Hawaii

Hawaii tax credits scrutinized by state lawmakers | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

11 months ago

March 24, 2025

Hawaii tax credits scrutinized by state lawmakers | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii lawmakers have been busy this year assessing whether there should be more or fewer ways to earn state income tax credits, a year after approving historic tax cuts that ramp up through 2031.

At least two dozen bills were introduced this year to establish new tax credits, alter existing ones and abolish others.

Most bills were rather quickly ignored or rejected, though a few still pending would benefit family caregivers, help start hog farms and increase credits for film productions.

The longer list of shelved bills would have established new tax credits for things including hurricane-resistant safe rooms in homes, aquaculture investments, cesspool replacements, telework, electric garbage truck purchases and water delivery service.

There also were rejected bills that would have given credits to residents who pay the state’s hotel room tax, to Hawaii National Guard retirees, to businesses that pay public transportation costs for employees, and to businesses with certain “food and beverage supply chain costs.”

Perhaps the most heavily contested piece of tax credit legislation this year has been House Bill 1369, introduced by Rep. Kyle Yamashita, chair of the House Finance Committee, in an effort to explore eliminating or phasing out many existing tax credits, deductions and exemptions.

Broad review

HB 1369 aims to simplify the state tax system and enhance revenue sustainability by getting rid of close to 20 tax breaks.

Many companies and organizations oppose the bill, which received 351 pages of written testimony for a Feb. 24 hearing. The committee then advanced the measure to the 51-member House of Representatives, where a vote four days later was 40-7 to send the bill to the Senate for consideration.

Among things slated for elimination under the original version of the bill were credits for renewable energy technologies, including rooftop solar systems, and film productions.

The bill also proposed to repeal state general excise tax exemptions for industries and operations including petroleum refiners, independent sugar cane producers, business conducted in an enterprise zone and aircraft maintenance.

Yamashita (D, Pukalani-Makawao-Ulupalakua) said at the outset of the hearing that his aim is to look at the list of tax benefits, most of which were identified by the state auditor for possible repeal, and determine whether they are achieving their intended purposes. Yamashita said he added the film and renewable energy tax credit programs — the two biggest tax credits promoting economic activity — on top of the auditor’s list for review.

“In general, where I’d like to see us move to is to use the tax code primarily to bring money in,” he said, adding that it may be better to provide grants or appropriations, subject to oversight and measurement, as incentives for certain things.

The nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawaii for years has espoused a similar view, calling tax credits the expenditure of public money “out the back door” that can be hard to quantify before claims are submitted and approved.

“If, in fact, these dollars were subject to the appropriation process, would taxpayers be as generous about the expenditure of these funds when we need money to support victims of natural disasters like the Maui wildfires, there isn’t enough money for social service programs, or our state hospitals are on the verge of collapse?” the foundation said in written testimony on multiple tax credit bills.

Focus on film

Much of the opposing testimony on HB 1369 was concentrated on the film tax credit program, which has existed since 1997 and currently has a $50 million cap for credits after the industry claimed a record $68 million in credits in 2022. Productions, which can include movies, TV shows and commercials, are eligible for credits as a partial rebate on certain spending, and can receive payment for credits exceeding tax liability.

The film tax credit program has long been contentious over whether a financial incentive, or how much of an incentive, is needed to draw film productions to Hawaii, where natural attractions exist.

James Tokioka, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which oversees the film tax credit program, said in written testimony that the program is crucial to attract more industry productions after reductions due to the coronavirus pandemic and industry strikes.

“Reducing the program’s impact would collapse the ability to attract new productions, develop our workforce and justify the demand for additional studio infrastructure investment,” he said. “If the incentive is eliminated, so too will the jobs and livelihoods of our talented crew and acting pool.”

The Motion Picture Association estimates that more than $260 million is paid annually in wages to people working on film, television and streaming produc- tions in Hawaii, and said in written testimony that repealing the tax credit program puts those jobs at risk.

