[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6210774,"mediaKeyId","3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab","parentId",3707774,"title","Council defers vote on expanding mayor’s access to fiscal-stability fund amid oversight concerns","audioSeconds",1412,"startMs",5132000,"endMs",6544000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab&start=5132&end=6544","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab/thumbnail_5132000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6210774/Honolulu-City/Honolulu-County/Hawaii/Council-defers-vote-on-expanding-mayors-access-to-fiscal-stability-fund-amid-oversight-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6210774-96102f63707eb2c6407889e0f69510e1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448679&Signature=FZRLMtSJLxO8T6n~wI3LhSbeJYZ68NjL5PhGVNbV9ChPDwXVy34xc6e8MLcj0irNvtQqErUeTSx1UBEKMbMqT03bTAg~M8tsacoTu4CTEl1Qtvc3PQjuemjgrYHnJgg532XdkWXNOrBWjgxzUkKVjGf2BlWRWqf9~Bn4HN49Of72taxQZfD4wDD2alR1jOoYVcbdD6DiXvH7k9QTJBZxZ9rx0ibn42Ley2rcK7sFRBM8QUyz4y3AGc0h4zeiy1LpucqJp7nmEGSdpC5Wucnkjv6Yn8WATjK66Gx17x8dgNbwBc861gk-rbjEiWHi~t~4WLIkg4RuD9PzKMgmuR9a9A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Honolulu, HI","date","2025-06-07T09:45:01Z","article","The Honolulu City Council debated a proposal (Bill 36) that would broaden circumstances allowing the mayor to use the city’s fiscal stability fund — commonly called the rainy‑day fund — if significant federal funding were reduced or lost. After lengthy discussion about oversight, reporting and the consequences of tapping the fund, the council deferred the measure to the end of the calendar for additional drafting and review.

Councilmember Weier, the bill’s introducer of the committee amendment, said the change was intended to create a mechanism that would allow the city to react quickly if federal funds were cut, rather than reopening the entire budget at a pace that could delay critical expenditures. “The purpose was to provide a criteria where we wouldn’t have to reopen the budget if funds are needed,” Weier said.

Budget Director Andy Kawano testified about the practical and credit implications of using the stability fund. He said the fund had not been accessed historically and played a role in maintaining Honolulu’s credit rating. “The rainy day fund has never been accessed... The rating agencies look at our commitment to build that fund up and reallocate interest from our investment pool to the fund,” Kawano said, and added that reopening budgets and supplemental processes “will take time” in an emergency.

Other council members expressed concern about executive discretion without timely council oversight. Councilmember dos Santos Tam said the mayor could theoretically tap the fund and spend on purposes the administration deemed necessary if the bill passed. He urged tighter reporting requirements and quarterly reports from Budget and Fiscal Services (BFS) identifying savings and transfers the administration considered before using the fund.

Councilmember Tupelo and others pushed for built-in guardrails. Tupelo explained that she had proposed amendments in committee to create stronger oversight but that corporation counsel advised that some forms of council oversight might be legally problematic. The floor debate included an FD1 amendment that incorporated corporation counsel language (including reporting and notice requirements), and an outline of required deliverables was read into the record: for expenditures above certain thresholds, the mayor must file notices with the city clerk and submit detailed expenditure reports including line‑item budgets, anticipated impact and measurable outcomes; for aggregated expenditures above $500,000 an aggregate resolution by council would be required to continue beyond an initial 90‑day period.

After a prolonged exchange and procedural motions, Councilmember Tupelo moved to defer the bill to the end of the calendar so members could resolve remaining language and obtain firm corp‑counsel drafts. The chair placed the bill at the back of the calendar for further work.

