HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2025-12-03 2024-2026 Hawaii County Council
281h Session
Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii
December 3, 2025
INVOCATION: Pastor Rosemary Kawamoto of Community of Christ- Hilo gave the morning's
invocation.
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at
ORDER: 9:02 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair
Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Vice Chair (came in later)
Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member
Mr. James E. Hustace, Member
Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member
Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member
Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member
Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member
Absent& Excused: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member
PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of
ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance.
(At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in
the Pledge of Allegiance.)
PETITIONS, The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Petitions,
MEMORIALS, Memorials, Certificates of Merit, and Expressions of Condolence.
CERTIFICATES
OF MERIT, AND (Note: At this time, Mr. Hustace presented Certificates of Merit to the Hawai i
EXPRESSIONS OF Preparatory Academy Boys Cross Country Team in recognition of its Hawaii
CONDOLENCE: State Division H Championship. Also, Mr. Inaba presented the December 2025
Haweo Award to Hamakua Patrol Officer Ivan Alatan of the Hawaii Police
Department.)
Recess: At 9:15 a.m., the Chair called for a recess.
Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:17 a.m.
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council 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:
Jason Higa: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
(representing Zippy's (See Comm. 482.314)
Restaurants)
Mayor C. Kimo Alameda: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
John Pelletier: Bill 63, Draft 2 (Comm. 333.7), comment.
(representing Kona Community
Development Plan Action
Committee)
Nancy Pisicchio: Bill 63, Draft 2 (Comm. 333.7), in opposition.
Matt Binder: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.291)
Andrew Scheinis: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Abigail Tracy: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing World Centric)
Joy Dillon: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
(See Comm. 482.304)
Kalia Edmonds: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Stella Black: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Isaiah Iman: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Nani Garduque: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Kymani Kunewa-Hams: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Kendall Trumper: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Avamarie Lougee: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Isabella Ibarra: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
011ie Rama: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Delilah Vinson: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Noelle Lindenmann: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.324)
Alexis Chapman: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), comment.
(representing Hawaii Food
Industry Association)
Tanya Aynessazian: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Chamber of (See Comms. 482.297 and 482.358)
Sustainable Commerce)
Maiana Villegas: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Sarah Warr: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.354)
Josephine Keliipio: Bill 63, Draft 2 (Comm. 333.7), in opposition.
Alesha Makuakane: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Recycle Hawaii (See Comm. 482.326)
and Ka`u Global Learning Lab)
Waileia Haili-Barawis: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Kona Smith: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.345)
Roxie Castaneda: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.296)
Rojelin Capueta: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.295)
Ahlyna Flores: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.307)
Chazlyn Mukini: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Cristina Holt: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Kristine Kubat: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Recycle Hawaii) (See Comm. 482.341)
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
KC Osborne: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Megan Leatherman: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Hawaii Wildlife (See Comm. 482.313)
Fund)
Lisa Diaz: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(See Comm. 482.303)
Stephanie Bath: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
Kalei Kailikini: GOEAC-80 (Comm. 616), in support.
Justin Canelas: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Recycle Hawaii)
Maile Lavea-Malloe: GOEAC-80 (Comm. 616), in support; and
(representing Hui Aloha Res. 384-25 (Comm. 601), comment.
`Aina o Hilo) (See Comm. 601.5)
Nicole Larson: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
(representing Circular Hawaii) (See Comm. 482.323)
Stephen Ueda: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
(representing Suisan Company, (See Comm. 482.350)
Ltd.)
Nick Doyle: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in opposition.
David Pang: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Malama Eco
Products)
Pelehonuamea Harman: Res. 403-25 (Comm. 629), in support.
(representing No Na `Opio)
Kencho Gurung: Bill 83, Draft 2 (Comm. 482.10), in support.
(representing Sierra Club
Hawaii Island Group)
Recess: At 11:08 a.m., the Chair called for a recess.
Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 11:22 a.m.
APPROVAL The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Approval
OF MINUTES: of Minutes.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Chair Inaba announced that the Minutes of September 3,
2025, were approved.
REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports.
GOEAC-80 NOMINATION OF MAILE K. LAVEA-MALLOE TO THE HAMAKUA
(Comm. 616): COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Requires Council
Confirmation by: December 13, 2025 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on GOEAC-80: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Governmental Operations and
(Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 80. Seconded by
Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
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:
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public.
PUBLIC ON
BILL 83 The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by
(DRAFT 2) the Chair:
(COMM. 482.10):
Ann Chau: In support.
(representing World Centric)
Georjean Adams: Comment.
(See Comm. 482.289)
Jennifer Navarra: In support.
(representing Zero Waste Hawaii Island)
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 83: AMENDS CHAPTER 20 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016
(Draft 2) EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO PLASTIC AND POLYSTYRENE
WASTE
Seeks to reduce disposable plastic or polystyrene foodware and serviceware in
alignment with the County of Hawai`i's Zero Waste Plan and the State of
Hawai`i's Aloha+ Challenge Solid Waste Reduction Goals.
Reference: Comm. 482.10
Intr. by: Council Members Galimba and Villegas
First Reading: November 19, 2025
(Note: The following were circulated regarding Bill 83, Draft 2:
1. Comm. 482.15 from Environmental Management Deputy Director Craig
Kawaguchi dated November 28, 2025, transmitting comments;
2. Comm. 482.16 from Council Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi dated
December 1, 2025, transmitting information;
3. Comm. 482.17 from Council Member James E. Hustace dated December 2,
2025, transmitting proposed amendments;
4. Comm. 482.18 from Council Member Michelle M. Galimba dated
December 2, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments;
5. Comm. 482.19 from Council Member Michelle M. Galimba dated
December 2, 2025, transmitting supplemental information from Zero Waste
Hawaii;
6. Comm. 482.20 from Council Member Rebecca Villegas dated December 3,
2025, transmitting proposed amendments; and
7. Comm. 482.21 from Liquor Control Director Gerald Takase dated
December 2, 2025, transmitting comments.)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 83, Draft 2, on second and
final reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: I want to start off by thanking everybody who came out today
to testify. Whether or not in support or in opposition, it's been very telling. It's
been very exposing of a lot of different things. I am going to keep it short. I'd
like to allow my colleagues time to speak. We also have an amendment to be
brought forward that I'm excited will assuage the concerns of some of the
organizations who've spoken here today. But I'm most grateful for the testifiers,
for the young people who will inherit this earth. What we're leaving them is
shameful. I grew up walking the beaches of this beautiful island and never was
plastic an issue. And now, it's rampant.
The compostables perfect? No. But in an era when plastic is literally
inundating our personal bodies and ecosystems, from testicles to breast milk, it's
an issue. And this is a step that's necessary to take in order to move forward as a
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
County. I also would like to clarify that none of the other counties who passed
single-use disposable plastic serviceware legislation have industrial or
commercial composting systems. They've worked with other organizations, and
they have not had the negative ramifications that have been implied.
