How A Powerful Lawmaker Forced Through A Contentious Energy Bill….When Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz’s pet legislation faced opposition from Rep. Nicole Lowen, he suddenly intervened with the power to make or break her bills.
During the waning days of the 2022 legislative session, a bill to protect coffee — one of the state’s most valuable cash crops — was alive by a thread.
Sponsored by Rep. Nicole Lowen, a Big Island lawmaker who chairs the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, the original measure called for tightening labeling laws to ensure that coffee labeled as, say, Kona coffee, included at least 51% coffee grown there.
By the end of session the Senate had watered down Lowen’s bill to a measure calling for a study. And with House and Senate conference committee members at an impasse on April 28 — the day before all bills faced a pass-or-fail deadline — something unusual happened.