The debate highlighted three central tensions: the desire for rapid executive action in the face of sudden federal funding cuts, the council’s need for oversight and transparency of emergency spending, and protection of the city’s long‑term credit rating by avoiding unnecessary draws on the fiscal stability fund. The council directed staff and counsel to return with refined language and reporting requirements before the measure is reintroduced for a vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","2025 06 04 REG COUNCIL PT1","oneSentenceSummary","The Honolulu City Council deferred consideration of Bill 36, a proposal to expand when the mayor may use the city’s fiscal‑stability (rainy‑day) fund if federal funding is cut, after heated debate over oversight, reporting and credit‑rating risks.","taxTitle","Honolulu City, Honolulu County, Hawaii","taxId",61746,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6210784,"Council hears push for police-dispatch broadcasts as HPD and telecom experts warn of legal, safety limits",409,1554000,1963000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab&start=1554&end=1963","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab/thumbnail_1554000.jpg","/articles/6210784/Honolulu-City/Honolulu-County/Hawaii/Council-hears-push-for-police-dispatch-broadcasts-as-HPD-and-telecom-experts-warn-of-legal-safety-limits","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6210784-ae7d2a6e7b3a34991800d3c5fc3c1ac9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448679&Signature=VapqH1rM2RmMJAfc40ijYYFshBSRjG6Ky3kD9uYmLKOMqVO8SpkIuxslLCXwjhXKAa1xFHGuNu6vhpkD56a4uCDxxbSJ3Jocro3fMXjQejW-eUsZm8wrPpMFinduibG-HqDT0ienpzPQlOZZrMT-s6n1YKQQse4OglNCoB~7F0NVU5X5~Zcn9eFN7k67z6BOC9PIXjO0iVrAPhup2v-qjcHWNBP7oHrkHrHQgHGx38GQZhgXSHWJdw7ofUh8UdHdbQqZ7mu3nnFNG1fBp~RQl3BDn8r4o7PKAXhmepp576-0nKCA0u7stW40veWMV8t0SgVWF51fzsPjIC9KAHEa8Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Honolulu City Council members took extended testimony and discussion on Bill 46 — a proposal to require broader media access to Honolulu Police Department (HPD) dispatch communications — weighing calls for transparency against federal-security and officer-safety constraints.

Supporters of the bill said greater access would improve public information during urgent incidents and strengthen accountability. Citizen and neighborhood-board speakers urged the council not to curtail a free press and to consider the role of modern media and social platforms in public safety.

Telecommunications specialist Roy Kuroda, who identified himself as working in telecommunications with HPD, told the council that federal and operational rules constrain what can be released. “The FBI’s criminal justice information system, CJIS, security set strict standards for how criminal justice information, CJI, can be accessed and shared,” he said. “Delaying a broadcast is not the same as redacted if the audio contains CJI, even if delayed, it remains non compliant under CJIS.”

HPD leadership acknowledged the public demand for information while stressing officer safety and investigatory integrity. A department representative said the department is “committed to transparency but not at the expense of officer investigations, integrity, or [the] privacy of victims or witnesses,” and later urged a collaborative process: “I think we need to at least make a commitment to bring the right people to the table, figure out what we can do.”

Council members pressed for a middle ground. Several members said they want more information flow to the public but recognized HPD’s point that live or unredacted feeds can reveal sensitive personally identifiable information and tactical details. Some members also asked whether a delayed or filtered feed could meet both transparency and legal-security requirements.

No final substantive ordinance text or implementation detail was adopted in the session. The council took the bill through a reading (the reading items on pages 7–8 moved forward with recorded reservations noted by several council members) and left substantial drafting and operational questions for follow-up. HPD pledged to meet with council staff and the bill’s introducer to explore solutions that could balance transparency and legal/security constraints.

The testimony and discussion highlighted two competing priorities: public access to information during unfolding incidents and the CJIS/HIPAA and operational protections that limit broadcast and reuse of dispatch audio. Council members and HPD agreed to continue discussions before the measure returns for further action.