Gaslighting comes to mind. And as a woman in the 21" Century who has been
gaslit on a number of different issues and experiences, no more. My daughter
testified here today. I want to break this cycle of gaslighting and make sure that
we move forward as a County, in a positive direction that my children and my
grandchildren can be proud of. So I ask for continued support of the Council
Members here. I'll go ahead and just pass it on to hear comments of my
colleagues. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba.
MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I also will be brief, but do want to thank all of the
testifiers for their input and their passion for our island. I do want to point out
that, to my fellow Council Members, we do have a packet about the in-vessel
composting option, which is not a centralized facility but would be more of a
decentralized community-by-community, even business-by-business, option that
we can look towards as a part of. It's not the silver bullet either. But there are
options. And there will be more options as we tackle this issue of plastics and
replacing them in the logistics and everyday life practices that we have. So I just
wanted to point that out.
There is a timeline. There are costs. This is something that I'm very proud that
the students at Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary have been working on with their
teachers. So I wanted to particularly thank them for taking the time to testify
today. And with that, I think I will just leave it to my fellow Council Members to
ask questions, and also look forward to the amendment that will be addressing
some of the concerns of needing to have a broader range of certifiers that my
fellow Council Member James Hustace will be providing.
CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi.
MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. Chair, I wanted to make a motion to close and
file Communication 482.16, and this is just a reference to the Council Members.
CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi, we typically don't have a"close file"when we
have a main motion on the floor to pass a bill. But if you'd like to cover the
contents of Communication 482.16, we can follow along and the public can
follow along as well.
MR. ONISHL Basically, it's when we had discussions from the distributors and
from others about the different types of, I guess, certifications that fall under
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). And so, it's just that when
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
we got to, I guess, hear this bill, I really didn't know had these multiple different
certifications. And so, with this bill that is written in front of us, it was limiting
the amount of certifications, which to me brought up that I felt this bill was kind
of centering into certain businesses. And so for me, for free trade, free enterprise,
it was a violation of what we were doing. And so,that's really good to hear today
that people spoke up about these multiple, different certifications. And then
hopefully, with some of these amendments, they're going to change all that,
which is great. Okay.
But then also, I wanted to bring up DEM (Department of Environmental
Management) because we have their communication, which is
Communication 482.15.
CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi,you can proceed with your
questions as Administration gets set up here.
MR. ONISHL So,just basically you folks—well,you can introduce yourselves.
And then kind of go over—because this is for the public to know, right—and
explain what is your recommendation. How did you folks come up with these
findings? And I think some people had mentioned about how it's not detailed
enough. Or like, I guess, your study or your research didn't explain enough.
(Note: At this time, Recycling Specialist Alexander White,
Environmental Management Department, came forward to address the
members of the Council.)
MR. WHITE: Alex White, DEM. There's a lot to say, and I think I'd appreciate
some specific questions. But yeah, so we spent the 45 days doing as much as we
could to understand the situation. Very complex. There's a ton of stakeholders.
Yeah, is there a particular ?
MR. ONISHL Well, basically for the public's information,your
recommendations on different stuff, basically your summary of, after reviewing
the bill, what you folks came up with. And then also, what—the HRS (Hawai`i
Revised Statutes) that you folks have to follow,your process of it once this bill
passes. I think you guys can help explain that part.
MR. WHITE: So the process that we're (inaudible) to start off is generally the
process for you to build this. This memo, we spoke to a bunch of stakeholders all
across. We didn't talk to everybody within the scope of this. We did as much as
we could while also juggling other responsibilities. But yeah, we did our best to
kind of come through here and to propose recommendations that would help with
us in terms of implementing. So we didn't make a recommendation for or against
this. Our goal is to provide information and data so that we all can kind of create
the best strategy going forward.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
And then definitely did defer—as it relates to statute and things like that, I
definitely defer to Diana who's agreed to be here, too, to answer any questions
specific to that.
MR. ONISHL Maybe you could come up, Diana? You can come up. Because
my question also, like within this report, is about the HRS you folks need to
follow, right, by the timelines.
(Note: At this time, Deputy Corporation Counsel Section Chief Diana
Mellon-Lacey came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. ONISHL Basically, you have what the recommendations were, right?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Good late morning, Council Members and Chairperson
Inaba. My name is Diana Mellon-Lacey. I'm Deputy Corporation Counsel
assigned to the Department of Environmental Management.
MR. ONISHL Okay. In one section,you folks they mentioned about needing
to do that fiscal or that economic study with the small businesses.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: There is a financial impact.
MR. ONISHL Right. And that's required by HRS?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yes, 201.
MR. ONISHL Can you explain a little bit of that?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: 201M. It's the small business administration; to look at
the impact of any ordinance or bill on small businesses, and to look at whether
there's less restrictive means of implementing things, to understand what the cost
and effect is on small businesses. And there's a requirement to give input and just
have discussion with representatives to ensure that it's done in, I guess, a fair
way—we're not wanting to put people out of business, I mean to try and work
with the community to do that.
MR. ONISHL So what if the percentage is, like, it's going to affect the small
businesses, like a higher percentage that's going to be affecting the small
businesses, then what would the department do about that?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, the department would have to look at it across the
board and take input from small businesses; find out the actual cost of
implementing it in terms of what the difference is, let's say, in container costs.
Those sorts of things.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. ONISHL Right. Yeah. So, once you get that information from doing all
this outreach, and then the results are they're going to affect a lot of small
businesses at a high percentage, right, what will the department do?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, the department could make recommendations
back to the Council.
MR. ONISHL No, but so, it's amending the bill once it's approved?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, the Council would have to amend the bill, but the
department could make recommendations based on the impact.
MR. ONISHL I understand that, but—okay. Once we pass this bill today, if it
does pass, now you guys are going to be doing your—DEM is going to be doing
your study. Right?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, DEMI'm not sure exactly how DEM plans to
implement it, but I can give you an example of what we did with the polystyrene
bill. In that instance, we formed an advisory group with representatives from the
business community, the restaurant association, relevant stakeholders. And we
also included suppliers of products, and we had meetings. We had presentations
on various products that could be used, what the cost difference was.
MR. ONISHL So what was your finding?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, the finding was that it would cost more, but that it
was accepted as doable by the community. And we went ahead and implemented
it with input and buy-in I think that we gained from having those kinds of
meetings, the stakeholder meetings.
MR. ONISHL Okay. So then my question is, the burden is more than what we
expect from the small businesses. Right?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yeah.
MR. ONISHL Now,you folks are going to have this report, right? Because you
guys are the ones that are reaching out, because you folks are responsible under
the HRS to conduct this. Right?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yes, as the agency. That's correct.
MR. ONISHL Right. Okay. And then, so once you guys get the results, and say
it's a negative, then you would come back to the Council to, I guess, ask for an
amendment to be done?
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well, I think if we identified that it was really very
difficult for businesses to do this for some reason, I think we would make the
Council aware of it. But I don't know whether or not, at this point, the
department would be the one proposing the amendment or not.
