Hawaii Tribune-Herald

A bill that would establish a standard vehicular pursuit policy for all Hawaii’s law enforcement agencies has cleared its first committee hurdle.

A state House committee on Thursday unanimously passed a measure that would require the state Department of Transportation and Hawaii’s four counties to scan the body of a deceased dog or cat found on a roadway for a microchip and report the information to county animal authorities.

On the same day that a sixth victim died following the Aliamanu New Year’s fireworks blast, various state Senate committees passed bills Wednesday that would increase fines and penalties for people who fire off illegal pyrotechnics and also make it easier for law enforcement to cite and arrest them and for prosecutors to win convictions.

A bill introduced in the Hawaii Legislature would establish a state-sanctioned journalistic code of ethics and create a Journalistic Ethics Commission and Journalism Review Board that could fine journalists and ban them from covering state government.

Sewage in Keaukaha is leaching into groundwater 10 times faster than previously believed, according to a study by University of Hawaii scientists.

Gov. Josh Green’s bills to fund Hawaii’s climate change response by increasing the state’s hotel room tax and dedicating all of the interest from the $1.5 billion rainy day fund were unanimously passed out of a House committee Tuesday, but with concerns that they need “a lot of work.”

A bill that would establish a statewide policy for police motor vehicle pursuits will be heard at 10 a.m. Thursday by the House Transportation Committee.

A study to investigate possible alternate traffic routes into Puna apparently died more than six months ago, despite assurances by Hawaii County officials the project was still on track.

For the fifth consecutive year, bills have been introduced in the state Legislature to reduce the blood-alcohol content threshold for a drunken driving charge from 0.08% to 0.05%.

Hawaii astronomers late last year discovered an asteroid that has a slim likelihood of striking the Earth in about seven years, and a telescope on Maunakea will be used to help track the object’s orbit.

Hawaii County on Friday awarded more than $10 million to various Big Island nonprofits to fight homelessness, but not without hours of debate before the County Council.