Responding to the DOGE and the Big Beautiful Bill by passing a law giving 4 Hawai’i politicians $50,000,000 to dole out to their friends in the nonprofit world – is a crazy bad idea. Allowing them to do it behind closed doors is political arrogance on steroids.

Here’s how it works.

SB933CD1 grants to 4 legislators (2 House and 2 Senate) the power to give out $50,000,000 in grants to nonprofits and excludes the process from the Sunshine Law. 

The actual language contained within SB933CD1:

(b)  In selecting recipients and awarding and administering grants funded by the appropriation contained in section 3 of this Act, there is established an evaluation and selection committee to oversee the evaluation and selection of, and determine grant award amounts to, nonprofit applicants.

The evaluation and selection committee shall be composed of the following members:

     (1)  Two senators appointed by the president of the senate; and
     (2)  Two representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

“The meetings of the evaluation and selection committee shall not be subject to part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes.” (Sunshine Law)

SB933CD1 requires but not really – that grants be related to budget impacts/cuts currently being implemented by the federal administration.

“To be eligible for a grant funded by the appropriation contained in section 3, applicants shall be recipients or providers that have sustained a reduction or termination of their federal funding, or if the applicant is not a direct federal funding recipient or provider, the applicant shall primarily serve populations that have been negatively affected by reductions or terminations of federal funding.”

SB933CD1 is essentially a “gut and replace” (IYKYK) that started as a short form (a bill empty of content). It was then amended in the House and Senate, and ultimately assigned to a Conference Committee where it was totally rewritten with content not included in any previous version.

There was no public committee discussion or disclosure on the decision to create what today is SB933CD1. 

At the final Conference Committee meeting the Chairs very briefly summarized the content and intent of SB933CD1, the committee voted to approve, and that was it.

At no time was there any mention of the extraordinary power and discretion being granted to the 4 member House/Senate committee, nor was the sunshine law exclusion publicly disclosed.

Please. Read the bill and watch the actual hearing video online at https://capitol.hawaii.gov (search SB933)

The Conference Committee report posted as part of the official record, normally provides a summary of pertinent actions taken by the Conference Committee. In the case of SB933CD1 – this report contains no mention of the special powers granted to the 4 legislators and sunshine law exclusion.

In summary: The Hawai’i Legislature passed SB933CD1 granting 4 of their own members the power to give away $50,000,000, and to meet with potential recipients of this money in private, and to make the ultimate decision on who gets the money in private.

AND the whole process of drafting and approving the language of the bill creating this extraordinary power was also done in private – contrary of course to their own House/Senate rules and in violation of the State Constitution.

Article III of the State Constitution states in part, “Every meeting of a committee in either House or of a committee comprised of a member or members of both Houses held for the purpose of making decision on matters referred to the committee shall be open to the public.”

Clearly, the Chairs of the /Senate House Conference Committees assigned to SB933CD1 met together in private (virtually or in person), prior to the public meeting, for the purpose of making a decision.

There really is no other way these decisions could have been made – SB933CD1 did not just appear out of thin air.

Gary Hooser
Former Hawai’i State Senator
(And I do not remember it being this bad when I was there)