Fellows mentioned in this story:
Meli James
Sherry Menor-McNamara

From Civil Beat:

Business accelerators, small manufacturers and firms researching and developing new technologies are assessing a potentially rocky path over the next year after a bill to provide grant funds for economic development died following a fractious legislative session.

House Bill 999 would have provided $6 million to the Hawai‘i Technology Development Corp. for grants to help diversify Hawai‘i’s tourism-dependent economy by supporting small businesses.

But Hawai‘i Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz and several colleagues added a provision changing HTDC’s enabling statute in the final days of session. The change, which Dela Cruz and his fellow senators added with no explanation or opportunity for public debate or comment, disqualified the University of Hawai‘i’s vice president of innovation and research from serving on the tech agency board.

Gov. Josh Green subsequently vetoed the bill saying it was wrong to change a statute to target one person.

Continue reading at civilbeat.org.