Civil Liberties

HB522 HD1: Proposed reform would protect freedom to communicate during crises

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii March 16, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs on March 17, 2023. ___________ March 17, 2023 3:02 p.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 225 To: Senate Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs

SB926 SD1: ‘Reasonable care’ should be enough to cross the street

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii March 16, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the ouse Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs on March 16, 2023. ___________ March 16, 2023 2 p.m. Conference Room 325 and Via Videoconference To: House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Rep. David

SB875 SD1: Added safeguard makes property-seizure bill less bad, but it’s still worrisome

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii March 14, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce on March 14, 2023. __________ March 14, 2023 2 p.m. Conference Room 329 and via videoconference To: House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce Rep. Mark

HB522 HD1: Emergencies do not justify blocking electronic communications

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 23, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs on Feb. 24, 2023. ___________ February 24, 2023 2 p.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 325 To: House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Rep. David A. Tarnas

SB767: Measure would help ensure open records during times of crisis

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 8, 2023

The following testimony was presented Feb. 10, 2023, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. ___________ February 10, 2022 9:35 a.m. Conference Room 016 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE To: Senate Committee on Judiciary Senator Karl Rhoads, Chair Senator Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

SB945: Cryptocurrency bill would create uncertainty

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 7, 2023

The following testimony was presented Feb. 9, 2023, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection. ___________ February 9, 2023 9:30 a.m. Conference Room 219 and Videoconference To: Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, Chair Sen. Carol Fukunaga, Vice

Asset forfeiture reform long overdue in Hawaii

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 1, 2023

The following testimony was presented Feb. 2, 2023, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. ___________ Feb. 2, 2022 10 a.m. Via Videoconference Conference Room 016 To: Senate Committee on Judiciary Senator Karl Rhoads, Chair Senator Mike Gabbard, Vice

Don’t let emergency orders become the norm

Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. January 30, 2023

Gov. Josh Green promised strong action to address housing during his first State of the State address this week, and clearly he is trying to deliver. At one point during his speech, he even signed an emergency proclamation to create housing for the homeless. Few would argue with the good

‘Economic freedom’ took hit in 2020, but it could be worse, and we can improve

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii October 10, 2022

Hawaii legislators take note: If you want prosperity, less conflict and stronger human rights, push for greater economic freedom The Fraser Institute’s latest “economic freedom” report is out and it unfortunately shows that the United States was less free in 2020 than it was in 2019. The data isn’t exactly fresh, but it’s the

Emergency orders our newest emergency

Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. July 30, 2022

Hawaii desperately needs to fix some of the problems that have been bedeviling us for so long, such as the housing crisis and shortage of healthcare personnel. But there is a right way to do so and a wrong way. The wrong way is for the governor to declare an emergency