MR. ONISHL No, not right now. I'm just seeing because once
MS. MELLON-LACEY: We would share that feedback certainly.
MR. ONISHL Yeah, okay. So that's the main thing. I wanted to let the public
know that, from this report and what you folks are required to do, once you folks
have your report then you folks need to let the Council know about it.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yes.
MR. ONISHL Okay. And then if it's something really negative, then there needs
to be maybe an amendment done to the existing bill. Correct?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: That could be a result, yes.
MR. ONISHL Okay, thank you. I'll yield right now. Thank you.
CHR. INABA: Thank you. We'll go to Council Member Hustaceor Council
Member Kagiwada first.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Chair. Deputy Director,you signed this
report. I'd love to ask you just a couple questions about this.
(Note: At this time, Environmental Management Deputy Director Craig
Kawaguchi came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. KAWAGUCHI: Deputy Director Craig Kawaguchi, Department of
Environmental Management.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you and thank you for being here. Thank you for
getting us this feedback. Did you write this report?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: We worked together to come up with the findings.
MS. KAGIWADA: I'm concerned because there's at least one Al (artificial
intelligence) hallucination in this report. Do you know what that is? That's when
somebody's using a chatbot or Al, and the Al gives people what they want to
hear, not what is actually real. So the second bullet under Section 3, enforcement
and program development—actually, it's the third bullet where it says, "DEM is
required under HRS 205M to determine the effect of the ordinance on small
businesses by conducting a financial analysis of the impacts, and looking for ways
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
to mitigate any impact on small businesses." There's no HRS 205M. There is an
HRS 205, and this pertains to land use, not small businesses. So, once again, I'm
just asking who did compile this and who wrote it.
MR. KAWAGUCHI: It was a collaboration between us at DEM and then also
working with Corp. (Corporation) Counsel. And we did look at the positives and
negatives of things, not just looking at it one-sided.
MS. KAGIWADA: But you have factual incorrect information here that looks to
be the result of using Al for this report.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: This is Diana Mellon-Lacey, Deputy Corporation
Counsel. Thank you for pointing that out. I actually did see it this morning, and
it is a typographical error because it should have been 201M.
MS. KAGIWADA: 201M. Okay.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: 201M is the small business administration part of HRS
that we were discussing earlier.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So we didn't
MS. MELLON-LACEY: And I so apologize
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, you know
MS. MELLON-LACEY: I'm sorry. I didn't—
MS. KAGIWADA: In the 45 days that you had to get this right, that seems like
something that we should have known. Because it's very hard, then, to look up
this information that you've given us, and we just got this on Monday. So we
haven't had much time to go through and look, after you guys had it for 45 days,
to then look at what was written here and follow up on it and try to find out what
is actually behind some of these citations. So,yeah, that's challenging.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: I humbly apologize.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. I want to just look at a couple other
comments or recommendations you made here. Under "Developing and
Deploying Public Education and Outreach,"your recommendation is to provide
dedicated funding and do not split outreach responsibilities between two
departments. When I read the bullets above that, I don't see any reason why this
outreach shouldn't be split between two departments. Can you talk about why
you recommend that particular ?
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. KAWAGUCHI: Craig Kawaguchi, Deputy Director of Environmental
Management. We worked with OSCER(Office of Sustainability, Climate,
Equity, and Resilience) or any—R&D (Research and Development), OSCER,
other departments. We even reached out to Council Members to work on
outreach. So it's more of coming from one area instead of two.
MS. KAGIWADA: But why? Why did you say that we shouldn't split outreach
responsibilities? OSCER is our sustainability group. You're our environmental
management. You both have a stake in something like this bill. Why would you
not want to work collaboratively on something like that?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: No, we work collaboratively.
MS. KAGIWADA: Then why would this recommend not to work
collaboratively?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: So it comes from one—since this falls under DEM, we just
thought that DEM should take the lead on this, working with OSCER, R&D, and
different departments. It's nothing—we didn't look at it as a negative thing.
Yeah.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. All right, thank you. And then the other questions I
have have to do with your stance on the reusable foodware. You talk about the
reuse service providers and the recommendation that it include plastics. And the
reason given here says that although the reusable foodware program that's
proposed will be using stainless steel, we recognize that there are cases where
plastics may be preferred or the only viable option. So we already know that
we're going to be using stainless steel. So, clearly, it's not the only viable option.
You do cite alcoholic beverage containers needing to be in translucent containers.
To that, I guess I'd say built into this bill is the ability to do exemptions. And for
something like that, like an event that's doing—and they need an exemption, I
think that that's pretty obvious that they can apply for an exemption for
something like that.
I don't think you need to build a bill around the possible couple of exemptions
that we might come up against. And so, I think for this bill, it makes perfect sense
to say that it's not plastic. But if there's an exemptionChair, may I have ?
I'm on my last thing.
CHR. INABA: Thank you. Go ahead.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. That we don't build things around the
exemptions, but we allow for those exemptions. So I hope that you can
understand that. And I will just say, as the Council Member representing
District 2, if there are businesses or events happening in District 2 and you want
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
to apply for an exemption once this goes into effect after a full year, I am happy to
assist if people find that burdensome or challenging to do. I'm happy to help get
those exemptions for those particular cases.
MR. KAWAGUCHI: I think, as far as putting that in, is when we receive the
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) grant, the two, I guess, materials looked
at was stainless steel or plastic. And we didn't want to just leave it at stainless
steel. But we didn't think about the exemptions.
MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. So there are exemptions built in so people can do that.
And I would just say, and this is more general, not to you, but a testifier did
mention 180 days not being enough. But I just want to point out that the 180 days
is on top of the full year that we're going to have before this goes into effect. So
it's a year and a half, basically,you would have to get it together. So I think
and we've built in quite a lot of cushion here. And I hope that,yeah, you agree
that that would be a reasonable amount for people to come on board. So thank
you for answering my questions, and thanks to
MR. WHITE: I wouldn't mind offering something just related to that. So if you
look at successful reuse programs across the country and Europe, where we
frequently look to for leadership and examples of how to successfully run
programs, almost all of them are using plastic. So it's unfortunate. It's not the
best thing. But it is the reality, because these programs do need to be financially
viable. So that's a really critical component. And the cost difference, the weight
difference, how many units you can stack. We all know plastic has tremendous
advantages there.
So, if our goal is to support diversion and extend the lifespan of the landfill,
plastic has a place in that. Our program is going to be using stainless steel, based
on community input, but we're just one program. There's other people who are
interested in doing reuse here, coming from other places to do it. So, if this
definition does stay the same, other folks who are looking to come here and to
demonstrate how to reuse, that wouldn't be possible for these other businesses.
So it's not just events. It's actual reuse service providers.
MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. Understood. And I'm glad that you did emphasize
that our community definitely said they do not want plastics. So that came
through loud and clear. That's why I'm going with the stainless steel. And if we
get to that point at some point, and we need to come and revise the statute, that's
fine too. But at this point, in order to have a strong rollout a year from when this
passes, I think it's really important that we are very clear to people that we're
moving away from plastics. So thank you. Thank you for your input. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Council Member
Hustace.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Deputy Director of DEM for
being here today. I appreciate your time. Just a question regarding the report.
What is your—we've had this conversation and testimony here at Council. What
is your recommendation on the composting facilities, because that's not really laid
out in the report here.
MR. KAWAGUCHI: I think we're exploring that right now, looking at
decentralized composting. We're open to that and we're looking at it to see
where it fits in. Because I think once it gets to the County facilities, then that's
when different permits might kick in.
MR. HUSTACE: Okay. So some permitting challenges possibly or something
there to investigate. Yeah, Council Member Galimba did present a nice report
here in Communication 482.19. So thank you for that. And it's something to take
a look at with DEM as possible suggestions and avenues to take in regards to the
decentralization of the composting facilities and what that might look like.
It's also possibly a recommendation that I think we should, as we engage with
you in the budget season, try and map out some of these things going forward,
what that starts looking like. I know you have other big ticket things that you're
working on right now, that we talked about quite a bit often, but we also have to
start mapping out what that next phasing looks like for this arm of our solid waste
branch and diversion. So I think it's a conversation we have to keep having. So
thank you for taking a look at that and the considerations there.
We've had conversations here, and I appreciate the testifiers. We had a great
number of testimony today about this. I think there is some concern here about
the additives in the bioplastics and some of that. I think that's something we need
to consider kind of going forward and what that means for health and safety, and
those sorts of things as well.
We've also had past conversations about, and on the record we brought
amendments forward, about how to protect some of our small businesses. Those
were unsuccessful, but that's something that we still should be aware about, and
how we protect our small mom-and-pop stores and community shops from any
sort of challenges. And considering the cost challenges and opportunities that can
be provided by opening this up, maybe they'll be lessened. So it's something to
consider there as well.
And then, grateful for all the engagement with distributors and partners regarding
this, and the challenge it presents with the current language. So with that, Chair,
I'd like to motion to amend Bill 83, Draft 2, with the contents of
Communication 482.17.
Motion to Amend: Mr. Hustace moved to amend Bill 83, Draft 2, with the
contents of Comm. 482.17. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace.
MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Just for clarity here and so the public is
aware that it does remove in the definition portion of Bill 83, Draft 2, identifying
language about the BPI(Biodegradable Products Institute) certification mark, as
well as the CMA (Compost Manufacturing Alliance) certification just in a sense
that it's no longer required in the language pertaining to disposable serviceware.
So the language incorporated here states that it's certified by a third parry entity as
compliant with ASTM Standards D6400, D6868, or D8410, or any other
equivalent technical standard for compostability or biodegradability. So, trying to
hit on the mark that I think we've heard from testifiers and our distributors, and
those that are already in the marketplace about how can they still be at the table
coming forward and work collaboratively to protect our `aina and our
communities going forward.
So this does the language here pertains to BPI, CMA, Din Certco, NSF
(National Sanitation Foundation), as well as the language allowing for some of
our European standards as well. So that's the goal and the purpose of this
amendment to kind of open that field up for those that are already in the
marketplace, or future opportunities for businesses to come forward that have that
compostable criteria and biodegradability. So thank you for your consideration in
having to bring this amendment forward. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas, on the amendment.
MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Council Member Hustace, for bringing this
forward, and for all those that work in this industry. It is an industry now, which I
think is fantastic. We have resources made from plants. That's an option. And
we have economies of scale. I've learned a lot in this process. It's impossible to
be an expert on every field we have to talk about while we're here. But I'm in
support of this amendment. And I'm grateful to the author for kind of
incorporating everything without—the greatest fear in all of this, because we've
seen it happen, is loopholes get introduced accidentally, unconsciously, or
sometimes maliciously by organizations that take advantage of us not being an
expert in the field and economies that they navigate daily.
I am putting my full trust that that is not the case in this amendment, and that it
does in fact uphold the standards of authentic requirements for compostability.
Does not create loopholes for thicker plastic bags orI'm really grateful to
Council Member Kagiwada for her determination and commitment to defining
"reusable" so that we have an opportunity. Because, we're the third municipality
in line, and it's taken a long time. And we've learned from the challenges from
the legislation that's been passed on other islands.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
So thank you, Council Member Hustace. I'm in full support of this amendment
and yeah, I yield.
CHR. INABA: Any other discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, all those
in favor of amending Bill 83 with the contents of Communication 482.17,please
say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 83, Draft 2, with the contents of
Amend: Comm. 482.17 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
and Kierkiewicz—2.
Excused: None.
Vote on Motion to Ms. Villegas moved to suspend Council Rule 23 to waive
Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of Bill 83,
Rules: Draft 2. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the
(Approved) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Kagiwada,
Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—6.
Noes: Council Member Hustace— 1.
Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
and Kierkiewicz—2.
Excused: None.
CHR. INABA: We can proceed with discussion on Bill 83, as amended. Council
Member Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: A couple questions for you, Deputy Director Kawauchi [sic]. I
had a teacher at Konawaena named Mrs. Kawauchi. Did you—and I'm just
looking for yes or no answers—did you consult OSCER when putting together
this response and memo?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: No.
MS. VILLEGAS: No. That seems very odd to me. Corporation Counsel
CampbellI'm sorry? Melanie? Okay. Sorry. Did you review this memo or
work on this memo prior to it being submitted?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yes, I did review it.
MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. Was Al used to generate this memo?
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MS. MELLON-LACEY: No. Well, not to my knowledge. I didn't use any Al.
MS. VILLEGAS: You didn't use Al.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: No.
MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. Mr. Kawauchi, was Al used?
MR. WHITE: I can speak to that just a—Alex White, DEM. In the most minute
areas, there was a couple sentences in the
MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, yes and no.
MR. WHITE: This is not a product of Al.
MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, thank you. And, you know, it sucks to be here and have
to bring up these kinds of questions, because they actually should be totally
irrelevant. But when you had 45 days to provide comments, never reached out to
the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience, which was
established to sit at a Cabinet level with the leaders of this County to direct them
in best practices, most current technologies, and what's happening in other areas,
that to me, like it was insulting.
I mean, I was watching the time clock on Wednesday, because the Clerk said 4:30
on Wednesday because there was a holiday; that's the deadline. Nothing came in.
And instead it comes in on a Monday, two days before we come to Council for
second and final reading? Some of the people on this dais didn't see it until
today, in which the number was changed to 201M, but it had said 205. So even in
that time frame. So, at a time when community doesn't trust government and is
consistently disappointed by decisions being made for short-term economic gain
of a small group of people, it's really rough not to be insulted and offended. And
to think—somebody save me—don't mistake incompetence for maliciousness or
conspiracy.
