Since 2024 the Senate CPN Committee has implemented a 96-hour advanced hearing notice, expanding on the existing Rules of the Senate that a hearing must be posted 72 hours before a committee convenes. The CPN Committee is looking for feedback on this pilot program. These changes would only impact CPN-lead hearings.
Link to the survey
Hearing Notice
Briefing Materials
Live Stream
On Friday, November 8, 2024, the Senate Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection, Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism held an informational briefing to receive an update from Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) regarding their Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which was ordered by the Public Utilities Commission on September 13, 2024, and is due on January 10, 2025.
HECO highlighted two initiatives during their presentation:
| | High-resolution video cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) for early wildfire detection. AI cameras provide real-time video feeds, which are available to the public. To view the live camera feeds, visit: https://alertwest.live/cameras |
| | Weather stations in wildfire-prone areas to monitor critical environmental conditions, including wind, temperature, and humidity. This network, designed to improve predictions and responses to fire weather, can be viewed here: https://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/mesomap.cgi?state=HI&rawsflag=3 |
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, the Senate Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and on Agriculture and Environment held an informational briefing with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to explain to the committees and the public all action taken to hold businesses or individuals accountable for propagating the spread of dangerous invasive pests, such as LFA in the state.
Hearing notice
Live stream
On Thursday, April 18, 2024, the Senate Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs held an informational briefing to receive an update from the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) regarding their plans to address wildfire risk mitigation.
Hearing notice
Live stream
Presentation Materials
On Thursday, February 1, 2024, the Senate Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture and Environment held an informational briefing to hear from the Department of Health, Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation on the implementation of Act 263 (2023), including the status of its administrative rules making process. The committees also received updates from the Department of the Attorney General, and from Gillian Schauer, Executive Director of the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), on national trends in regulating hemp and cannabinoids.
A supplemental, prerecorded interview with Steven Crowley of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission was provided to the committee by the Department of the Attorney General and referenced during its presentation. Click here to view the video..
Briefing Materials
Effective upon the 2024 legislative session:
| | CPN hearing notices will be publicly posted 96 hours (4 days) before the scheduled hearing. |
| | Written testimony received up to 48 hours before the specified start time indicated on the hearing notice will be considered timely. |
| | Timely testimony will be posted on the legislature’s website 24 hours prior to the hearing. |
On October 2nd, 2023, CPN Chair, Senator Keohokalole, issued a letter addressed to Director Nadine Ando of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) requesting that the Department respond to concerns that arose during the CPN Committee info briefing held in Lahiana, Maui on September 28th, 2023. You can view the DCCA's response letter here.
09-28-23 CPN Informational Briefing Live Stream
09-28-23 CPN Informational Briefing Notice