Housing

Over the next two years, the Rental Housing Revolving Fund will receive $280 million, the Hawaii Community Development Authority for housing development infrastructure improvements will receive $150 million, and $100 million will go to the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund.

This year we will also begin to mobilize $600 million appropriated for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to build new housing for thousands of Native Hawaiian families.

Homelessness

We are already making transformational progress in our fight against homelessness in Hawaii, securing more than $60 million for new kauhale villages and Ohana Zones.

Over the next eight months we will build multiple kauhale across the state to house the homeless, including the first neighbor island kauhale in Kealakehe on Hawaii island, and a medical respite kauhale across from the Capitol in downtown Honolulu, which is set to open just days from now.

We also designated more than $150 million for the Hawaii Community Development Authority for infrastructure improvements to housing developments, and over $15 million for programs like the State Rent Supplement, Housing First, our Rapid Re-Housing Program, and Homeless Outreach Services.

Affordability

Many working families are struggling to afford to live in Hawaii, and we have already begun to change that with the initial phase of a tax reform plan that will lower the cost of living in our state for nearly every resident for generations to come.

This session, the legislature approved phase one of the Green Affordability Plan aimed at working families, which will double the earned income tax credit and food tax credit, and increase the existing child and dependent care tax credit.

Healthcare

Access to quality, affordable healthcare remains a top priority, and I’m proud to announce that Hawaii will be the first state in the nation to create a universal loan repayment program for medical professionals who commit to serving in our islands.

We will invest $30 million over the next two years to fund this initiative, which will address our healthcare shortage and expand access to care by attracting and retaining doctors, nurses, and social workers across our state.

We will also dedicate $73 million per year in state and federal funds to raising Medicaid rates, improving care for the 450,000 Hawaii residents currently on Medicaid.

Rural and neighbor island hospitals on the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai will receive $128 million for needed improvements.

Finally, we will invest over $14 million for Hawaii’s nursing facilities and our Family Assessment Centers to expand healthcare access to the most vulnerable in our state.

Education

By successfully negotiating a new contract with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, we helped address this shortage by raising average salaries for our state’s 13,500 teachers, substantially increasing starting pay for new teachers to strengthen recruitment, and granting bonuses for experienced educators to improve teacher retention.

Environment

We secured $100 million for the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority, which will lower the energy burden for more than 4,000 households in Hawaii.

On the Red Hill crisis, we delivered needed tax relief for those affected by the fuel spill, and formed the Governor’s Commission on Water Safety to ensure that Red Hill is safely drained and shut down for good and our water supply is protected.

Justice, equality, and diversity

We protected reproductive healthcare rights, expanding access to reproductive healthcare services, guaranteeing that our state will never interfere with a pregnant person's right to choose, and protecting healthcare providers from criminal prosecution in other states when they provide legal reproductive healthcare services in Hawaii.

We also took action to make our government more transparent and accountable by passing new laws to reform ethics, lobbying, and campaign spending in our political system.

Finally, we appointed qualified women judges to the state bench, expanding diversity and bringing the number of sitting judges to 41 women and 40 men, making this the first time in Hawaii history there will be more female than male judges in our courts.

But work on the priorities the people of Hawaii have given us is not over — it has just begun.

Please take a moment to let me know what issues are most important to you.

As I said in my first address as governor to the state legislature, “we will continue to take bold action on providing affordable housing for working families, ending homelessness, protecting our environment, and doing everything in our power to make Hawaii more affordable for our people.”

During the first six months of my administration, we have kept this promise and begun to make the changes and progress that the people of Hawaii called for in November.

Mahalo,

Governor Josh Green