DISTRICT 51
Our district of Waimānalo and Kailua is socioeconomically diverse, but we are uniformly rich in that we live in a place of rare beauty, strong communities and deep cultural roots. Our good fortune has been threatened by aggressive marketing of our home for tourism. Our beaches, parks, and trails are overrun. Traffic and parking are problems. Vacation rentals compete with residents for housing. Developers seek to change and push the boundaries on zoning protections. We also suffer from State-wide problems such as lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, and homelessness.
Fortunately, District 51 also has a wealth of talented and caring community members that lead the way to solving our problems through our neighborhood boards and associations, sports leagues, cultural organizations, non-profits and local businesses. I worked with many as a resident and now support and collaborate with them as their Representative.
WORK AT THE LEGISLATURE
I serve as Chair of Human Services and Homelessness. In my committee, we focus on many critical services, including Medicaid, kūpuna care, child care and services for the homeless and for the developmentally disabled.
I also serve on the Health and on the Consumer Protection Committees.
I serve as Chair of the Keiki Caucus and a member of the Kupuna Caucus, the Women's Caucus, the Hawaiian Caucus, and the Environmental Caucus.
I serve as the State Lead for the National Caucus of Environmenal Legislators.
Over my first two terms, I was excited to co-introduce and help pass bills which target the high cost of living such as raising minimum wage, making the earned income tax credit permanent, reducing income taxes and increasing the standard deductible, and moving towards universal pre-school. I was also excited to support DHHL beneficiaries and pass the $600 million for DHHL housing and to serve on the oversight committee, and to settle the Kalima Case which compensated people stuck on the waitlist (or their heirs). I was relieved to help pass protections for our residents in the face of the Supreme Court's attack on access to abortion and removal of the right of our State to prevent conceal carry of firearms.
I have also written and passed legislation on issues including bike theft, funding the fight against invasive pests, reforming Child Welfare Services, declaring a Climate Emergency,
and accounting for contamination of military leased and controlled land, funding training for mental health care workers at Windward Community College, funding sex abuse prevention education in all DOE schools, setting up a mobile crisis unit for children, increasing compensation for community-based kupuna care, increasing access to services for autistic children, and more. Individual bills are listed on the following page.
Sometimes I am very busy fighting bad legislation that threatens to move forward. Last year it was a Bill that would have allow untrained and unlicensed people to come to Hawaii and charge money to attend births. This year it was one to subdivide all residential neighborhoods to 1,200 square foot lots and allow 4 attached homes on each.
Lisa's successes working for children
- Funded age-appropriate sex abuse prevention education in DOE schools K-12
- Funded mobile crisis outreach services for children and youth
- Increased access to behavioral therapy for autistic children
- Established working group currently collecting recommendations to improve Child Welfare Services from those with direct experience - former foster kids, foster parents, and birth families
- Operational Audit of Child Welfare Services
- Increase in budget for staff and training
- Requirements and incentives for continued connection to foster children after permanent placement or adoption when receiving State payments
Lisa's successes protecting the environment
- Funded Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and Little Fire Ant control
- Initiated planning for invasive pest placard system
- Permited composting and co-composting operations in agricultural districts.
- Funded State tree nurseries for native reforestation
- Declared a Climate Emergency
- Initiated cleaning of unexploded munitions at Bellows
- Initiated upgrade of Kaneohe Marine Corps Base sewage treatment plan.
- Called for control of dumped fishing gear that drifts to Papahanaumokuakea
OTHER DISTRICT INITIATIVES (selected)
- Addressing HOMELESS and MENTALLY ILL through support for the new Iwilei Behavioral Health Crisis Center and a law that allows HPD to take people there 24/7 (instead of jail or Castle / Queens Hospital) as determined by a Mental Health Emergency Worker if breaking they are breaking the law, endangering themselves or others and exibit signs of mental illness. This will reduce the cases brought to Kailua from across the island, as well as provide seamless access to stabilization beds for drug detox or initiating medical treatment.
- Working to add local placement and services for the HOMELESS through expansion of the Waimānalo Emergency Shelter, improvements and security for Hui Mahiʻai ʻāina homeless shelter, and for a coordinated response to mentally ill homeless by Adventist Health Castle, HPD and other service providers.
- Negotiated along with other elected officials to secure removal of portions and amendments to other portions of the KEOLU HILLS MILITARY FENCE.
- US Army Corps of Engineers FLOOD CONTROL study of the entire Waimānalo watershed. Federally Funded with collaboration from various State and City agencies. Hydrology and hydrologic study completed, secondary study to define projects has application in process.
- Restoration and management of the KAʻIWA RIDGE (Pill Box) trail. State funded, relationships established with community partners.
- Study to assess scope of work to clean munitions from 139 acres of BELLOWS that is slated to be released back to the State (DHHL will have first dibs), federally funded.
- Improvements to KAILUA HS ATHLETIC FACILITIES, funded.
- HAWAIIAN IMMERSION program building at Blanche Pope Elementary, funded.
- Outdoor learning and PERFORMANCE SPACE at Kaʻelepulu Elementary, almost completed.
- Upgrade of flood-damaged LIBRARY and of parking lot at Enchanted Lake Elementary, project completed.
- Adventist Health Castle renovation of a space to install new PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS in Kailua town funded.
- New building for DENTAL SERVICES at Waimānalo Health Center, share of construction funded.
- Conversations underway between governement agencies and community stakeholders for ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT of dunes by Hūnānāniho Beach Park, Kaʻohao Bay, Enchanted Lake, and Loʻi in Waimanalo.
- Conversations underway with key stakeholders for AFFORDABLE HOUSING on DOE and DLNR land.