Aloha,

This week Governor Josh Green announced an important new federal housing grant, opened the application process for the Hawaii Interim Housing Program, and signed bills to strengthen and protect agriculture in our state.

Governor Green also celebrated the Fourth of July by leading the Office of the Governor team in the 75th Annual Kailua Independence Day Parade.

Along with U.S. Senator Brian Schatz and HUD Regional Administrator Jason Pu, on Wednesday this week Governor Green announced that Hawaii has been awarded more than $6.6 million in new federal grant funding to help build more housing.

"Addressing Hawaii’s housing crisis is one of our top priorities,” Governor Green said. "This new federal funding will significantly bolster our efforts to provide more affordable housing options for our residents."

For decades, local zoning and land use regulations as well as the lack of necessary housing-related infrastructure have prevented housing production from keeping pace with population and economic growth, resulting in a nationwide housing shortage.

Lack of infrastructure has been cited as an important obstacle to building more housing in Hawaii, and the new Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program rewards state and local governments that reform land-use policies and other local barriers that constrain the supply of affordable housing.

The grant will also allow the state to increase capacity to identify and address regulatory burdens that are driving up the cost of housing across the state, building on the state’s recently-passed landmark pro-housing package to allow more homes in urban areas and commercial zones.

This week Governor Green also announced that Maui residents displaced by last year’s catastrophic wildfires may now apply for the Hawaii Interim Housing Program.

The goal of this initiative is to provide as many options for the Maui survivors as possible, including properties have a mix of studio-, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and modular homes.

“I pledged that I would do everything in my power as governor to bring us back, to help us heal, and to find a way to move forward past this tragedy,” Governor Green said. "So I am personally making sure that Maui receives every possible resource available from the federal government, from the private sector, and from around the world, and that all of it gets to the people who need it.”

Finally, this week Governor Green signed 11 agriculture-related bills into law to protect Hawaii’s biosecurity, preserve the safety of the state’s food systems, and safeguard local farmers and producers through fair labeling.

The new laws signed this week include measures to protect macadamia nut and coffee farmers in Hawaii with more accurate and transparent labeling, and to strengthen Hawaii’s protections against invasive species that can threaten local agriculture.

If you support Josh’s efforts to build affordable housing, protect local agriculture, and lead the Maui recovery, please consider making a donation today.

Thank you for supporting Josh and for being part of Team Green.

Mahalo,

Team Green