FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2022 Senate Communications: Jacob Aki 808-586-6291 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi (District 8 – Kauaʻi and Niʻihau) and the Kauaʻi House delegation – Representatives Nadine Nakamura, Dee Morikawa, and James Kunane Tokioka – have secured over $78,691,000 in capital improvement projects (CIP)…
Legislative Accomplishments
Keeping Hawai'i Strong 2022 Legislative Highlights

Strengthening Kaua'i (HB1600)
$200 million capital investment in our infrastructure, on to our roads, at our schools, at our hospitals, in our playgrounds and parks, across our island. This includes improvements for the Kauaʻi Veterans Memorial Hospital, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital, Kōloa Elementary, Kauaʻi High School, Hanalei bridge, Wailua bridge, Lumahai hillside stabilization, Vidinha Stadium, Hanapēpē Stadium, Nāwiliwili Harbor, Port Allen Harbor, Kikiaola Harbor, Waimea Canyon State Park Complex, Polihale State Park, Wailua-Kapaʻa water systems, road widening, signals and guardrails.

Amplifying Teacher Recruitment (HB 1600)
$32.5 million to address teacher shortages at the University of Hawaiʻi as well as statewide, focusing on hard-to-staff areas, to recruit and retain special education teachers and to provide Hawaiian language immersion programs

Multiplying Housing for Native Hawaiians (HB 2511)
$600 million – Unprecedented funding for native Hawaiian housing and programs, at Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), and Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

Expanding Critical Health Services (HB1600)
New positions to increase outpatient Adult Mental Health and Family Health Services, and additional funding for emergency medical services.

Increasing Minimum Wages
(HB 2510)
Increased Hawai’i’s minimum wage to $18 an hour within six years and made permanent the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Enhancing Food Resiliency
(HB 1600)
$6 million to create a new Kekaha Agriculture Innovation Center for Waimea High School’s Farm to School program to boost fresh local products for school lunches and food security on Kaua’i.
Ohana Pacific Foundation
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 26, 2021 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Kauai Economic Opportunity, Incorporated
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Rockfall and Flood Mitigation, Statewide
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, Emergency Room Modernization
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Aha Hui E Kala
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Renovate CT Scan Room, SMMH, Kauai
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Water System Improvements, Kauai
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 14, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…
Senate Committee on Ways and Means Passes Senate Draft of the State Budget
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 7, 2022 Senate Communications: Jacob Aki 808-586-6291 Honolulu, Hawai’i– The Senate Committee on Ways and Means today amended and passed HB1600, the state’s supplemental operating budget for fiscal years 2022-2023 (FY23). With the rebounding of the State’s economy and significant increases in tax revenues, the Senate…
State Parks Hazard Mitigation Improvements, Statewide
Executive Chambers – Honolulu DAVID Y. IGE – GOVERNOR April 4, 2022 The Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate Thirty-First State Legislature State Capitol, Room 409 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813 Aloha Senator Kouchi: I am pleased to let you know that my administration has released funding for the following Capital…