Roy Takumi is the state of Hawaii’s representative for the 36th District, which includes the Pearl City, Momilani, Pacific Palisades, and Manana areas on the island of Oahu. He was first elected in 1992. He is chairman of the House education committee, and, as such, much of his legislative work has been in K-12 education. In recent years, Takumi has worked to pass bills to improve the quality of charter schools, expand online learning opportunities, establish the framework for universal pre-school, and enable schools to have far more flexibility, autonomy, and authority over their budgets.

Takumi is also a member of the House higher education, labor, public safety, and transportation committees. He has worked to pass bills ranging from divestment of the retirement system in companies that do business in Darfur to a state version of the Employee Free Choice Act to the banning of shark fin harvesting.

Takumi was a proponent of the bill that eventually became the Hawaii Rx law in 2002. Hawaii Rx was modeled after Maine Rx; both are programs that were
established to reduce prescription drug prices. The Hawaii Rx program was named a finalist for the Council of State Governments Innovations Award in 2005.

Over the years, Takumi has also introduced bills on drug pricing, confidentiality, detailing, and disclosure of clinical trials. In 2007, he helped to pass a bill similar to Illinois I-Save Rx program over the governor’s veto. (I-Save Rx is a mail order pharmacy program that was developed by the state of Illinois to provide access to lower cost prescription drugs from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.)

In addition to his legislative duties, Takumi serves as communications specialist for the Hawaii State AFL-CIO. He earned his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Hawaii.