Hawaii Senate passes civil-unions bill, 18-7
18-7 vote is enough to override potential veto from governor
The Honolulu Advertiser
January 22, 2010

The state Senate yesterday passed a civil unions bill with enough votes to override a potential veto, sending a strong message of support to the state House and Gov. Linda Lingle.

The 18-7 vote came after many senators, conscious that they may be making history, described civil unions as part of the same long path toward equality as voting rights were for women and civil rights were for blacks.

The bill would give both same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into civil unions and have the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

Senator Colleen Hanabusa
Opening Day Speech
January 20, 2010

The Capitol is quiet today. The crowds and celebrations that typically accompany an opening day of the Hawaii State Legislature are absent … Because while we still welcome with open arms anyone who wants to ask for our help or express their point of view, we know that this session will be different. Now is not the time to celebrate … Now is the time to work.

We face unprecedented challenges in our homes, in our communities, and in this Capitol … For our neighbors, friends and families ... for the people who supported us, elected us, and entrusted their future to us … the question is often one of survival. How will they cope with an economic outlook that has continued to worsen, and a recovery that seems to forever sit at the farthest horizon? >Read more

Hawaii's budget deficit sets tone at Legislature's opening
House and Senate leaders urge collaboration to cope with the state's $1.2B deficit
Honolulu Advertiser
Jan 22, 2010

KITV NEWS
January 20, 2010
Video newscast of Opening Day

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa received the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award at a ceremony at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts on February 14, 2009.

The Spirit of Excellence Awards celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of lawyers who work to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession. Senator Hanabusa is the first woman to preside over either chamber of the Hawai‘i State Legislature, and the first Asian-American woman in the nation to preside over a state legislative body.

“Senator Hanabusa is a role model for women and for Asian-Americans,” said Fred Alvarez, chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. “She has used her visibility to encourage young minority women to see law as a viable career, and a way to advance both their own success and their goals for improving society. She has supported other minority women’s professional careers across the state of Hawai‘i.” >Watch the video