It sucks to be in that place and have my constituents coming to me and saying
stuff like that. Like wow! That's so disappointing! It's so disappointing! But
strategically, hey, what better strategy than to provide a five-page memo two days
before we get to sit here. Because then, who has time to dissect it. And I'm
really grateful for the experts in this field that did take that time frame, and came
back with poignant, authentically true, scientifically grounded, and historically
accurate information.
I wasn't going to bring up this memo, but Mr. Onishi did. And so, I—I'll take a
deep breathI also want to clarify that in prior conversations, talking about do
the requirements for Chapter 201M, it's not"shall." DEM does not have to do
that small business impact; it's "may." And under a circumstance like this, when
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
over 500 businesses in this County already utilize biodegradable and compostable
serviceware, it would be a waste of your time and energy and County taxpayer
dollars to do a research study on this. We're already behind the times. It's time
for us to move forward with clarity, courage, and wisdom, aligned with best
practices and the support which has been offered by multiple organizations not
just within this County. If our high school students in Ka`u are doing it, and they
have dirt 24 hours later on an island that is predominantly lava and we are dirt
poor, it behooves us.
I also want to point out that since I've been sitting in this seat, which has been
seven years now, DEM has been talking about composting and what can be done
and how many reports and recommendations have been written. And it's come
back to, thankfully, these smaller units and it's possible. So let's do it.
Unfortunately, sometimes it takes passing a law to light a fire under `okoles to get
things rolling, and that's what I'm very hopeful we can do here today.
I'm going to acknowledge that I am going to hold back on providing comments
and retorts on the Mayor's testimony. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. First of all, I just want to mahalo Council Member
Galimba for providing the detailed information about the compostable—what is it
called—in-vessel composting. And I think lesson learned in terms of the green
waste that we manage here, about having one single facility on the island.
Looking at a more distributed system for composting these products is definitely
something I think that is more amenable to the size of the County and our
population centers and stuff like that. So something like this, I think, is very
helpful. Appreciate the amendment. I think that that, based on what we've heard,
was an important consideration.
I did have one thought about what Mr. White was saying with regard to the reuse
companies that are doing business elsewhere, where they may have a plastic
product that is reusable, is not available in some other form. So I can think of
situations where there might be a reusable product that doesn't come in a stainless
steel form.
I'm wondering ifI just was drafting it here real quick you might consider an
amendment under the exceptions that would include reusable foodware for which
an alternative to polystyrene or plastic is not available, as just a friendly
consideration that I think we could go back and amend this later if needed. But
the one thing that I'm potentially concerned about is businesses that might want to
do reuse here might not be inclined to if that language isn't included, if it's part of
the whole package. Just putting it out there. I don't want to make my staff rush
to put this together if the authors are not inclined to support such a notion.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
CHR. INABA: To the authors?
MS. VILLEGAS: I hear you and I see that, but we haven't even gotten the first
one up and running and started yet. So, to add a loophole and weaken this
legislation on the off chance that at some point in the future there will be another
organization that wants to come in and needs to use plastic, it feels like that's the
loophole that essentially could gut the bill. So I'm not open to that at this time.
And perhaps in the future if that is the case, then that's something to be taken into
consideration. But at this time, no, I'm not supportive of that.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Yeah. It's something that I think we kind of
gave some thought to and everything. When a restaurant or a food purveyor
decides to be part of the reusable foodware program, they do not have—it doesn't
mean that every single one of their dishes has to be reusable. They may opt in
that there's a certain bento box style thing or something that is something that
they do want to opt in to. But if they have a specialty item, like the seven-pound
chili from Zippy's, we're not going to the reusable foodware program is not
going to have an option available for something like that just because the numbers
won't be there. That is my understanding of the project.
So I don't think it necessarily makes sense for those few items, because I don't
think the way the reusable foodware project is conceived means that they will be
providing every size of every single possibility needed for a business. And maybe
Mr. White can let me know if that's incorrect. But that's my understanding, is
that the reusable foodware program won't necessarily have every size of
everything available in a reusable form, and that they may use compostable in this
case for some of their items, if needed.
MR. WHITE: Yeah, we can speak to that. At this point in time, that's correct.
The program is designed to scale and spread across the island. That is our hope.
Our intention is to include stainless steel, but we haven't explicitly excluded
plastic as well, because we understand that there's certain use cases that I think
we'd be irresponsible to say you can never do this, because this is a long-term
project that needs to grow and go through ups and downs and trial and error to
figure some of these things out. And ultimately, our program needs to be
financially viable.
Zero County dollars are going to support this. It all came from money that
Deputy Director Kawaguchi secured from the EPA, along with our partners at
Zero Waste Hawaii Island and Federal. So this program has to stand on its own.
And if they can't find a financially viable model, they're either going to need to
go out asking for money or the program's going to fail.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MS. KAGIWADA: Right. And is it financially viable that, say, one restaurant on
the island needs a seven-pound chili holder, that the reusable foodware project
would go out and procure reusable items for just that very small number needed?
That was kind of my question.
MR. WHITE: Yeah,probably not. Yeah. It would have to be—it's going to be a
business. So there would have to be a financial incentive and enough scale to
justify the product.
MS. KAGIWADA: Right. And by participating in the reusable foodware
program, it doesn't mean that that business can't use some compostables or other
containers other than the reusable products, right?
MR. WHITE: That's correct.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. I guess my thought is that I don't know that that
solves the issue here, because those specialty items wouldn't necessarily be
furnished by the program anyway. But thank you for the idea. I yield.
MR. WHITE: Can I just provide one example? So, for example, during the
pandemic, restaurants were giving alcoholic drinks to go. Lucy's Taqueria is the
one that comes to mind to me. So that might be a use—like a more permanent use
case for plastics, because our understanding, through speaking to the Department
of Liquor Control, is that a translucent container is mandatory.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: I'd just like to correct you that a translucent container is not
mandatory. That is not the law. That is just their preference. I've been to a
number of events where they use aluminum containers, stainless steel containers,
and all different options.
I also want to just point out that it's my understanding that Zippy's seven-pound
container of chili is considered prepackaged, because that's made, put in the
container, and frozen. So when it's ordered and sold at their Zippy's, this
legislation has nothing to do with that particular product. So just making that
clear and taking that off the table as consideration.
And also the liquor issue. I think there have been a number of things brought up
in these conversations that have been implied that they are "shalls" and law, but
it's just actually been the will of the people in certain positions of perceived
power and influence. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. Can you folks explain to the public on how, I
guess, the composting facility that was contracted before with the previous
administrations, and it never happened?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: Yes. The reason why the program was suspended was that
there wasn't enough food waste. So, the majority of the food waste was going to
the piggeries, is what we found out.
MR. ONISHL Okay. Was the food waste supposed to be certain types of food
waste, or it could be anything?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: From what I recall, it's not the meats and the they were
looking more for the vegetables, the fruits, and that type.