Some supporters of the program encouraged raising the credit cap, including Sally “Kalei” Davis, who said she has worked in Hawaii’s film industry for 40 years. Davis suggested raising the cap to $100 million to avoid having shows depicting Hawaii being filmed in New Zealand or Atlanta.

“If this (bill) passes, it will be the nail in coffin for our Hawaii Film Industry!” Davis said in written testimony. “Why would anyone want that?”

The House Finance Committee amended the bill to exclude the film tax credit from being repealed.

At least a half-dozen other bills were introduced this year to alter the film tax credit program, mostly by increasing benefits, and one is still being considered for enactment.

Senate Bill 732 originally proposed to raise the $50 million annual cap to $60 million. Subsequent drafts don’t specify an increase amount. The Senate passed the bill unanimously March 4, and the measure is pending in the House.

Other additions

A few bills also still pending would provide tax credits for other things.

One of these, HB 701, would establish a tax credit for unpaid family caregivers to essentially recover up to $5,000 in annual caregiving expenses. The bill cited a 2023 AARP report that found 154,000 Hawaii residents provide unpaid caregiving services for a loved one.

The state Department of Taxation estimated that such a credit could reduce state tax collections by $397 million annually.

Another pending bill would provide tax credits on 50% of an investment to convert a dairy farm into a hog farm.

Supporters of this measure, SB 328, included DBEDT and the Hawaii Farm Bureau but no one seeking to use the proposed credit, capped at $1 million. The state Department of Agriculture suggested broadening the credit so it could apply to the transformation of farms and ranches in general.

The Tax Foundation of Hawaii was more critical in its written testimony that said, “The bill appears to be too narrow to be an industry incentive, and smells more like a benefit to a specific taxpayer. If so, the law would be unfair to other taxpayers, especially those in competition with the taxpayer seeking this benefit.”

It’s not uncommon for bills to get introduced on behalf of companies or industries. One piece of legislation introduced this year was promoted by Corteva Agriscience in an effort to undo a change lawmakers made in 2024 to a tax credit for research.

The Legislature in 2024 restricted eligibility for the research tax credit, which is limited to $5 million annually, to businesses with no more than 500 employees.

Corteva has about 22,500 employees and had $16.9 billion in sales in 2024. The company has five seed crop farms in Hawaii.

HB 92 proposed to undo the tax credit’s employee condition. Corteva said in written testimony that it proposed a “fix” to include larger companies, and that 2024’s change threatens growth and sustainability of high-paying research and development jobs and innovation in Hawaii.

The bill stalled in the House after being advanced by one committee.

Because it can be difficult to determine whether a tax credit program serves a public purpose well, Yamashita took another tack this year by introducing a bill he said was aimed at exploring the issue by putting restraints on new or renewed tax credits.

This measure, HB 796, would impose an automatic five-year sunset on every income tax credit established or renewed after the end of this year, or phase out such credits over three years.

HB 796 was widely opposed by several stakeholders, including some organizations that feared it could affect income tax credits available to low-income households.

During a Feb. 24 hearing on the bill, Yamashita asked whether the state Tax Review Commission, which meets every five years, would be better able to analyze merits of existing tax credits.

The commission is expected to convene later this year, and a Tax Department official told Yamashita that the department could suggest to the commission that tax credits are an area of interest for possible review.

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Everyone Says Oahu’s Overcrowded. We Drove 20 Minutes Past Haleiwa And Found Beautiful Empty Beaches

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Everyone Says Oahu’s Overcrowded. We Drove 20 Minutes Past Haleiwa And Found Beautiful Empty Beaches

Most visitors think Oahu’s North Shore stops at Haleiwa because that is where traffic builds to pandemonium, where beach parking fills earlier than you can imagine, and where sitting in your car between the familiar lineup of surf breaks and food trucks largely defines the experience. Once people have crawled through and found a place to stand at Waimea or Sunset, the mental box gets checked, and the car points back toward Honolulu fast, as if everything worth seeing has already been seen. But it hasn’t.

