Kaʻū News Briefs, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023

COST OF LIVING: Two weeks ago, I testified in person before the House Finance Committee on the meaning of ALICE — Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed. These are families struggling to afford basic household necessities such as childcare, healthcare, and transportation. Families who must choose between buying food or medicine for their families — one paycheck or one health crisis away from slipping into poverty or facing eviction. Our cost of living is the highest in the country at nearly twice the national average.

See the 2022 ALICEreport at https://www.boh.com/siteassets/files/community /alice-report-2022.pdf

   In Hawai‘i, we should not teeter on the brink of poverty in order to provide for our ‘ohana.
One job should enough to support a family.
Our plan takes the necessary steps to strengthen the health of ALICE families and communities.
The Green Affordability Plan cuts taxes and provides tax relief annually for the people that need it most.
If adopted in full by the legislature, it will provide over $300 million in tax relief to the people who need it most.
    This will help us get money into the pockets of working families so that they can purchase essential goods and services like food, medicine, and housing, which will in turn stimulate our economy.
    Following the recommendations of the 2020 Tax Commission, we will reform our tax code to provide for a cost-of-living adjustment in response to recent inflationary pressures. This plan provides universal tax relief by: Shifting Tax brackets to ensure that working families aren’t burdened by inflation; More than doubling the Standard Deduction from $2,200 to $5,000; and Doubling the personal exemption from $1,144 to $2,288.
    Under this plan, every income bracket in Hawai‘i will be paying less state income tax. This directly lowers Hawai‘i’s cost of living for every resident, by keeping more money in the pockets of every taxpayer. Under this proposal, a family of four in every income bracket can anticipate nearly $2,000 in savings due to reduced taxes, and lower income families will see even more savings.
    For many, this is the equivalent of a full extra monthly paycheck every year.
    In addition, the Green Affordability Plan intentionally rewards our families, caretakers, and educators by: Creating a new Educator Tax Credit of $500 per teacher; Providing our hardest-hit residents a Renters Credit of $350; Making the Food Excise Tax Credit available to a full 1/3 of taxpayers; and Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit from 20% to 30% of the federal amount.
     We’ll also take bold action to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. Under our proposal, working families paying for daycare, babysitters, summer camps, after school care, and adult daycare will be eligible for up to $10,000 of support from the state.This will provide a huge relief for working families and help reduce the choice that many face — whether to start a family or to invest in a career. This plan will grow our economy, ensure healthier kupuna and keiki, and reduce the burden placed on family caretakers across our state.
    Hawai‘i families should not have to choose between a job and childcare, between rent and healthcare, between school supplies and dinner. The Green Affordability Plan is essential relief from the economic burdens forcing too many families to leave our islands.We thought long and hard about how resources are allocated and invested in state priorities. When we invest in families, we invest in our future — and our return on investment is unlimited.
    The people of Hawai‘i deserve generational tax reform. This reform will help us build a more equitable future, where our people can be more productive and more secure. A future where residents are not one paycheck away from crisis. A future where our priorities reflect our values, and we can all rise together as one ‘ohana.

OUR CLIMATE CRISIS: Tax relief provides immediate support to families across our state, but we also need to take action to protect our environment and our planet, which will have direct and long- term effects on our economy now and into the future. This is why addressing climate change today is so important. The impact of climate change is wide-ranging. As an island state, climate change threatens our economy, culture, environment, and the sustainability of our way of life. That’s why I announced our commitment to providing 100 million dollars for a climate impact fund steered by the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption Commission. We are committed to pursuing climate change strategies that are equitable, culturally responsive and resilient. This includes looking at the resiliency of the power grid, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, land use planning, sea level rise, health, natural and cultural resource impacts, and much more.
We have taken action and dedicated resources for these vital efforts — but we can’t do it alone.
    This fund will be open to contributions from anyone, whether locally or around the globe.
The revenues generated from visitor impact fees will fortify our efforts to protect Hawai‘i’s people and our way of life, and we will continue to take the impacts of climate change seriously.