MR. ONISHL Okay. So just to kind of make it clear, I guess, to the public of
why the County wasn't doing their composting, what were the reasons, and so
that's the reason. And I did mention this, or asked you folks, at the last meeting if
the County, DEM, would do these smaller composting facilities like maybe at the
transfer stations, would we be required to get permits, like Department of Health
permits?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: Yeah.
MR. ONISHL And any other permits?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: So it would be
MR. ONISHI: You can introduce yourself.
(Note: At this time, Solid Waste Operations Division Chief Michael
Rivera came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. RIVERA: Mike Rivera, Division Chief for DEM. Depending on the size of
the composting unit would determine the permitting process and how extreme.
But basically, you would look at air emissions, health, and just general site,
planning, use.
MR. ONISHL Okay, so you did hear testimony;people mentioned about those
smaller versions of these composting machines. So your thoughts on that?
MR. RIVERA: We actually went to go look at the Pahala unit last week; it's
pretty impressive. It's really small-scale. It would not work at that level for us.
We would need a much larger unit based on the volume of food waste generated
and disposed of at the landfill. I was just doing some research. Basically, we
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
would need, if we were to do an in-vessel,just on the surface, about four of the
large units that they have. So those would need the permitting, DOH (Department
of Health) approval.
A mid-size level, based on the volumes, we don't know. We're having a waste
characterization study done early next year, so we'll have a better idea on the
volumes of material going into the landfill. So four large units, eight mid-size
units, and at the smaller facilities we would use 90-gallon carts and totes, and put
the food waste in and then travel to the appropriate facility for all processing.
MR. ONISHI: So you would need more manpower?
MR. RIVERA: Yeah,you would just for the unit, you still need land. You
need storage capacity. You need staffing, equipment, the travel. The in-vessel
unit is just one aspect of putting a whole composting decentralized around the
island, but—
MR. ONISHL No, what if they—like an organization that says, "We want to
volunteer and help the County in doing it,"would the County be able to do
something like that, or we have these responsibilities that we need to be having
County employees there?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: That, I think, we would need to check with Corp. Counsel
on having volunteers.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: You're asking could volunteers be used to do such a
program?
MR. ONISHL Yeah. What's been testified to, right, like having smaller units at
the transfer stations since we don't have this larger-scale composting facility.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey. I
think it's something that certainly can be considered, what the requirements
would be. To implement it and how it would be structured would take some
doing, but I don't see why it can't be considered.
MR. ONISHL No, I understand that but what I'm just saying is, backyard
composting compared to if the County takes over doing that process, there's
differences in requirements that—
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Oh, yes, I'm sure that the requirements for the County
would be significantly more stringent than what someone doing it in their
backyard would have to do.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. ONISHL Right. And so, that's—what I'm trying to get at is at least let the
public know that it just cannot happen. We, the County, cannot just do something
because someone else is doing it in their backyard, right. We've got to follow
requirements.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: So I think that's really an education effort, I guess.
Maybe I'm not understanding what you're asking. I'm sorry. I'm really sick and
my ears are plugged up. I'm not hearing well.
MR. ONISHL You understand what I'm saying, right? Yeah. And then you
already said that we do, yeah. Okay, I yield. Thank you.
CHR. INABA: Any further comments from—Council Member Kierkiewicz, go
ahead. Take us home.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I wasn't going to say anything, and then the Mayor
just had to come and share his thoughts; and so in response to that. He talked
about cost. He talked about inconvenience, the impact to sports teams, and then,
what was the last thing, ethics concerns.
First off, it's 2025, right. Our decisions can no longer just be based on dollars and
cents alone. It has to be triple bottom line driven: what is good for people, what
is good for planet, can also be financially responsible. So I just want to make note
that it doesn't always come down to cost, right. I think we have to make sure that
the decisions we are making are with the future in mind.
And to say that the products that are being pushed for in this legislation are
inaccessible and inconvenient, Mayor busted out a Walmart bag and showed us
how easy it is to get the malama kakou compostable items. And it honestly
wasn't even that much. And I share that because almost every single weekend,
I'm at some volleyball tournament. My daughter's team just hosted a tournament
and guess what? Paper products and compostable everywhere. We factored those
costs into service; it didn't break the bank. But you know what it did? It aligned
with our values.
We knew that there were going to be a lot of individuals eating. I see it at all the
different tournaments that I go to; everybody is using compostable. So to say that
businesses no can? Sorry, go check out the concession at the Armory, Billy
Kenoi Gym, because these moms and these `ohanas know how to do it.
I think the ethics concerns that were raised were stretched at best. I think to
insinuate that a singular person in that business is solely responsible for this
legislation is absolutely ridiculous but also insulting. Because, I know that for the
last seven years, Council Member Villegas has been a champion of sustainability
legislation, and this also just continues to affirm your commitment to our
community and environmental well-being. So thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
The Mayor described himself as a complex mayor, but I heard absolutely no
solutions, no path forward, lots of"no can." I would like to quote Mayor Kenoi:
"It's not no can. It's absolutely how can." And we can move forward as a
community with thoughtful policy. And I think we need to save the outrage for
issues that matter, like homelessness, like our permitting process, like collapsing
bridges, like the fires we are seeing in Downtown Hilo. Let's be upset about that.
And finally, Craig, I'm so sorry to say this, but two years' delay implementation
of this legislation? We have the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan,
adopted in 2019. This County has a Zero Waste mandate. What have you guys
been doing? It's a rhetorical question. I don't know what you guys have been
doing. This has been mandated for so long.
And what bothers me when Council Member Onishi here is asking about
backyard composting solutions, I have emails and text messages going back years
asking for that very thing at multiple events that my office has driven in the
community for years. And not once has DEM ever provided those backyard
composting kits. I can order them off Amazon. But Finance tells me no can
because RFP (request for proposal) dadada. So I try to go through DEM, and I've
never gotten the composting kit.
If you guys cannot do it, let's look to community because they know how to
solutionize. They are actually doing things that you guys think are complicated,
but the community's already figured that out. So let's partner. Let's see
community as a partner and forward this legislation. I agree with you
wholeheartedly that sometimes we don't need to wait for the infrastructure to be
in place. We need policy to drive the innovation and the infrastructure. So thank
you, Council Member Villegas, Council Member Galimba, for advancing this
legislation. I really appreciate it. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member. Any last comments? Nope?
Sounds good. All right, so my turn. Regarding this letter from DEM, the
summary on page 1 states that this bill doesn't align with either the Integrated
Solid Waste Management Plan, nor the County's Zero Waste policies. What part
is not aligning, if you can just help me to better understand that?
MR. WHITE: I can speak. Alex White, DEM. So I actually have a list of the
ISWMP (Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan) recommendations for
implementing, and actually have some of the relevant sections from the Zero
Waste Plan. So, for one, the ISWMP and the Zero Waste Plan recommend
banning organics to the landfill. So, under this bill, all these materials are going
to go to the landfill. So this is just a factual statement, really, into these things.
