HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s annual legislative session began Wednesday with lawmakers expressing deep concern about potential federal budget cuts and reacting to news that the attorney general will investigate a four-year-old bribery allegation.

Lawmakers described the mood as uncertain due to unpredictable politics in Washington and the looming investigation by the attorney general.

From the first speeches, Washington was top of mind for legislators.

“Everything that was a priority last year is this year, and we are still dealing with the uncertainty of Washington, D.C.,” said Senate President Ronald Kouchi during opening remarks.

“We’ve been divided by the American political system,” said Senate Minority Leader Brenton Awa. “If we can’t put our differences aside for simple dialogue, it shouldn’t matter if you’re red, white, blue, mahu. Recognize we are few and unless your name is (MMA fighter) Max Holloway, choosing to fight each other will only keep you standing for so long.”

House Speaker Nadine Nakamura said their work during the interim was influenced by decisions made by the federal government.

“As we go through the next several months, we’re going to be thrown all other, many other crazy ideas that some will, you know, some be implemented and some will not. So it’s a very fluid situation,” she said.

“Every week the president does something crazy, and then it’s state legislatures that sometimes have to clean up the mess,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.

Democrats said they have saved in the budget for an uncertain future.

All lawmakers agreed that the cost of living was issue number one, while Republicans said upcoming state tax breaks should not be sacrificed.

“We as a legislature need to take a critical look at our budgets, and our government spending before asking people to give up more of their hard-earned paychecks. We made a promise and we should keep it,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Lauren Matsumoto.

Rep. Chris Todd, chair of the House Finance Committee, said any legislation that passes should not place “an additional burden on low- and middle-income families that can already not afford to pay more or are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Attorney general investigation welcomed

The attorney general announced Tuesday that she would investigate an allegation that an unnamed lawmaker in 2022 accepted $35,000 in a bag.

Leaders welcomed the investigation after being pressured to investigate themselves.

“We will definitely cooperate. I think this is a dark cloud over the legislature,” Nakamura said.

Keohokalole said the attorney general’s office has the proper resources for the investigation. “They have investigators. They have prosecutors in a special unit that’s tasked to do this type of work, but also, if there is a crime, she can actually file the indictment,” he said.

Awa pointed out it was unlikely the culprit was Republican, and pointed out he’d brought a polygraph machine on the desk next to him.

Lawmakers hope they can emerge from this wait-and-see position before the legislature ends in May.

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Hundreds of motorists across the Hawaiian Islands are outfitting their vehicles with dashcams, capturing imagery of the roadways in service to the state transportation agency.

Hawaii residents and businesses are participating in the Eyes on the Road project, a partnership among the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Bentley Systems and the University of Hawaii.

The initiative is distributing roughly 1,000 NextBase dashcams to motorists who will spend the next year capturing imagery data as they drive state roads, identifying cracking pavement, potholes, debris, active work zones and more. The data is analyzed by machine learning and AI technology created by Blyncsy, a subsidiary of Bentley Systems, which turns it into actionable information used by the transportation officials.

“The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency of our asset management processes so we aren’t dependent on public complaints or availability of inspectors to address issues that occur outside of the regular maintenance schedules,” Shelly Kunishige, communications manager for the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT), said in an email.

Hawaii DOT began its relationship with Blyncsy in 2022 using cameras primarily installed on DOT fleet vehicles. Eyes on the Road, involving the participation of privately owned vehicles, launched earlier this month.

“Eyes on the Road will expand the image collection capabilities and will help us leverage the machine learning,” Kunishige said.

Dashcams are currently being distributed to participating motorists, Kunishige said. Data collected through Eyes on the Road is anonymized; and, she said, in aggregate, will provide real-time situational awareness on road conditions and the health of safety assets like guardrails. The University of Hawaii at Mānoa College of Engineering is handling signup, distribution, and support services for the cameras.

“Identifying what needs to be repaired tells you that there might be an area in disrepair,” Mark Pittman, Bentley Systems senior director of transportation AI and Blyncsy founder, said. “Is there someone hitting that guardrail over and over again? Is there something from an engineering perspective that you need to do to fix that?”

Pittman characterized the crowdsourced nature of the project as a way to allow drivers to play a part in the maintenance of their roadways.

“That wear and tear that’s happening to your vehicle is something you can now do something about,” Pittman said, describing the relationship between the state DOT and drivers as “symbiotic.”