Instead of turning around at Haleiwa, we continued west on Farrington Highway and watched the storefronts fall away in the rearview mirror. The line of rental cars thinned fast as the road narrowed and the mountains got closer to the pavement. On the ocean side, long stretches of sand opened up, and within a few miles, we were seeing more wind in the ironwood trees than cars on the road or people on the beach.

Most visitors leaving Haleiwa head east toward Sunset Beach and Pipeline, where traffic stacks up endlessly and parking lots overflow. We went the other way. Out toward Mokuleia, the commercial North Shore disappears fast, and what replaces it is space. There are no visitors circling for stalls and no steady lines at food trucks. You can pull over without searching for the one open spot in a packed lot, and entire sections of beach sit quietly without the usual cluster.

Dillingham Airfield and the working North Shore.

One of the first landmarks after Mokule’ia Beach (which we will write about soon) is what most people still call Dillingham Airfield, though its official name is Kawaihapai Airfield. It is owned by the U.S. Army and managed by the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation under a 50-year lease, and it has been operated as a military installation since the 1920s, with HDOT taking over management in 1962. HDOT leases 272 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and operates the single 9,000-foot runway, with the civilian side used heavily for gliders and skydiving while the Army retains first priority for air/land operations and uses the field for helicopter night-vision training.

As we drove past, it did not feel like a visitor attraction at all, even though you can spot the roadside signs for glider rides and skydiving. A small single-engine plane rolled down the runway and lifted off against the Waianae Mountains, then a glider followed, towed upward before separating and moving almost silently above the coastline. It is one of those North Shore scenes that makes you slow down without thinking about it, because it looks like real working Oahu rather than the marketed version, with runway, mountains, and open water all in the same frame and very few people around to make it feel like a production.

Camps that have been here for generations.

Close to the airfield are two oceanfront camps that rarely enter any typical Oahu visitor’s plans. The first is Camp Mokuleia, which sits along the shoreline and is owned by the Episcopal Church. If you’re not on a retreat, you can rent a campsite or tentalo on the beach. A little farther west is YMCA Camp Erdman, which opened in 1926 and is approaching its 100th anniversary, still renting oceanfront cabins and yurts to the public.

The accommodations are straightforward, with sand steps away from the doors and long views of the horizon. This is not a resort strip, and you won’t find any valet stands or infinity pools. Families gather around grills, kids move freely between cabins and the beach, while the ocean feels part of the daily backdrop more than it is an Instagram photo opportunity.

Camp Mokuleia tentalos start at $100 a night. Camp Erdman yurts and cabins range from $250-$450 per night for up to 6 guests. For context, the average vacation rental in the Mokuleia area lists above $500 a night.

The shoreline here is not known for calm, protected swimming, and currents can be strong without lifeguard towers stationed every few hundred yards. The beach also has a lot of coral, which keeps swimmers more limited than some other beaches. And that fact alone keeps casual beach traffic lighter, and it helps explain why this stretch feels so different from busier Oahu North Shore stops. The camps and the character of the water belong to the same landscape, shaped more by geography than by commercial branding.

Parking at Kaena Point State Park – Oahu

Where the pavement ends.

Eventually, Farrington Highway reaches a gravel lot where the pavement stops and a locked gate marks the entrance to the Mokuleia section of Kaena Point State Park. There is no visitor center funneling people through an entrance plaza. Instead, there is open sky, steady trade winds, and a handful of parked cars facing a dirt road that continues on foot toward the westernmost tip of Oahu, where you can meet the road that comes from the other side. This is truly a part of Oahu that most visitors never see.

Hikers follow the old railroad route for roughly 2.7 miles to Kaena Point itself, where seabirds nest behind protective fencing and monk seals are sometimes seen along the shore. The trail is exposed, hot, and largely flat, with no services and little shade, which naturally limits casual foot traffic. Consider not trying it in the middle of the day. But, standing at the end of the paved road, with the Waianae Mountains behind you and nothing but raw coastline ahead, feels less like arriving at any Oahu attraction and more like standing at the literal end of the island.

