Hawaii governor highlights ‘greatest hits’ in third State of the State address

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. Josh Green delivered his third State of the State address to a joint session of the Hawaii State Legislature on Tuesday.

Hawaii News Now political analyst Colin Moore says the speech highlighted accomplishments after the pandemic and the Maui wildfires during a period of relative calm.

“It was maybe a less combative speech than he’s given in the past. It wasn’t quite aggressive. It didn’t launch new initiatives, but at this stage in the administration, I’m not so surprised,” said Moore.

“This was a greatest hits of the Green administration speech,” he added.

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Hawaii’s high cost of living

One of Green’s top issues is addressing Hawaii’s high cost of living.

He touted his administration’s efforts toward lowering taxes and signing into law the largest income tax cut for working Hawaii families in state history, which he said will result in an estimated $5.6 billion in total savings.

Green said, “It will reduce taxes from between 10 to 71 percent for working families, depending on household income, moving Hawaii from having the second-highest to the fourth-lowest tax burden in the country.

“A family of four making the median household income of $88,000 in Hawaii will see its take-home pay increase by more than $3,600 by 2031 when the tax reform has been full,” Green said.

Green said by 2031, 40% of Hawaii households will pay zero state income tax, hence giving families an opportunity to save more money.

Green said, “Our goal continues to be making our state more affordable, so local families can live in Hawaii and our next generation can have a future here, and in the coming years we will continue to find new ways to lower our cost of living.”

Green also highlighted his administration’s ability to reduce spending in the budget by $500 million in 2024 while still maintaining a $1.5 billion rainy day fund.

Affordable housing, homelessness, and health care

As for housing, the governor admitted that the housing crisis has only exacerbated after the Maui wildfires, which is contributing to Hawaii’s teacher and health care worker shortage.

He then touted his administration’s efforts in cutting red tape and improving rental laws.

More than 62,000 units over 257 projects are slated to be built over the next decade, Green said. Tens of thousands of units of affordable housing is expected to be built this year, including housing for Native Hawaiians.

Green said for the next two years, his administration has requested over $500 million for housing initiatives, including:

• $250 million for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to develop more affordable housing.
• $30 million for Phase 2 of the 99-Year Leasehold Program on Oahu.
• $62 million for the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu infrastructure development for University Village near the rail.
• $68 million to transform Mayor Wright Homes to add more than 2,000 housing units for the district’s working families.

Green then went on to recognize the efforts to address homelessness across the state. He said they’re nearing their goal of cutting homelessness in half by the end of next year.

He said he’s focused on expanding programs focused on addressing gun violence and illegal fireworks.

Maui wildfire recovery

As for Maui recovery, Green said more than 99% of those displaced by the fire have been moved into long-term housing and dozens of wildfire wind sensors are being deployed across the state.

The governor said he requested $350 million be dedicated to Maui recovery efforts in the budget for the next two years, in addition to the global settlement, and $2.2 million in funding will go toward the re-establishment of the State Fire Marshal’s office.

“We have made incredible progress, but there is so much more to do,” Green said.

Green’s speech didn’t mention President Donald Trump fresh off Monday’s inauguration and 18 states, including Hawaii, that filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his order denying birthright citizenship.

“He didn’t even hint that Hawaii might position itself as opposed to the administration,” said Moore.

While not mentioned in the speech, Green said he’s has given up on the “Green fee,” a tax on tourists to support climate resiliency efforts, but he still supports increasing the hotel room tax.