We went through the ISWMP. There's 84 recommendations. And yeah, none of
them ask for this legislation or this need.
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
CHR. INABA: Do the current activities of the department absent on this bill
completely align with all of those recommendations in the solid waste
management plan? I'll let that be a rhetorical question as well.
Regarding the plastic bag legislation that was previously passed, it is stated here
in the letter that advisory groups were formed regarding, I believe, the small
business impact. Who formed those advisory groups? Was it the County or was
it the State?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: I think that was under DEM, because the plastic bag and
the Styrofoam came from DEM. We checked with the different groups and spoke
to different groups about it.
CHR. INABA: Okay. So, Deputy Corporation Counsel, with regards to
Chapter 201M, Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act, it's my understanding
that those advisory groups are being formed by the State. Can you further clarify
how that actually works here should the department choose to go down that path
of getting, or choosing to look at what kind of impact it would have on small
businesses?
MS. MELLON-LACEY: Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey.
Yes, the State has an advisory group, and the recommendation is that counties
also form advisory groups to address these issues, which was what was done
previously.
CHR. INABA: Okay, so it wasn't a State—it wasn't part of the State. It was the
County group.
MS. MELLON-LACEY: That was not the State group, no. County group,yes.
CHR. INABA: How many people sat on that advisory group?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: I can't remember.
CHR. INABA: Okay. Council Member Kagiwada brought up in one of these
recommendations, under No. 3, not wanting to split the outreach responsibilities
for implementation of this bill. So is it the intention of DEM that you folks take it
on completely or that OSCER do it?
MR. KAWAGUCHI: It will be shared with OSCER. But since this bill would
fall under DEM, we just thought that it would be DEM working with OSCER,
R&D, different departments, working with Council, businesses.
CHR. INABA: The recommendation is to not split outreach responsibilities
between two departments, DEM and OSCER. So who is in charge of the outreach
in your folks' minds?
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Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
MR. KAWAGUCHI: It would be DEM.
CHR. INABA: Okay. All right. And then, we just got a communication printed
from the Department of Liquor Control, Communication 482.21. And we have
somebody joining us from Liquor Control. Brandon, if you could approach. This
was received yesterday. It's a short letter stating that"the County of Hawaii
Department of Liquor Control would consider reusable cup service for its large
events, which can be made from reusable clear plastics. However, the inclusion
of subsection (d) of section 3 which prohibits plastics, may prohibit the use of
reusable clear plastic service from being introduced to this County." Can you
please further elaborate and try and get us to understand? It's a two-sentence
memo that I wanted to have an understanding of since the department wanted to
submit some type of letter regarding this bill.
(Note: At this time, Liquor Control Administrative Officer Brandon
Gonzalez, Liquor Control Department, came forward to address the
members of the Council.)
MR. GONZALEZ: Good afternoon, Chair Inaba and members of the Council.
Brandon Gonzalez, Liquor Control Administrative Officer from the Department
of Liquor Control. Essentially, we were asked to submit written testimony to just
kind of describe how the proposed bill may impact our industry and the
businesses in our industry, and that's what we did. So we're just here really to
help you folks have confidence that whatever decisions you make, you guys are
making it knowingly, intelligently, and with all the information you need to make
a decision. So I'm just here to answer questions further.
CHR. INABA: So does the department have a stance on this bill?
MR. GONZALEZ: No, we do not.
CHR. INABA: Okay. With that then, looking at this letter, it was brought up
again regarding the 45-day window. I think legally, I consulted Corporation
Counsel for court proceedings, Monday was allowable, but common sense tells us
you guys should have gotten this in on Wednesday of last week since the Mayor
had announced weeks prior that we wouldn't be open as a County on Friday.
I think some of the financial and staffing considerations considered in this letter
are not accurate. But ultimately, there's also concerns about rulemaking. This
body sets policy for the County, and you folks go ahead and make your rules to
administer that policy. We don't do it in the opposite form and wait for you folks
to make rules. We set the policy. And I think that's what's about to be done
today. So we're going to take a roll call vote on Bill 83 at second and final
reading.
Page 27
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Vote on Bill 83: The motion to pass Bill 83, Draft 2, as amended to Draft 3,
Draft 3 on second and final reading was carried by the following
(Adopted) roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of
RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions.
Res. 384-25: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT TO AWARD FOUR GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS
ADDRESSING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Allows for grant awards to Ho`omalu at Waikoloa LP ($3,000,000) for the
development of affordable multi-family housing, Housing and Land Enterprise of
Hawaii County ($300,000) for the development of affordable single-family
housing, Hawaiian Community Assets Inc ($4,100,000) for the acquisition of
property, and Hawaii Community Lending Inc ($790,100) for financial assistance
for homeownership through deferred-payment loans.
Reference: Comm. 601
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Approve: FC-108
(Note: Comm. 601.2, from Housing Administrator Kehaulani M. Costa dated
November 25, 2025, transmitting information regarding Res. 384-25, was
circulated.)
Vote on Res. 384-25: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 384-25 and Finance
(Adopted) Committee Report No. 108. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz
and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 28
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Res. 400-25: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO
ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR LEASE AGREEMENT FOR MAILING
SYSTEM EQUIPMENT TO BE USED BY THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY
CLERK
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate
annual cost of$10,000, to be used by the department's Support Services Division.
Reference: Comm. 626
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Waived: FC
Vote on Res. 400-25: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 400-25. Seconded by
(Adopted) Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 401-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES FOR THE 2025 MAGIC OF THE SEASONS
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE EVENT
Transfers $500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Culture
and Education Other Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 627
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
Vote on Res. 401-25: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 401-25. Seconded
(Adopted) by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 29
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Res. 402-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO PETFIX
SPAY AND NEUTER FOR ITS SPAY AND NEUTER CLINICS IN RURAL
COUNCIL DISTRICT 5
Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Research and Development,
Business Development account.
Reference: Comm. 628
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
Vote on Res. 402-25: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 402-25. Seconded
(Adopted) by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 403-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO NO NA
`OPIO TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR THE NA HOA CUP
TOURNAMENT
Transfers $10,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation,
Administration Other Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 629
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
Vote on Res. 403-25: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 403-25. Seconded
(Adopted) by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 30
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Res. 404-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE FOOD
BASKET INC. FOR ITS KOKUA HARVEST FRUIT STANDS IN COUNCIL
DISTRICT 9
Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Research and Development,
Agriculture Other Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 630
Intr. by: Council Member Hustace
Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 404-25. Seconded by
Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace.
MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Just appreciate my colleagues'
consideration on this resolution supporting The Food Basket and their K6kua
Harvest as they push out in the community and support food efforts, food
insecurity, and really providing locally sourced fruits and vegetables (inaudible)
community. So thank you for your consideration.
CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 404-25,
please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 404-25: The motion to adopt Res. 404-25 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for
ORDINANCES Ordinances (First Reading).