What stood out most was how little competition there was for space. There were only a few cars in the lot when we arrived, and long portions of the beach were untouched compared with the chaotic churn nearby at Haleiwa. It was a bit windy, the mountains anchored one side of the horizon, and the coastline extended westward without any indication that you were sharing it with scattered other people.

If you have been to the North Shore more than once and believe you have already seen it, have you ever kept driving past Haleiwa until the pavement runs out? It’s worth the drive.

Photo Credits: © Beat of Hawaii at Kaena Point State Park, Oahu.

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Hawaii County Weather Forecast for March 02, 2026 | Big Island Now

Published

20 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii County Weather Forecast for March 02, 2026 | Big Island Now

Photo Credit: James Grenz

Hilo

Tonight: Cloudy. Scattered showers in the evening, then isolated showers after midnight. Lows 59 to 66 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Monday: Cloudy with isolated showers. Highs 75 to 80 near the shore to around 65 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 59 to 65 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Kona

Tonight: Cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows around 69 near the shore to 45 to 52 near 5000 feet. Light winds. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy. Highs 81 to 86 near the shore to around 67 near 5000 feet. Light winds becoming west up to 10 mph in the afternoon.

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Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 69 near the shore to 44 to 51 near 5000 feet. Northwest winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Waimea

Tonight: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 68 near the shore to 53 to 59 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph increasing to up to 20 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the morning. Highs 72 to 78 near the shore to 67 to 75 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 67 near the shore to 52 to 58 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Kohala

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Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the morning. Highs 72 to 78 near the shore to 67 to 75 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 67 near the shore to 52 to 58 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

South Big Island

Tonight: Cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows around 71 near the shore to around 51 near 5000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Highs around 83 near the shore to around 64 near 5000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Lows around 70 near the shore to around 50 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph.

Puna

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Monday: Cloudy with isolated showers. Highs 75 to 80 near the shore to around 65 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 59 to 65 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Waikoloa

Tonight: Cloudy. Lows around 70 near the shore to 48 to 54 above 4000 feet. Light winds.

Monday: Cloudy. Highs around 83 near the shore to 65 to 71 above 4000 feet. Light winds becoming northwest up to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 70 near the shore to 47 to 54 above 4000 feet. North winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the east after midnight.

Synopsis

The cold front has dissipated into a trough and remains northwest of the Hawaiian Islands this evening. High pressure will build in from the north and allow the trade winds to strengthen from Monday through Wednesday. Brief passing showers will favor windward and mountain areas in the overnight to early morning hours through Wednesday and then over southeastern slopes and island interior sections from Thursday onward. Winds will weaken and veer slightly from a more east-southeast direction from Thursday on into the weekend. Shower activity will remain limited during this time period.

Short term update

The large band of high level cirrus clouds and mid level alto stratus clouds currently over the islands will continue to slowly diminish through Monday. The cold front approaching the islands has stalled and diminished into a trough just northwest of the island of Kauai.
Trade winds blow into the region and strengthen into the moderate to locally breezy range from Monday through Wednesday. A slight decrease in wind speeds and a shift from a more east- southeast direction remains in the forecast from Thursday onward as another cold front approaches the islands from the northwest, weakening and lifting the ridge north of the state. Local scale sea breeze winds will develop along terrain sheltered slopes of each island as the large scale winds weaken. Limited shower activity will prevail into next weekend with only brief showers possible.
The afternoon forecast looks good. No evening updates.