Gov. Josh Green supports expansion of Japanese wedding tourism to Hawai'i. Photo from Aloha Island Weddings

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Our administration will work to ensure that our economy: Fosters prosperity for our people; Creates opportunities for our keiki; Protects the unique character of Hawaiʻi, and Strengthens and supports our shared values.
    We will not sit passively on the sidelines any longer when it comes to our economic development.We will reach out beyond our shores and seek opportunities for our people.
In doing so, we will fulfill the promise that Governor Burns saw for our state, and in his words, Hawai‘i “…will finally assume our rightful place in the Pacific sun.”
    We are the center of the Pacific — linking together Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the broader United States.
    In the coming years, we will reposition our economy to pursue global opportunities — retooling tourism, developing green technologies, and expanding our reach into international markets for our small businesses and our world-class professional sector. We will begin to move our economy beyond tourism, become energy independent, and fulfill our potential as a economic and renewable energy leader in the Pacific.
    We have been working with partners to convene Japanese and local businesses in key sectors for
Hawai‘i's economy, like the international wedding industry, which brings in over 20% of all visitors from Japan. Welcoming more visitors like our Japanese neighbors means we can generate more revenue for local businesses while taking in fewer tourists overall. We are also working on new plans to increase the export of locally-made and locally- grown products with our regional partners.
    Despite being the 41-largest state by population, we rank last of all US states in overall economic exports — a statistic that needs to change. Our economy is rife with untapped potential. We will encourage our small business and professional services sectors to seek new markets beyond our islands.
    We will strengthen Native Hawaiian-owned businesses, support Hawaiian agricultural food production like taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and promote indigenous farming practices to keep our people more physically, mentally, and spiritually nourished.
    Diversifying our crops and food systems will help us connect with the land and each other as we strive to grow what we eat and eat what we grow, deepening our connection to our ‘āina.
    By advocating for our local interests and through dialogue with our partners, we can create more opportunities for Hawai‘i’s people.

Gov. Josh Green said he wants to bring in one billion dollars to invest in hydrogen for renewable energy. Photo from Millennium Reign Energy

    I am pleased to share that we are working on an initiative with federal, community, and international partners to pursue investments in cutting-edge hydrogen technologies for Hawai‘i. Through cooperation with partners in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States Congress, this technology can help stabilize the Pacific’s energy resilience, promote our defense infrastructure, and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
    To that end, we are preparing a historic application to potentially bring in over a billion dollars in federal and private sector investments to our state through a regional Hydrogen Hub.
    The integration of hydrogen technology into our grid, along with the continued expansion of traditional renewable energy infrastructure, will give utilities, businesses, and local talent an international advantage, with the potential to turn our state into a regional energy exporter.
    Through proactive efforts like these, Hawai‘i is leading our Pacific neighbors into the future.
    Not just through defense initiatives, but through greater economic, energy, and cultural integration. And by leveraging our climate investments, our renewable enregy and environmental expertise, and our unique geographic location, we can achieve even greater economic diversification.

MAJOR PROJECTS: We also need to address two major projects — the stadium and a new correctional facility. We all want a stadium, a place where we can be proud of our sports teams. We want a stadium for our university, our families, and our broader community. When the Aloha Stadium first opened in September 1975, the arena was a great triumph. But times have changed, and so have the needs of Hawai‘i’s people. For a project of this size, we must be thoughtful, thorough, and analytical. We’ve

Gov. Josh Green says he wants to replace O'ahu Community Correctional Center with a modern prison. He also plans to replace Aloha Stadium with a new sports venue. Photo from Department of Corrections

already addressed the benefits of a public-private partnership in the future development of the Aloha Stadium, but such a partnership will only work if the state gets a fair deal.

    We are carefully reviewing our options and we will go forward on the best deal available. But we can’t afford to wait — the longer the delay, the higher the cost.
    The same goes for replacing the obsolete O‘ahu Community Correctional Center. To replace the OCCC, we need to build a modern, new correctional facility that is safe, secure, and humane, that has the capacity to provide rehabilitation, counseling, education, and job training opportunities to inmates, at the same time it protects the public.
    Almost all of those convicted of non-violent crimes and held in our correctional facilities will one day return to our communities, and will be living alongside us as our neighbors. We must move toward a restorative approach to justice rather than strictly punitive one.
   As my administration reviewed the details of these projects, we saw that the previous legislature provided general fund monies to begin the construction of a new stadium and plan construction of the new jail.For projects of this size, we need to work together and reach consensus — these two projects will continue to be debated in the coming legislative session. Again, our goal will be to secure the best deal for the state and get these projects moving forward as quickly as possible.

Gop. Josh Green asked the state Senate to confirm his cabinet nominees, including  these six. Front: Dawn Chang, Sharon Hurd, Ikaika Anderson. Back: Laura Ka’akua,  Morris Atta, Katie Lambert Ducatt. Photo from Josh Green

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