Message from the President

Aloha IATSE 665 Members,

Thank you for all of your testimony that has been submitted to the Hawaii Legislature on behalf of bills that may help our industry in the future.

On Thursday 2-19-2026, the Senate Ways and Means Committee will hear SB 2580 SD1. As per the committee chair’s practice, only written testimony will be accepted. Please click on the link to submit written testimony in support. Here is the information shared in a previous email:

Goal: Attract larger, long-term productions and stabilize our industry.

? Key Changes:

o Increases the tax credit cap to $60 million annually.

o Excludes high-spend productions (over $60M) from the individual cap—encouraging major studio projects.

o Includes “streaming platforms”—reflecting today’s market reality.

o Extends the sunset date to 2038—providing necessary long-term predictability.

? Why it Matters: This bill is a direct investment in stable, middle-class jobs for Hawaii’s creative workforce.

SB 2580 Link to submit testimony

Your participation in testifying in the legislative process is important and shows our collective involvement in the political arena. Thank you for your efforts in supporting the bills that affect our industry.

In Solidarity,

Christopher Wiecking

President.chris@IATSE665.org

Aloha kakou!

Please see the endorsements made by the HI AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) below. Hyperlinks are included for district maps and candidate campaign websites/informational pages for your convenience.

2024 HI AFL-CIO COPE Candidate Endorsements (Primary)

REGISTER TO VOTE: https://olvr.hawaii.gov/Default.aspx

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: Primary: August 10, 2024, General: November 5, 2024

HAWAI’I ELECTION MAPS – https://elections.hawaii.gov/resources/maps/election-maps/

STATEWIDE

US REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 1 – Open

US REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 2 – TOKUDA, Jill

US SENATOR – HIRONO, Mazie

(*note – US Sen Brian Schatz term ends Jan 3rd, 2029)

HAWAI’I ISLAND

HAWAI’I COUNTY COUNCIL: