Governor Josh Green, M.D.

Taking Action on Homelessness:

On Governor Green’s 50^th day in office, during his State of the State Address on January 23, he signed an Emergency Proclamation to address homelessness by streamlining the construction process for select housing projects while ensuring that iwi kūpuna and significant cultural and environmental resources continue to be protected.

 

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Taking Action on Housing:

Governor Green participated in the blessing and groundbreaking of Kukuiola in Kealakehe, the first kauhale to be built on Hawai‘i Island. The 48-unit village on the Kona Coast also includes an emergency shelter, on-site medical care, mental health services and workforce training opportunities. The community is supported in large part by federal funds.

The governor’s vision is to build at least 12 kauhale statewide to help mitigate the housing crisis throughout Hawai‘i. O‘ahu is home to three kauhale, and Nani Medeiros, the state’s first Chief Housing Officer said a fourth kauhale development is currently in the works.

 

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Taking Action on Affordability:

The Governor initiated a plan to address Hawai‘i’s high cost of living through the Green Affordability Plan (GAP), which provides historic tax relief for Hawai‘i residents. It is the largest investment in our local people by State Government in history, and will put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of working families and help stimulate the economy.

 

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Taking Action on Environmental Protections:

A new Climate Impact Fund of $100 million to fight climate change through targeted investments in green infrastructure and support of existing conservation efforts was introduced this legislative session. Our administration is now supporting HB952 HD1, which appropriates funds to DLNR to address climate change. We are also working with legislative leaders to have direct appropriations in the budget for climate resiliency projects.

 

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Taking Action on Health and Well-Being:

We appointed Tia Hartsock as the first executive director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience, established by the state legislature. Tia’s office will tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the health and well-being of our communities. This new approach is based on Governor Green’s philosophy and understanding of the root causes of trauma and his desire to truly make strides to improve health outcomes for our most vulnerable populations and for future generations.

Governor Green also took action to issue an Emergency Proclamation to help ensure emergency transportation for every critically ill patient; especially those in rural communities. Working collaboratively with the state, counties, and healthcare industry partners, they were able to successfully maintain air medical transport statewide.

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Additional Actions Taken in the First 100 Days:

• Accepted the return of 363 acres of land on Molokaʻi for Hawaiian Homes Commission beneficiaries
• Championed legislation to decrease the cost of access to government documents
• Signed an agreement with Haneda Airport to streamline travel and promote Made-in-Hawaiʻi products and improve the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
• Joined with 20 other Governors to protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare
• Issued a Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority Request-for-Proposal (RFP) for 10,000 homes
• Kicked off the procurement RFP for the delayed HTA contract issue
• Proposed 147 bills during this first legislative session
• Responded to more than 2,500 constituent inquiries
• Hosted dozens of community and legislative events at Washington Place
• Engaged with diverse groups across our islands and beyond, including federal officials and leaders of business, academia, and philanthropy in Washington D.C., for solutions-driven conversations around top issues in states and territories
• Actively working with legislative, business, and community leaders to create a plan for the construction of the next Aloha Stadium

 

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