Senators also gave preliminary approval to a $19 billion supplemental budget bill to pay for state government operations for the coming year.

Supporters said they’ll keep working through other means this session to partially close Hawaii’s massive spending gap on natural resources.

They include the UH Board of Regents and authorities with jurisdiction over land use, public utilities, education, housing and community development.

Proposals to transform Hawaii’s current zoning laws would not even guarantee cheaper housing.

The Department of Education has been planning to build a “mega kitchen” that would eventually go to the Agribusiness Development Corp. But it has yet to pay the security deposit.

Lawmakers have taken up everything from shakas and UH regents to stadium money and publicly funded elections.

The shaka is a source of origin stories, family stories, and a way to talk about life in Hawaii.

Supporters of the bill criticized the Department of Education’s plan to better define acceptable parent behavior in schools moving forward.

The measure would expand the power of Hawaii’s “insurers of last resort.”

A bill would make the president’s procurement power permanent, but only if Sen. Donna Kim and her colleagues agree.