Gene Ward

This bill would protect violent criminals from a sentence of life without parole if they are 21 years old or less. CPAC opposes giving these recognized adults a pass no matter how heinous the crime and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 45-5, and the bill later became law.

This bill expands the requirements for owners of firearms to keep their weapons in storage and notify any purchaser of these restrictions. CPAC sees this as making it more difficult for a gun owner to use a weapon for their defense and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 43-5, and the bill later became law.

This bill adds to the list of required water heater systems that can be used to satisfy building permit requirements for single family homes. Although this might bring down the cost, CPAC views these requirements as needless micromanagement that adds to the difficulty of satisfying regulatory rules that block home ownership and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 50-1, but the bill was not given final approval by the Senate.

This bill requires the Judiciary to study the separation of a tenant from an eviction proceeding. CPAC views eviction as a major tool for a landlord to claim his property and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 43-6, but the bill did not get final approval in the Senate.

This bill relies on federal matching funds to increase funding for in-home services. CPAC opposes giving a blank check to a program rife with fraud and abuse without any reform included and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on February 28, 2025, by a vote of 47-0, but the bill was not taken up by the Senate.

This bill exempts government-endorsed projects, certified by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, from prevailing wage mandates (usually union wages). CPAC opposes this government bias that allows favored projects to escape union rules and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 48-1, but the bill was not taken up by the Senate.

This bill prohibits the sale of flavored e-cigarettes that are tobacco free but include nicotine and calls for inspectors to check products. CPAC opposes banning what until now was a legal product and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on February 28, 2025, by a vote of 46-1, but the bill was not taken up by the Senate.

This bill establishes a condominium loan program, including direct loans or other costs. CPAC opposes this direct competition with private enterprise that is particularly harmful to small businesses and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 49-0, but the bill was not taken up by the Senate.

This bill adds to the list of banned firearms, including so-called assault rifles and shotguns, 50 caliber rifles and high capacity magazines. CPAC views that this list will be expanded when possible and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 39-9, but the bill was not taken up in the Senate.

This bill uses taxpayers money to pay for collective bargaining costs of Unit 5. CPAC notes that although the appropriations are for Unit 5, other bargaining units (over 14) have requested funds as well. CPAC is outraged by this tactic and opposes this request along with all the others. The House passed this particular request on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 49-0, and passed the others, including those that passed through a conference committee and became law.

This bill sets a series of energy reductions to be met between now and 2045. In total, the mandates require 6000 gigawatts of reductions. CPAC opposes these mandates that raise the cost of energy to everyone and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 46-4, and Governor Josh Green signed the measure into law.

This bill requires the Board of Education to set a policy of banning the use of cell phones by students during school hours. CPAC supports these efforts to stick to education in schools and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on March 4, 2025, by a vote of 49-0, but the bill was not taken up by the Senate.

This bill establishes a grant program for the arts that includes promotion and marketing. CPAC believes that those who profit the arts should be responsible for funding and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 45-5, and the bill later became law.

This bill requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to examine all state and local housing projects to see if there are any objections, such as a historical designation, a burial site or other designations that would hold things up. CPAC views this as an example of why more housing isn’t available for sale and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 47-2, and the bill later became law.

This bill continues to add diseases contracted for firefighters that become eligible for Worker’s Comp (paid by employers) that are presumed to be caused by working conditions. No proof of any connection is given, so CPAC believes there should be some connection shown as this position drives up health care costs and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 4th 2025, by a vote of 49-0, but the bill died in a conference committee.

This bill requires the Department of Transportation conduct a study on what it would take to have a renewable fuel standards by 2028. CPAC opposes these mandatory standards that drive up the cost of fuel and many other items and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 3, 2035, by a vote of 45-4, but the bill died in a conference committee.

This bill appropriates funds for the commercialization of Geothermal energy for counties with less than 300,000 population (this excludes Albuquerque). CPAC has viewed many years of unproductive research boosted by states such as New Mexico that has geothermal resources and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 4, 2025, by a vote of 43-6, but the bill did not get final approval in the Senate.

This bill changes the needle exchange program for a one-on-one exchange to one that is called need based. CPAC opposes both methods that allow the government to participate in illegal drug use and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 30, 2025, by a vote of 37-13, and the bill later became law.

This bill establishes the Hawaii Film Authority to attract filmmakers to Hawaii. CPAC opposes these movie subsidies that usually cost more revenue than are brought in and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on April 8, 2025, by a vote of 49-1, but the bill did not get final approval in the Senate.