Finding workers is hard in Hawaii, so many farms pay extra, but lifting the benchmark to $18 could present a new set of problems for farmers.

The package would cost the state about $250 million, and would provide the first substantive state tax refunds or credits of their kind since 2007.

Lawmakers also gave the nod to a flurry of other bills, such as extending agricultural leases and expanding the search for geothermal resources.

A bill handing stewardship of the Big Island mountain to a new governing agency heads for a final vote.

House Bill 2510 also makes a state earned income tax credit refundable. Meanwhile, many taxpayers could soon get a $300 tax rebate.

Amid historic funding agreements for Hawaiians, lawmakers race to reach a compromise on dozens of measures ahead of key legislative deadlines.

House and Senate negotiators also gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a $6 billion construction budget that funds new schools on Maui and Oahu.

A measure to let people accused of nonviolent misdemeanors go free without bail will be put to a final vote in the House and Senate next week.

The decision comes as Native Hawaiian issues took center stage at this year’s Legislature.

The full Senate must still vote to approve the two incumbents and three new members for a three year term.