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A Look Back at February
February 13: YDHI's Legislative Committee met 2/13 and 2/27 and recommended to the board that we support eight bills, all of which the board agreed to support. Two have died in the legislature, but the following six can still become law:
SB793, which would repeal the exemption of persons with disabilities from minimum wage requirements.
HB1105, which would require the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaiʻi Candidate Advisory Council to present candidates for the Board of Regents who reflect the diverse student population, counties, and higher education-related stakeholders.
HB443, which would require the Department of Education to conduct a comprehensive cost analysis of the Department's food services and student meals programs to, in part, increase the use of locally-grown agricultural products.
SB263, which would transfer oversight of the "Made in Hawaii" program as it relates to manufactured products to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; would place the "Grown in Hawaii with Aloha" program under the management of the Department of Agriculture; and would transfer ownership of the "Made in Hawaii with Aloha" Trademark from the Department of Agriculture to the Hawaiʻi Technology Development Corporation.
SB 742, which would require each county police department to collect certain data regarding police stops, uses of force, and arrests, and submit to the legislature annual reports.
HB 1176, which would establish a state job corps program within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to help address the unemployment impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and support economic diversification. YDHI submitted testimony in support of this bill, and it has passed all its committees in the House and will be crossing over to the Senate!
February 23: YDHI's Community Impact Committee met and set its three priorities based on a survey of committee members: (1) food banks and food security, (2) education, and (3) environmental stewardship. Because of the pandemic, for now the committee will be directing members to focus on finding community service opportunities in their areas.
February 24: YDHI President Trish La Chica and YDHI National Committeewoman Radiant Cordero attended the second meeting of the Young Democrats of America's Biden-Harris Task Force to discuss policy priorities that will be transmitted to the Biden-Harris administration. The Task Force is also helping to create an Office for Young Americans in the White House to bring young people to the table. More info: https://www.youthingov.org/
A Look Ahead to March
March 13: The Democratic National Committee is offering a free six-week "Train the Trainer" program designed to teach you the ins and outs of grassroots campaigning. Live sessions will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-3 PM HST, but you can instead watch the recorded programs at your convenience if those times don't work for you. You must sign up here by Saturday, March 13 and the course runs from March 16 to April 22.
March 20: The YDHI Legislative Committee will meet at 7 PM. The Legislative Committee researches legislation, communicates with elected officials, drafts testimony on behalf of YDHI, and advances our legislative priorities. Join it by emailing Cameron Deptula (deptula@berkeley.edu) or Kaleo Chang (chang269@mail.chapman.edu). Here's a screen grab of a recent Legislative Committee meeting.
March 30: The YDHI Community Impact Committee will meet at 7 PM. The Community Impact Committee is dedicated to volunteering with organizations serving various communities across the state, hosting voter registration drives, and participating in local events for outreach. Join it by emailing Radiant Cordero (radiant.cordero@gmail.com) or Perry Arrasmith (perry.arrasmith@gmail.com).