‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ # [#]Aloha,

This week I presented the executive biennium budget for fiscal years 2025–2027, which puts our values into action and prioritizes building affordable housing, reducing homelessness, and bringing down Hawaii’s high cost of living for working families — as well as making significant investments in healthcare, education, and the recovery efforts on Maui.
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Housing is the single largest expense for Hawaii families, accounting for 38% of household spending — but our efforts over the last two years to invest in new housing are now paying dividends.

Affordable housing measures we have passed over the last two years are now fueling a surge in workforce and low-income housing developments across our islands.

Right now, we are tracking more than 46,000 affordable housing units that will be built by state and county government agencies and private developers over the next decade — with about 10,000 of these units likely completed by 2026.

To continue this surge in affordable housing, in the 2025-27 budget we have requested over $500 million to invest in projects including the development of housing for those earning 60% to 100% of the area median income, the 99-Year Leasehold Program on Oahu, infrastructure development for University Village housing along the rail, and the Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s Ka Lei Momi redevelopment project to transform Mayor Wright Homes from a 70-year-old low-income housing community with 364 units into a 2,448-unit mixed-use complex for working families.

In the 16 months since the devastating fires on Maui, state, federal, and local agencies have worked together in the recovery, planning, and rebuilding process — including provision of financial and other assistance and support to displaced residents, debris clearing in residential and commercial areas, restoration of infrastructure, and establishment of temporary and long-term housing and educational facilities.

Currently, the state and its federal, county, and private-sector partners are building more than 1,200 temporary housing units for survivors on Maui, in addition to providing direct rental assistance aid for more than 5,600 displaced residents.

As Maui continues to rebuild, we must ensure that the necessary resources are available — and in the 2025-27 budget we have requested significant funds to invest in recovery efforts as well as statewide wildfire prevention and disaster response.

Kauhale are communal living spaces for the homeless, with tiny housing units for individual households and shared space for cooking and eating, recreation, and growing food — also providing support services to foster communal ownership, roles, and responsibilities among residents, and over time reducing dependence on formal programs and dramatically decreasing healthcare costs for residents.

In the 2025-27 budget, we are requesting $50 million each year for Kauhale development and to continue to provide these critical services.

Right now, there are 16 completed Kauhale village projects statewide — with 30 planned by 2026, providing over 1,500 housing units to help get homeless people off the streets and get them the essential services they need.

Education is the key to the success of our keiki, and we have seen the growing success of summer learning hub programs that provide enrichment for Hawaii students — that’s why in the 2025-27 budget we are requesting nearly $21 million to sustain and increase participation in the Department of Education’s summer learning programs.

Early childhood education has been proven to improve outcomes for children throughout their lives, and there are currently 92 public Pre-K classrooms in 74 schools.

In the last two years, we added 223 full-time positions and over $38 million each year for Preschool Open Doors programs, and we have requested 166 additional full-time permanent positions and over $13 million to provide more pre-kindergarten classrooms over the next two years.

One of our ongoing challenges is to attract and maintain enough healthcare providers in our state — the Hawaii Physician Workforce Assessment Project’s December 2023 Report estimated that there is an unmet need of 757 physicians statewide.

To improve recruitment and retention in high-shortage areas, earlier this year we launched the Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program (HELP) — a state-funded initiative to provide $30 million for educational debt repayment to more than 900 healthcare professionals licensed or certified to practice in and provide care to patients in Hawaii.

In exchange for a two-year commitment of full-time or half-time service, qualifying healthcare professionals are eligible for loan repayments from $12,500 to $50,000 — and we have requested $15 million in the 2025-27 budget to continue HELP.

I am committed to doing everything I can to make Hawaii more affordable for working families, build enough housing for our people, and cut homelessness in half by 2026 — as well as investing in healthcare, education, and Maui’s recovery.

I will also do everything in my power to make sure that — no matter what happens in the federal budget process going forward — our state has the resources we need to invest in our people and continue providing essential services.

In Hawaii, we are one ohana — and if we continue putting our values into action, we can make sure our people can afford to live here and our next generation can have a future here.

Mahalo,

Josh

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