(FIRST READING):
Page 31
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 63: AMENDS CHAPTER 25, ARTICLE 5, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE
(Draft 2) 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO DWELLINGS
Permits residential dwellings within the industrial-commercial mixed use (MCX)
zoning district.
Reference: Comm. 333.7
Intr. by: Council Member Onishi
Approve: PCPLUED-8
Postponed: October 22 and November 19, 2025
(Note: There is a motion by Council Member Onishi, seconded by Council
Member Hustace, to pass Bill 63, as amended, on first reading.)
; and
Comm. 333.8: From Council Member Dennis Onishi, dated November 17, 2025, transmitting a
proposed amendment to Bill 63, Draft 2.
(Note: Comm. 333.9, from Kona Community Development Plan Action
Committee Chair Charles Young dated October 17, 2025, transmitting testimony
regarding Bill 63, Draft 2, was circulated.)
Motion to Postpone: Mr. Onishi moved to postpone Bill 63, Draft 2, to
January 7, 2026. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. INABA: Discussion on the postponement? Seeing none, I believe we'll be
ready with amendments at that one. So all those in favor of postponing Bill 63,
Draft 2, to the January 7 h Council meeting,please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to postpone Bill 63, Draft 2, to January 7,
Postpone: 2026, was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 32
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 105: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the Fund Balance from Previous Year account
($16,515,493.51) and appropriates the same to the Housing Production account.
Reference: Comm. 602
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Approve: FC-109
(Note: Comm. 602.1, from Housing Administrator Kehaulani M. Costa dated
November 25, 2025, transmitting information regarding Bill 105, was circulated.)
Vote on Bill 105: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 105 on first reading and
(Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 109. Seconded by
Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Bill 106: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —Emergency Rental Assistance
Program COVID-19 (Emergency Rental Assistance 2 Pass Through) account
($1,494,623.34) and appropriates the same to the Emergency Rental Assistance
Program COVID-19 (Emergency Rental Assistance 2 Pass Through) account.
Reference: Comm. 603
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Approve: FC-110
Vote on Bill 106: Ms. Kagiwada moved to pass Bill 106 on first reading and
(Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 110. Seconded by
Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 33
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 107: AMENDS CHAPTER 17 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016
EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE FIRE CODE
Adopts the State Fire Code as the County Fire Code; and adds administrative
procedures relating to fire code enforcement, including permits, reviews, and
inspections.
Reference: Comm. 604
Intr. by: Council Member Hustace (B/R)
Approve: PCPWMT-8
(Note: Comm. 604.1, from Council Member Heather L. Kimball dated
December 2, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 107, was
circulated.)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 107 on first reading and
adopt Policy Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit
Committee Report No. 8. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada.
Motion to Postpone: Mr. Hustace moved to postpone Bill 107 to December 17,
2025. Seconded by Ms. Villegas.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace.
MR. HUSTACE: Thanks, Chair. It just needs a little more time for review.
CHR. INABA: All right. On the postponement? Seeing no further discussion,
all those in favor of postponing Bill 107 to the December 17'h Council meeting,
please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to postpone Bill 107 to December 17, 2025,
Postpone: was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of
THE DAY the Day (Second or Final Reading).
(SECOND OR
FINAL READING): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.)
Page 34
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 89: AMENDS CHAPTER 7, ARTICLE 1, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE
(Draft 2) 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT
OF THE CIVIL DEFENSE ADMINISTRATOR
Adds a new section requiring the Civil Defense Administrator have a minimum of
three years of responsible administrative experience in emergency management,
disaster planning, homeland security, or public safety services management. In
the event of a vacancy, the Mayor may convene a selection advisory panel
consisting of the Fire Chief and Chief of Police to evaluate qualified applicants.
Reference: Comm. 514.2
Intr. by: Council Member Kierkiewicz
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 89, Draft 2, on second
and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace.
CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Just looking for everyone's continued support
to ensure that our Civil Defense Administrator has all the necessary experience
and expertise to lead our County during times of emergency. And I did have a
chance to just verify with our Corporation Counsel Schoen that the way the bill is
currently written will not trigger any kind of Sunshine Law violation. So we're
good to proceed as is. Thank you for your support. I yield.
CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Bill 89, Draft 2, at
second and final reading,please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 89: The motion to pass Bill 89, Draft 2, on second and final
Draft 2 reading was carried by the following voice vote:
(Adopted)
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 35
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 97: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —State Homeland Security Program
Fiscal Year 2021 account($2,189.48); and appropriates the same to the State
Homeland Security Program Fiscal Year 2021 account, for a total appropriation of
$622,189.48. Funds will be used to support the waste-water bio-hazard mitigation
proj ect.
Reference: Comm. 575
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 97: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 97 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Bill 98: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-50, AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 6 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION,
AS AMENDED), RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS
Delays the effective date of Ordinance No. 25-50, relating to transient
accommodations, until July 1, 2026.
Reference: Comm. 578
Intr. by: Council Member Kimball
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 98: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 98 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 36
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 99: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —Bipartisan Infrastruct Law Coastal
Zone Management Habitat Protection and Restoration account($1,901,521); and
appropriates the same to the Bipartisan Infrastruct Law Coastal Zone Management
Habitat Protection and Restoration account. Funds would be used to restore
eleven and a half acres of deforested land in Puapua`a Iki in North Kona.
Reference: Comm. 586
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 99: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 99 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Bill 100: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the State Grants —SS4A-County of Hawaii Smart and
Safe Intersection Demonstration Project account($840,000); and appropriates the
same to the SS4A-County of Hawaii Smart and Safe Intersection Demonstration
Project account.
Reference: Comm. 587
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 100: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 100 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 37
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
Bill 102: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING
JUNE 30, 2026
Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —County of Hawaii Smart and Safe
Intersection Demonstration Project account($3,360,000); and appropriates the
same to the County of Hawaii Smart and Safe Intersection Demonstration Project
account.
Reference: Comm. 590
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 102: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 102 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Bill 104: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING
JUNE 30, 2026
Increases revenues in the Federal Grants —Traffic Safety Training Project Grant
account($18,440); and appropriates the same to the Traffic Safety Training Project
account. Funds will be used by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to assist
with travel expenses for conferences, trainings, and meetings related to impaired
driving and effective prosecution of impaired driving offenses.
Reference: Comm. 594
Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
First Reading: November 19, 2025
Vote on Bill 104: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 104 on second and final
(Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas,
and Chair Inaba—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
Page 38
Hawaii County Council-28 December 3,2025
OTHER The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Other
BUSINESS: Business.
(There were none.)
ANNOUNCE- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
MENTS: Announcements.
(Note: At this time, Council Members made announcements regarding
community events, activities, and other unofficial business. In addition, a
moment of silence was observed for the passing of Steve Hirakami, former
principal of the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences Public Charter
School.)
ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting at 1:02 p.m.
MENT:
Council Approval: MAR 0 4 2026
LERK
JH/dg
Page 39