Previous discussion

Issued at 302 PM HST Sun Mar 1 2026.
Expectations for this afternoon remain on track. The boundary upstream of Kauai has made little to no forward progress today, sea breezes have struggled to establish owing to abundant high clouds, and showers southwest of Kauai and Oahu have essentially remained in place while stratiform elements peel off to the northeast. In addition, regenerating showers over Windward Oahu have dissipated in response to backing low-level flow. All told, an uneventful, cloudy, and mostly dry day across the state. Going forward, building heights over the N Central Pacific will maintain strengthening, but progressive high pressure at the surface. This in turn ensures the return of trades tonight which then become breezy during mid-week. Winds diminish slightly by late week as trades veer to ESE in advance of another round of upstream height falls. Typical trade wind weather anticipated throughout this time with showers focused windward and mauka. High clouds gradually clear from west to east Monday into Tuesday before exiting the area altogether by Wednesday.

Aviation

A weakening stationary boundary will allow for abundant high clouds and relatively light land/sea breezes to prevail across most TAF sites. This front will also allow for disorganized showers across Kauai and Oahu tonight, however confidence was on the lower end based on weather model guidance, so made use of VCSH and PROB30 where rain chances were felt to be the highest. MVFR conditions may prevail under shower activity, otherwise VFR is expected across most sites for the period.
AIRMET Tango remains in effect across the islands due to upper- level turbulence from FL200-400 due to this front, with conditions expected to improve into tomorrow as this system continues to weaken. Patchy mountain obscuration may occur due to the presence of this front, however observations and webcams suggest that the threat is not widespread enough to warrant an AIRMET at this time. Light icing is also possible in cloud layer 120-180.

Marine

Issued at 302 PM HST Sun Mar 1 2026.
A dissipated front will linger into Monday just northwest of the area. Fresh to locally strong easterly trades will build in by Tuesday as surface ridge strengthens to the north. Winds will maintain strength but veer east southeast towards the end of the week as another system approaches from the west.
Surf along north and west-facing shores will be above seasonal average as a northwest swell (310 degrees) is expected to impact through Monday. Surf should remain small though the week with a small northwest bump expected next weekend.
Surf along exposed east-facing shores will be a bit elevated due to a short-to medium-period northeast (40 degrees) swell, then decline Tuesday. However, period and choppy conditions are expected to return by Tuesday as fresh trade winds redevelop and expand upstream of the state.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain near the seasonal average into March.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

None.

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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov

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YAS Fest Returns To Kalākaua Park, March 14th

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

(BIVN) – YAS Fest, aka the Youth Art Series Festival, is returning to Kalākaua Park in Downtown Hilo.

The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center is hosting the event on Saturday, March 14th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Keiki and their families will be treated to an exciting array of performances, craft and information booths, and art activities,” a press release promoted.

From event organizers:

YAS Fest brings together local organizations dedicated to providing arts opportunities to keiki and teens from around Hawaiʻi Island. By spotlighting their activities, YAS Fest celebrates the importance of arts education for everyone.
Booths include the Hilo High School Art Club, Hawaiʻi Handweavers’ Hui, Friends of the Palace Theatre, and over a dozen more.
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Headlining the performers is HAAStile (a teen rock band from Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Sciences, directed by Trever Veilleux). Audiences will also enjoy performances by Big Wave Dance Academy, Aloha Teen Theatre, N2 Dance, Hawaii’s Volcano Circus, Prince Dance Institute, and Kona Dance and Performing Arts.
YAS Fest is made possible by support from County Council District 2 and Coldwell Banker Island Properties. EHCC also thanks KTA Super Stores, Kelsey Ito, and Lō‘ihi Studios for their contributions.
Says YAS Fest organizer Kellie Miyazu, who is EHCC’s Youth Education Director, “Last year we had around 300 visitors to the first YAS Fest. There was a lot of nice feedback from visitors, and also from the organizations who were able to network with each other and the community. We’re expecting an even more successful festival this year.”
Visitors are also encouraged to stop by the EHCC patio across the street to learn more about EHCC’s vision for the year and how community support helps keep EHCC’s unique gallery and keiki programs accessible to all.
For more information, visit EHCC online at ehcc.org, call 961-5711, or visit EHCC at 141 Kalakaua Street. Current gallery and office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday noon to 6 p.m.

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