the main motion. Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you for that, Council. I want to lean back a little bit,just the testifiers who came in today and at all the previous meetings, they showed up. And these are folks that have lived inside of the communities that I'm hoping that this bill addresses. When I say that, I want you to imagine these roads. And if you've driven some of these roads, if you know the roads, for some of us, maybe Michelle, Ocean View. For me, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres. For Ms. Kierkiewicz, Black Sands subdivision. These roads are bad. It's easy to say, but if you put yourself in the shoes of, let's say, mom or dad trying to take their kids to and from school in the morning, and it's raining, and there's enough water on the roads, you can't even see the potholes. And you're driving, you've got your coffee in your hand, your kids are screaming in the back, your windows are foggy, it's a one-lane road, and you're just trying to get to and from school and work, and get home at a time like this, at night, and you can't even see where you're going. And to know that there's potholes in the road that we could potentially help them fix and just provide that little bit, like our testifier said, Ms. Geneva Jackson, a little bit of that rainbow at the end of the tunnel, that's what this hopes to do. I've explained this to the community. It's not meant to do major projects. This is meant to be a stopgap to help us just do those little improvements that make that much difference to these folks' lives. So, I just want that to be the thought in your head. It's the community bringing this forward, I have a tool to get it done, and I'm just trying to make sure to take care of our community in light of all the things that we know. So, look forward to the discussion. I'm hoping to answer anyone's questions. I really do have to mahalo Corporation Counsel, Malia Kekai, Mr. Pause our director, and Leslie in LRB (Legislative Research Branch) for helping Page 26 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 make the amendments at every turn and make sure we're getting to where we need to go so, we can just begin to offer a process for the community to apply. And I know there's a lot of pieces that come after that,but if we don't have the process, we never get to the point of saying, "Yes, we can." I think Mr. Barfield said it well, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." This is an age-old massive elephant in our County, and this is one little bite. So, appreciate your time and energy. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright, questions? Input? Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Yeah, I'm generally supportive of this bill, I think it's—Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder has put in a lot of work, as has the department. I just had one,kind of trivial question, which I should have asked a long time ago,before it was almost 8:00 at night on a certain day. Do we actually have roads that are paved in coral? Because there is a part that says, "for example: "Coral for coral". Do we actually have roads that are paved in coral? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I would say yes,but I'll defer to Mr. Pause. MR. PAUSE: Yeah, I would have no doubt that we do in certain parts of the island. I also know that there are places where—well, yeah, I think the old road that went down to the wastewater treatment plant in Honoka`a was actually coral. But yeah, I have no doubt that we have that, and we also have locations where they've used like crushed coral as a dressing on sides of roads, so, yes. MS. GALIMBA: And do we have access to that material? Is it like another country or something? MR. PAUSE: It's a good question. I would imagine at this stage of the game that we don't seek coral as a desired material for either side of the road dressing or for subbase materials. There are better engineered materials for building roads properly. MS. GALIMBA: Okay,just actually kind of a curiosity thing. Maybe we might want to take that out, even as an example, yeah. Alright, thanks very much. CHR. KAGIWADA: Alright, anybody else? Questions? Input? Yes, go ahead, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I'm going to continue to support this bill, and I definitely support the concept of creating a framework where our communities have the ability to essentially petition for County support. If the community's hopeful, I'm certainly hopeful. I do have concerns and again, I just want to manage expectations around implementation of this program. I want to know from Page 27 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 Public Works what's going to be required personnel wise to carry out this ordinance, should it be adopted by Council. I'm also still hoping to get more information on how other counties, that this ordinance was modeled after, have implemented it and how much funding they dedicate in their annual budgets to making this happen. I still haven't gotten any signal or indication from the administration as to how much money is going to be allocated to implement this ordinance,but also to kind of carry out the intention. So again, I'm really grateful for the framework. I know that it takes a lot of time, but these are sort of the realities of implementation that I think is important to be honest about and talk about. So again, we are managing the expectations and setting priorities. There's, I think, going to be a lot of asks island wide for support and it's just thinking about some legislation earlier today that might actually decrease the amounts of real property tax that we are collecting as a County. We have to make decisions. We have to set priorities. This is obviously a huge priority for the people of Puna. The reality of folks getting kids to school, getting folks to work. My partner works at Station 5, so answers to calls in the upper Puna district and so, roads are nonexistent in a lot of these communities. There's real,public safety concerns. So, I just again, want to make sure that the department has what it needs to implement, and that there is at least, I hope, indication from the administration that some funding is going to be set aside to carry out the intention. And then again, looking for examples of how other counties have implemented this, any challenges that they have experienced, how they have navigated that so that they can serve their communities. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Director, would you like to attempt—I also see we have Deanna Sako, Director of Finance, here. MR. PAUSE: Sure, I'll start with my part, and I'll talk slowly so Deanna can walk up here. CHR. KAGIWADA: She's going slower than you are. MR. PAUSE: So, I think at a high level, you hit the nail on the head. This is a framework. You're creating an aspiration, you're creating a process, you're creating a means to provide people with the ability to request work to improve roads. I mean, I think at the end of the day,the concept of having safe roads for all public use, especially for public safety, for mass transit, for police, for fire, I don't think anybody is going to argue with that. So, at a high level, it's a great idea. The reality when we start looking at resources, you know, even setting priorities. Do you start mixing the priorities of these roads, maybe being poor, that have been Page 28 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 neglected for a very, very long time? How do you mix that in with say, the plan that we have of wanting to pave 30 or 40 road miles a year. So, that's a challenge as well. And the specific question, and I think I answered this last time, but I have a recollection from talking to Neil (Azevedo) at Highways, that realistically to implement something like this, and again, funding is also a key factor, but you're probably looking at three to four additional folks for each highway's district. I think we have seven of those. So, it again, you step back, and you go, "Well, what can I do with what I have?" I mean that's kind of the way we always seem to look at problems but if you wanted to just say, "Yeah, what do I need to actually accomplish it?" That's like some round numbers, but at the end of the day, we agree it's a good idea. It's going to need resources, and it's going to need funding and that's my queue to Deanna. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Okay, that was a few more people than I was thinking. So, we do appreciate that everybody needs safe roads,but the way the State law is written, it's difficult for us to use a lot of the funds associated with transportation. You know, GET, fuel tax, franchise tax, they're all worded in such a way that it talks about public roadways. So, yes, we're working with Corporation Counsel to see if we can find any loopholes in that, but otherwise, it's going to fall upon the General Fund, which historically, we have not funded, you know, road-type of work like Neil's division in Highways and things like that. So, I think we have talked before and that we would start small and build from there. Especially the first year, not knowing how many requests are going to come in and giving Public Works a chance to set up the process. But there's still a lot of unknowns and it's very early in the budget process, so no one can really sit here and give a number. But we've definitely talked about starting out small and building from there, you know, once we get the need and the list is developed. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay, did you get your questions answered? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, and I'm just wondering,Director, if—Director Pause, if you've talked to any of your counterparts in other counties to understand how they've been able to implement similar measures. MR. PAUSE: I have not. You mentioned that a little bit earlier when we had a conversation and it's definitely something to maybe do a little bit more research. I know that when we've come before you, that's one of the questions that I probably should do a better job. I remember PV (Photovoltaic)Bill 66, like it's relevant to know what the other counties are doing, and I just haven't done that for this particular bill yet. Page 29 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: No worries, I was just curious. The introducer did say that this legislation was modeled after O`ahu, so just wondering between either party, if that information is now available to the Council. MR. PAUSE: Yeah, I can have a direct conversation with my counterpart over there as well. Thank you for that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: If I could just offer a quick— CHR. KAGIWADA: Sure. Go ahead. You can get your train of thought. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'm sorry. The pizza's kicking in. I think it's important to note, this is the process. It does not oblige the department to fulfill obligations. It requires us to look over the requests coming in and to understand what they're going to encompass and what they're going to require financially and fiscally for us so that we can review that. It doesn't mean that the department has to. If there's zero funding for the director to use, then nothing happens. So, the expectation becomes what we budget, and we hear it a lot,budgeting for outcomes. If we budget for an outcome, we'll get it. If we put zero money aside for this, and we don't help Steve and we don't work with Deanna or Diane, then nothing will happen. It's that simple. But the process—it's important to delineate process and funding. Yes, we need the funding to fulfill a process,but without the process, we can never get started. Little bit like a chicken and the egg,but in this case, process needs to happen, sorry, nothing needs to happen. I would like to see the process move forward but the funding is a piece that we need to work on with the department and they're not required to actually spend any money. If they don't have any, nothing happens. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I had to take a deep breath. I think I just got a lockjaw on how we're going to pay for this, and acknowledging, right, that these are private roads and there's statutory language at the State that says we can't use these monies. So, I had a conversation with Deanna about basically that, that Supremacy Clause on Hawai`i State Revised Statutes and the use of fuel tax and other taxes. I have that amendment,but this has really transformed in a way that unless Deanna gives me the nod, this is really just a process. We're creating a process and to my colleague's point, I'm really trying to manage expectations. I don't want anybody from Puna to say, "You passed this bill, so now come pave my Page 30 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 road." I think we have to do a really big job at communicating that expectation and the real transformative space for this framework to actually have teeth and work, is for us to partition the legislature and we passed a resolution outlining the section of HRS that really needs to be edited by the State Legislature. We all know things will be really different over there because of Maui. But this could be the opportunity for them to give us this word change because it will help Maui and it'll help us. So, I'm just going to take a deep breath and kind of let this process sink in and tinker around with it, hearing from our director and everybody else, it's just a framework. It's just a process. If we don't put money, we don't get roads paved. But I'm going to tell my colleagues, we've got to go, we've got to go to the legislature, and we've got to work hard on this section and get them to allow us the opportunity to use transportation monies, fuel tax, and even our GE that we use for our mass transit. And maybe even be more creative by saying this is a health and safety issue and the Department of Health needs to step in with more money. Public Safety has to step in with more money,but it's all going to start with us opening the faucet at the state level for all of that opportunity and resources to pour in. So, with that, I can support the bill. I'm not going to be pushing in the amendment that kind of provided that supremacy clause,but I'm just going to hold it on the side. Who knows where this goes after another iteration? So, with that, thank you for the opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, for creating that framework. But I'm going to challenge each and every one of you that when the legislature starts in January, that we take that resolution that we authored and see how they can help us with getting monies through fuel tax and other resources. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, thank you. Council Member Lee Loy, you kind of led into perfectly, it was not coordinated in advance. The question that I had been kind of ruminating about, I think it's super, super important. I know I've had people in my district already reach out and say, "Okay, so when can we apply?" It's like, okay, we really have to roll back the excitement because there's no money for this program yet. And the understanding—make sure we're making the expectation clear that we're just creating a framework. My question to either the maker or the Director or the other Director, is we've talked about those funds that have ties through HRS that cannot be used on private roads. What I'm curious about is, are there other potential funding sources that are now available to us without the program that there weren't before without the program? For example, if there were disaster-related funds or emergency route development funds, things like that. I'm just curious if any of you have considered potentially some other sources besides what we traditionally used for funding for road work. Page 31 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 CHR. KAGIWADA: To the maker, would you like to respond? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'll do my best, Ms. Kimball. We have the road improvement district or the improvement district, that's an option. That is directly paid for by our constituency. A lot of times—I mean the biggest reason for this attempt to create a process is there are no options for people. Private roadways, you can go after grants. You can try, private roadways getting grant monies is difficult. Disaster money normally does not apply to private roads. And so, a lot of the time, the money that we usually go after is not an option for some of these communities. That's been one of the hiccups. And then without this being in our Code, classically the answer is we can't do it, it's private. This just begins to open up the box to say hey, maybe we can. So, I'm not aware of any that we can readily use from help of funding to apply to, without being able to, via HRS and County Code at this time. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay. MR. PAUSE: So, there's actually an infrastructure couple day meeting on O`ahu on Monday and Tuesday that I'm going to be sending folks to. I think it's a really good topic to—water cooler topic or a lunchtime topic, to grab a couple of folks, whether it's Ed (Sniffen) or someone else over there. But yeah, I'm immediately thinking of grant opportunities. Obviously, community associations could pursue them,but they still need someone, ultimately from the County, that would fall on DPW to sponsor, in order to bring in the money and do the work. So, yeah, I think those are—it's not farfetched to think that there's got to be something out there that would allow us to do these things, because again, ultimately, it starts with we're trying to improve public safety. