Small delegation, big ideas: Hawaii takes lead at national policy conference
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii is one of the smallest delegations at the annual National Conference of State Legislatures, but the organization’s CEO says it makes a big impact.
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“Hawaii is such a key leader in our organization, and they punch above their weight. I would say it’s a small state, but it has a lot of respect from both Republicans and Democrats all over the country,” said NCSL CEO Tim Storey.
About a dozen Hawaii lawmakers were among the 8,000 attendees this year, but organizers say the state’s influence and impact are much bigger that that number suggests. This year, local lawmakers led two national caucus meetings.
“The Hawaii legislators are deeply involved in the organization, have been leaders in the organization… and they are actively chairing NCSL committees,” Storey said.
State senator Chris Lee chaired the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and said the experience allowed him to hear what other states are doing to solve the energy affordability crisis.
“They’re making investments in battery storage, where a few years ago they were seeing regular blackouts in their communities and high electricity costs, and now they’ve completely eliminated those blackouts,” Lee said. “They’ve got a stable grid and they’re paying less for power than before because they’re using cheaper energy.”
As chair of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators, state senator Troy Hashimoto helped set the agenda for pressing policies to help AAPI communities.
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“I think the Asian Caucus has primarily been anchored by Hawaii. We had the most Asian legislators throughout the United States. I think Hawaii has always been at the forefront,” he said.
The national platform also helps raise awareness and support for native Hawaiian issues.
“I believe we have that seat on the table just by being here, we being here on the table and conversing with each other and saying these are our challenges in a way,” said state senator Lynn DeCoite.
Senate President Ron Kouchi says Hawaii is often recognized as the first in the country to do many things other legislatures haven’t.
“When Governor Ige was in the Senate, he led the Senate to go paperless,” he said. “We were the first chamber in the nation to go paperless, and so the Hawaii State Senate has been recognized at the National Conference of State Legislators for that effort. Our IT has been recognized, maybe eight years ago, for the most outstanding website, government website in the nation.”
Delegates say that kind of national recognization is proof a small state can set the national agenda.
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