Blyncsy has also partnered with state transportation departments in Utah and New Mexico, work which centers on the collection of visual data and use of machine learning to analyze it for safety and maintenance concerns.

“So we analyze those images with AI. And we extrapolate certain insights,” Pittman told Government Technology in November 2024, describing the imagery intelligence as the “secret sauce” and the source of these insights.

A study just released by the personal finance website WalletHub rated Hawaii the worst state in the U.S. in which to drive.

The same study found Vermont the best state to drive in, followed by Iowa, with Kansas, Nebraska and Indiana rounding out its top five.

Joining the Aloha State in WalletHub’s worst five states for driving, from Nos. 46 to 49, respectively, are Maryland, California, Montana and Washington.

Listed first in its panel of nine experts conducting the studies is Panos Prevedouros, past chairman and professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

According to WalletHub, its commissioned experts compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics of a copacetic commute, including ownership and maintenance costs of a street-legal, road-worthy automobile, average gas prices, rush-hour traffic congestion, and road quality.

One category in which the 50th state shined was in safety — checking in at No. 4, trailing only Alaska, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“I’m encouraged by the fact that we rank No. 4, as far as safety is concerned,” Reed Mahuna, Hawaii Police Department interim chief, said Tuesday. “I’m not exactly sure (of) their methodology.”

Hawaii found itself 39th on the list in the traffic and infrastructure category, which takes into account time spent commuting as well as the quality of the roads themselves. Asked if the neighbor island roads hurt the state in that regard, Mahuna replied, “It depends on what they mean by infrastructure.”

“If you look at Oahu, certainly they have more infrastructure as far as traffic is concerned, freeways and what not,” he said. “But the capacity of the infrastructure has been exceeded by the amount of vehicles, if you look at how bad traffic is on Oahu.

“So, while it’s true, if you look at the neighbor islands, we don’t have freeways, and we have less infrastructure — but we also have a lot less vehicles, so the traffic isn’t quite as bad.”

Hawaii ranked 49th out of the 50 states in ownership and maintenance costs of an automobile, with California the only state more expensive in that regard.

“Those looking for a new or replacement car need to research their next purchase,” Prevedouros said in a statement. “Sources like Edmund’s and Consumer Reports are free of hype and provide reliable data on vehicle features, performance, long-term costs, and (miles per gallon). Buyers should visit a dealer well-informed and always test a few comparable models before committing to a purchase. They should ignore the so called ‘dealer pressure.’ If they already own an expensive vehicle to run, then they can consider a swap with a low-running-cost model at a dealer, Carvana, etc.”

In addition, those needing vehicle repairs may also find wait lists and high prices. The WalletHub study ranks Hawaii No. 50 in auto repair shops per capita and No. 46 in auto maintenance costs. The 50th state also ranked No. 49 in commercial car washes per capita, with Vermont — the top overall state for driving in this study — being the only state with fewer car washes, population-wise.

The study ranked Hawaii with the second-highest gasoline prices, with California taking No. 50. That, however, is refuted by the American Automobile Association’s prices by state published Tuesday.

AAA lists the average price for a gallon of regular in Hawaii, at $4.41 per gallon — 21 cents a gallon higher than California, which ranked No. 49 at $4.20 per gallon, and $1.59 a gallon higher than the national average of $2.82 per gallon. Nineteen states boasted regular gas at less than $3 per gallon, with Oklahoma taking the top spot at $2.31 per gallon — $2.10 per gallon cheaper than Hawaii.

Mahuna noted the metrics responsible for Hawaii’s presence at the bottom of WalletHub’s list “appear to be, in some ways, a result of the cost of living.”

“You know, vehicles are more expensive here; they’re expensive to ship,” he said. “Interisland shipping of a car is upwards of $800 dollars now. If you find a good deal on a car on Oahu, it’s expensive to ship.

“And getting your car fixed? We have a lot of rural areas where there are no good shops to get your vehicle fixed. I can understand that.”

According to WalletHub, data used to create their ranking were collected as of Dec. 19 from: U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Energy, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Insurance Crime Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Prediction Center, American Automobile Association, The Road Information Program, Federal Highway Administration, State Farm, QuinStreet Insurance Agency, EverQuote, the Insurance Information Institute and WalletHub research.

The Tribune-Herald also reached out to the state Department of Transportation, which didn’t reply in time for this story.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.