Senator Lorraine R. Inouye Member Feed

About Senator Lorraine R. Inouye

Hawai?i State Senator Lorraine R. Inouye represents Senate District 1 on Hawai?i Island (Hilo, Pauka?a, Papaikou and Pepe?ekeo). She is in Senate Leadership and serves as Majority Whip and the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee (TRS) and Vice Chair of the Senate Water, Land, Culture and Arts Committee (WLA). She is also a member of the Senate Committees on Ways and Means (WAM) and Public Safety and Military Affairs (PSM).

Her public service career spans over five decades, for which she has been a strong advocate for her constituents. Her long career of elected public service started on the Hawai‘i County Council in 1984 and then as Mayor of Hawai‘i County from 1990 to 1992. She was first elected to the Hawai‘i State Senate in 1998 representing the Hilo district. In 2008 she made an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Hawai‘i County again, having been defeated by a then popular newcomer.

After being out of elected office for four years, Senator Inouye ran for the Hawai?i State Senate District 4 seat in 2014 won re-election. This time she represented a large district that included North Hilo, Hamakua, Kohala, Waikoloa and a fringe of North Kona. After reapportionment in 2020, Senator Inouye’s residency changed to District 1 that included her lifetime home area of Hilo, Hawai‘i. She won re-election in 2022 and 2024 and is the current senator for District 1.

Senator Inouye’s journey, originated from humble beginnings in a sugar plantation camp in Wainaku that shaped her values, instilled a strong work ethic, and embraced a deep connection to the land and its people.

She has received numerous accolades and awards over the years, most recently receiving the Ka Lei Hano Award from the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Services (CTAHR) and the Zonta Club of Hilo Rose of Excellence Award, both in 2024. She was also named the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Legislator of the Year in 2024.

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Hawaii State Senator Lorraine R. Inouye Appointed to Chair the Senate Transportation Committee

Senator Inouye has been appointed chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation, whose purview includes those programs relating to air, water, and surface transportation (highways and roads).

In a Senate leadership reorganization, it was announced that Senator Lorraine R. Inouye (District 1 – Hilo, Pauka‘a, Papaikou, Pepe‘ekeo) will become the new Senate Transportation Committee Chair.

She is trading that leadership position with former Transportation Chair Senator Chris Lee (District 25 – Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai‘i Kai) so that he can take over as chair of the Senate Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts committee. Senator Inouye most recently chaired this committee since the 2022 session. She will now serve on the Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts Committee as Vice Chair.

Commenting on the switch, Senator Inouye stated, “I look forward to once again being Transportation Chair as issues facing the transport of our people and the role that these systems play in our economy are dynamically changing, as new technologies, infrastructure and regulations are updated. I also remain committed to those issues that I tackled as Water and Land Chair for the past three years.”

In addition to serving on the Transportation Committee and the Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts Committee, Senator Inouye is a longtime member of the Ways and Means Committee as well as a newly appointed member of the Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee.

The Senate announced its new leadership and committee assignments ahead of the Thirty-Third Legislature, which opens on January 21, 2026.

In releasing the Senate Leadership and Committee

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