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thank you, Director. Are you done? Okay, back to Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, and thank you, Ms. Kimball, for triggering a question that I had. Because we would be utilizing—Deanna, maybe you can help walk this out for me. Because we're going to be using staff to evaluate a private road, if we can wiggle that, how can we wiggle paving the road? MS. SAKO: I'm not sure we can wiggle that. MS. LEE LOY: Oh. MS. SAKO: So, you know, when Highways, Neil's team, does work for other departments, they actually bill them for the work. We are not allowed to use their labor, according to HRS. So, there's a lot of constraints by HRS, not by our County Code. So, we're looking for wiggle room,but we haven't found it yet. Page 32 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 MS. LEE LOY: I'm going to have to sit with that a little bit. Thank you. That was an enormous piece of information. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Anybody else? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. This is kind of building off of Council Member Kimball's comments. I was, you know, texting with Director Pause earlier about like grant opportunities. And one of the things I wrote here on the amendment, where we talk about Public Works consulting with other departments and agencies around like, feasibility, meeting the criteria, I also put down like DEM (Department of Environmental Management), DWS (Department of Water Supply), and I'm going to add to the list R&D (Department of Research & Development). I'm doing that because, are there opportunities to put in water improvements? All the work we're doing to do cesspool conversion. There's a lot of infrastructure money around that and then R&D is tasked with kind leading broadband connectivity investments around the island. So, again, when we think about funding, what other work is happening that we could potentially leverage to get this done? So again,just thinking a bit more broadly and creatively. But perhaps, that's something that you could have staff add to the water cooler conversation, Director, next week. Because again, I think we all really support the intention, but I kind of feel like our hands are tied with that new piece of information that Director Sako kind of shared about, what staff is able to even do, or not do, as it relates to even the planning and implementation of the framework. So, lots to consider and I hope that we might have some answers by the next Council reading based on the infrastructure conversations that are happening next week. Thank you. I yield. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you Council Member. Okay, so I'm going to make a couple of comments. It sounds like we might be ready to vote on this in a minute. That was a really great conversation. To me, what I'm hearing is, if we go for just working with the State on opening up the usage of our regular sources of funding for road projects, then it comes down to a prioritizing issue. We're not getting any new money by doing that. What we're going to have to do is prioritize against all the work we need to do already. But what I heard from several colleagues and from Director Pause is that we need to—one thing we could do is be looking for other sources of money, grants, and such. I think for me,personally, I think that's the way I would want to see it going because I would hate for us to be in a situation where we're chipping away at the existing road budget, where we've been trying to make so much, and you know, DPW has been doing such a good job trying to make progress there. But that's just me personally. I am very supportive of the idea behind this and very happy to hear everybody saying, you know, manage expectations. Because I'm still hearing in the testimony a very high level of expectations, you know, this is going to fix our • Page 33 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 problems. So, as much as we say it, I still feel like in the public, it is very much felt that this, passing this process, is going to somehow be the silver bullet and I just would hate to set us up for that. Unless anyone has anything else, I think we'll call for the vote on this and go from there. Did you want to respond? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, I'd just like to say one thing. So, I went to a community association meeting, and this was for the roads corporation for the community. The community has about 70 miles of roadway, and what I learned in that meeting is they have collected$50,000 in a year. So, it's not enough, and that's really their plate, is they need more, they don't have it, and they feel stuck, almost to the point of giving up. It's right there, when you really got to dig in say, "Hey, we can make a decision to just try and help." Or we can say, "Ah, not our problem." I really would like to see the Council come from the side of, we can lend a hand in this situation. We can find a little bit of money, we can find a way forward, we can use the State Code, we can use our State Legislators, we can find a way forward and we can find ways around the roadblocks. I hear the expectations piece, but if don't have something to start with, then we're just always going to be saying no. I hate saying no to our community, so, that's it. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Great. Okay, we have a motion on the table to forward Bill 82 to full Council, as amended,by Communication 496.46 to the full Council, all those in favor. Vote on Bill 82: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 82, Draft 2, as Draft 2 amended to Draft 3 on first reading was carried by the (Approved) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Lee Loy, Villegas Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. Page 34 PCHSW-7 December 5,2023 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 8:16 p.m., Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Evans— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, everybody, for hanging in. Approved: r Ms. enn agiw a, Cha. 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