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Hilo’s Sen. Kahele part of Senate Committee transformation
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by Big Island Video News
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STORY SUMMARY

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Tourism and Hawaiians Affairs (THA) has been split into two different committees: Tourism (TSM) and Hawaiian Affairs (HWN), and Hilo’s State Senator Gilbert Kahele has been named chair of Tourism. Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran will be the vice-chair. Senator Maile Shimabukuro will chair the Hawaiian Affairs committee […]

Sen. Gil Kahele (file photo)

Sen. Gil Kahele (file photo)

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Tourism and Hawaiians Affairs (THA) has been split into two different committees: Tourism (TSM) and Hawaiian Affairs (HWN), and Hilo’s State Senator Gilbert Kahele has been named chair of Tourism. Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran will be the vice-chair.

Senator Maile Shimabukuro will chair the Hawaiian Affairs committee with Senator Clayton Hee serving as vice-chair.

Senator Brickwood Galuteria, the Senate Majority Leader, was the Chair of new defunct THA. “The new committee assignments will allow the newly appointed chairs to take on greater leadership roles,” stated a Senate press release, “while providing Galuteria with more flexibility to serve in his continued capacity as Majority Leader.”

The senator shared his thoughts in a Senate media release:

BrickwoodGaluteriaSen. Brickwood Galuteria

“I am pleased with this new leadership lineup for the committees. Understanding the role of a chair makes my Senate Majority Leadership assignment more effective. I look forward to working with both Chairs Kahele and Shimabukuro in their new capacities and most importantly to continuing to work with my Senate colleagues to advance the priorities of the Senate Majority.”

However, Galuteria will serve as the new vice chair of the Committee on Water and Land.

The Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection (CPN) will also get a new vice chair: Senator Brian Taniguchi.

The change in committee assignments will take effect July 1, 2013.

Donna Mercado KimSen. Donna Mercado Kim

“In the beginning of the session we acted quickly to organize and kept changes to a minimum so that we could focus our attentions on the issues and prepare for the 2013 session. Now that session is over, we are afforded the capacity to listen to feedback and evaluate ourselves. In doing so, we have been able to make some positive changes. These new assignments maximize the skills and interests of each of our members, while providing us with greater opportunity to focus on the individual subject areas.”

UPDATE: On his Facebook page, Sen. Gil Kahele made the announcement:

Gil KaheleSen. Gil Kahele

“Humbled and pleased to announce that I have been selected to Chair the newly created Senate Committee on Tourism. Looking forward to working with our vital tourist industry and my colleagues in the Senate to continue to promote our beautiful State to the millions of tourists that come to enjoy our islandʻs every year…”