(BIVN) – The 2024 Hawaiʻi Legislative Session got underway on Wednesday at the State Capitol. The opening sessions of the House and Senate were both livestreamed. 

“All of the news reports talk about the daunting task ahead of us, the difficulty in dealing with the terrible tragedy that occurred on Maui,” said Senate President Ron Kouchi from the podium. “I was curious as to how would we respond, what would our attitude would be, but as I watched the members warmly greeting each other, posing for pictures, you’re clearly ready to go to work. You are clearly ready to do the job that you were all elected to do, and in watching the body language and the camaraderie, you give me great hope and optimism about what we will be able to accomplish in the upcoming session.”

“Some of us are newer to this chamber, and some of us are veterans,” said House Speaker Scott Saiki during his opening speech. “However short or long our tenure, our responsibilities take on even greater consequence if we are to not only represent the districts we are individually elected from, not only the state as a whole, but also to center Hawaiʻi and truly be the stewards in the Public’s trust now and for the future. I would urge all of us to internalize the lessons of the wildfire, of the threatened water, of the pain and courage and Aloha of our fellow residents in the face of unprecedented challenges. Hawaiʻi requires much of us, and we can together do our part.”

The lawmakers will work until the session ends in the first week of May.