The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu Charter Commission on Dec. 15, 2025.
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Dec. 15, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu Charter Commission
Dawn Szewczyk, Chair
Sommerset Yamamoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: P066 and P156 — RELATING TO THE FISCAL IMPACT OF LEGISLATION
Aloha Chair Szewczyk, Vice-Chair Yamamoto and other members of the Commission,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports proposed Charter amendments P066 and P156, both of which would require an assessment of the financial impact to the city of all proposed legislation.
The fact that the Council often considers bills without any reliable estimates of what the proposed legislation will cost or save the city and taxpayers is a matter of great frustration to lawmakers and residents alike. What would be irresponsible for a family budget — making purchases without any notion of their cost — is standard practice in politics.
The solution is to be found in the adoption of “fiscal notes,” an informed estimate of how much revenue a bill might generate or cost.
Either of these Charter amendments would help shine a light on city finances, but there are slight differences in how each amendment would function.
P066, proposed by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, would require the Office of the City Auditor to estimate the fiscal impacts of all bills prior to their second reading.
Similar to what is the convention in Hawai‘i[1] and Maui[2] counties, it also would require the auditor to estimate the fiscal impacts of all proposed Charter amendments, and make those estimates available to the public at least 60 days before the election in which the proposed amendments are to appear on the ballot.
Meanwhile, P156 — proposed by Council Chair Tommy Waters — would give the Council authority to establish a “Legislative Office of Budget Oversight,” which would be tasked with providing budgetary analysis to the Council and creating fiscal notes for proposed bills prior to second reading.
It is not on the agenda today, but a third proposed amendment, P231, would also require fiscal notes to be created for all legislation other than the city budget. This amendment — suggested by the city’s Office of the Managing Director — would task the Office of Council Services with making the fiscal notes.
Grassroot defers to the Office of the City Auditor and the Office of Council Services on whether they have the expertise or desire to implement a fiscal note process. If neither office wants the responsibility for creating fiscal notes, perhaps the new office proposed by P156 would be the best option.
Whichever proposal the commission selects, Grassroot encourages members of the Commission to include language that all proposed Charter amendments must also be given a fiscal note.
This information could be helpful to city voters presented with Charter amendments that propose tax changes, consolidating city operations and dividing operations into new or separate departments.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Tom Callis, “County charter amendments pass,” Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Nov. 6, 2018.
[2] Section 3-9.2, Charter County of Maui, Jan. 1, 2025, p. 10.