The council also recorded formal reservations by several members on the related reading items; no final vote on the operational details of Bill 46 occurred during the meeting.","Honolulu City Council members took extended testimony and debate on Bill 46, which would expand media access to Honolulu Police Department dispatch communications, with supporters urging transparency and HPD and telecom experts citing federal CJIS and safety limits.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6210779,"Council advances three measures to curb game rooms and electronic gambling devices after prosecutors, communities testify",450,3813000,4263000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab&start=3813&end=4263","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3707774-7ab3212527e42bdffffa21c5b4110bab/thumbnail_3813000.jpg","/articles/6210779/Honolulu-City/Honolulu-County/Hawaii/Council-advances-three-measures-to-curb-game-rooms-and-electronic-gambling-devices-after-prosecutors-communities-testify","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6210779-2be0b547b185fa277737a1ed89c9b369/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448679&Signature=BUK6Ymvp9WzwscHcYDCfsPfC8Ox1Xg7TyFDBrzBZo9m5xSQDY86hL8p9ZzDnRMhLs-78vnM1L~O1~7gX29~INF0Du7QJn3d6~07ln9SCyGwNdfmMXxXKrJdccyQ-jR9-unejjFqDxyRlPwaQHrhK2kfUzML27~ZV61Wvgtz3N8m0OIlUTEVez4Tlchn-y2sbbu3zxgpFFfS9SNdLfdyrD60KQvUm0oay0K1HwJjo5Oec5hoi~OixF42lp0bRjF8LAmuAFkHdzVLoCEsRyP2u5wq3OXlLu~9vIvJCAUKGJc6VyHhStkppgJSy6XQxS1qPD98XZ3n7q6aillPu6wAlHw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Honolulu City Council advanced three related measures intended to reduce illegal game rooms, electronic gambling devices and associated harms in residential neighborhoods.

Council members and testifiers described game rooms as a driver of crime, youth exposure to illicit gambling near schools and community decline in several neighborhoods, including Kalihi and parts of the Leeward Coast. Multiple community members — teachers, principals and neighborhood-board representatives — and law-enforcement supporters urged action.

Gabe Huntington, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, said the bills were developed from a Game Room Task Force and that the measures give prosecutors and police an additional, non-felony tool to address devices that function as gambling machines. “This bill will allow us to pursue gambling devices as electronic amusement devices and give us another tool to combat the game rooms,” Huntington said.

Councilmember Tupelo described examples from her district — squatters, brush fires, children hiding in vegetation and community safety problems — and said a formalized request-and-response process would help owners and HPD respond. Tupelo explained the bills create an official request form and an inspection mechanism to formalize existing informal practices.

The measures included amendments. For Bill 11 (electronic amusement devices), the council adopted a hand-carried floor draft that, among other technical edits, lowered one device threshold: it “amends ROH section 34.12 b by amending the number of amusement devices from 20 or fewer to 19 or fewer,” per the amendment summary presented to the council. The council also waived the 48‑hour notice rule to adopt the hand-carried amendment and advanced the ordinance on reading.

Community testifiers included organizations and residents from impacted areas. Alan Cardenas Jr., representing the Waianae/Nanakuli area, described local crime spikes and urged council support. Deborah Kim and other residents testified in strong support; some speakers urged additional community enforcement incentives and neighborhood reporting. Angela Melody Young, speaking for CARES, recommended focusing enforcement resources on economically distressed districts that experience disproportionate proliferation.

On final action during the session, the council recorded passage on reading for all three measures: Bill 11 (amended to CD2, FD1) passed reading after amendment; Bill 12 (CD1) passed reading; and Bill 13 (CD1) passed reading. Votes recorded on the floor show unanimous or near-unanimous support across the council for the readings.

Council leaders and the prosecuting attorney said the bills provide a policy tool short of felony prosecution aimed at small businesses and storefront operations that host illicit devices. They emphasized coordination between HPD, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and departments such as DPP (Department of Planning and Permitting) to implement enforcement and permitting steps going forward.

Next steps include formal drafting of ordinance language for subsequent readings, operational guidance from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and continued enforcement planning by HPD and city departments.","The Honolulu City Council passed readings on three related measures aimed at reducing illegal game rooms and electronic gambling devices. Prosecutors and community leaders described neighborhood harms; amendments were made to fine-tune enforcement and permitting options.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council defers vote on expanding mayor’s access to fiscal-stability fund amid oversight concerns

Council hears push for police-dispatch broadcasts as HPD and telecom experts warn of legal, safety limits

Council advances three measures to curb game rooms and electronic gambling devices after prosecutors, communities testify