Hawai‘i legislative leaders push for affordable housing, tax relief

HONOLULU — The state Legislature convened for its first session on Wednesday, as party leaders presented a wide array of proposals from affordable housing bills to criminal justice reform.

In the House, many of Speaker Scott Saiki’s priorities revolved around creating financial relief for Hawai‘i residents.

Saiki raised the possibility of adjusting the state’s earned income tax credit to benefit low- and middle-income households, as well as investing $200 million in loans for up to 7,600 working families to install solar battery systems in their homes.

Saiki also reaffirmed he would work with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to manage the $600 million secured last year for speeding up the homestead program’s housing development for beneficiaries.

Additionally, the speaker announced he would move to reauthorize a special committee for the Red Hill water crisis.

“When it comes to the current state of our environment, no issue presents more of an existential challenge than the purity and well-being of our water,” he said.

Saiki also addressed press reports that the state Legislature and newly elected Gov. Josh Green have found themselves at odds with one another, affirming the chamber’s primary commitment to its constituents.

“Let me be clear — the House will work with Gov. Green and his team in good faith and in a positive manner, so that we can solve problems and bring results to Hawai‘i residents,” he said.

Representing the six Republicans in Hawai‘i’s House of Representatives, House Minority Leader Lauren Matsumoto opened her speech by assuring peers that her party would stand small but mighty.

“Although our caucus is few in numbers, we are strong in our passion, conviction and motivation,” she said. “And let me tell you — we have a lot to bring to the table.”

Matsumoto and the Republican Caucus proposed a state-led down payment assistance program, implementation of school boards, a 12-year term limit for state elected officials, and criminal justice legislation that would, in her words, “be tough on crime, as well as focused on rehabilitation.”

Most notably, Matsumoto proposed the elimination of Hawai‘i’s income tax.

“For the average household, this will provide an additional $15,000 back in their pockets,” she said. “That is life changing.”

Following Matsumoto’s remarks, House Majority Leader Nadine Nakamura laid out the House Democrats’ priorities for the new legislative session.

“We heard loud and clear from our constituents that we need more affordable housing, we need more mental health services, and we need to take care of our natural resources,” she said.

While noting the state Legislature allocated nearly $1 billion toward affordable housing projects last session, Nakamura suggested additional funding would be necessary.

“By putting an additional $300 million into the Rental Housing Revolving Fund, we can build another 800 extra units of affordable housing and keep the development and construction pipeline flowing,” she said.

Referencing bills crafted by Saiki and Rep. Lisa Martin, Nakamura detailed the party’s emphasis on enhancing the state’s mental health services.

“The growing need for child and adult mental health services requires a multi-pronged approach, including bills to improve and expedite assisted community treatment for those experiencing severe mental health crises and improve youth crisis response services through a pilot outreach mobile program.”

Finally, Nakamura proposed additional funds for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to prevent flooding, reforest land with native tree species, and control the spread of invasive species.

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While Saiki touched on press speculation about an adversarial relationship between the Legislature and the new governor, Senate President Ron Kouchi (District 8, Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau) used much of his off-the-cuff opening day speech to dispel the claims.

In late 2022, Kouchi and Saiki came out against Green’s proposals to eliminate the General Excise Tax on food and medicine, and to impose a fee on all tourists upon their arrival in Hawai‘i.

While he maintained his concerns about Green’s tourist fee, Kouchi said Wednesday that they were both working toward the same goal — using funds from visitors to help local people.

“I’m committed to working with (Green) to get the resources we need from the people we need to be paying it,” said Kouchi.

Instead of a fee upon arrival, Kouchi suggested expanding on the current park reservation fee system. The Waimea High School graduate used the example of Ke‘e Beach on the North Shore of Kaua‘i as an example of his proposal, which has charged non-Hawai‘i residents $5 per person or $10 per vehicle to access the park since 2019 and now generates about $1 million a year.

“There are other parks that would be appropriate, and I believe we could be generating between $20 and $40 million a year from visitors,” said Kouchi.

Kouchi also reiterated support for Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s broad plan to expand pre-K access throughout the state. The plan hopes to make preschool available to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032 through a combination of public funding and vouchers.

“I want to publicly say to Governor Green,” said Kouchi, “I admire your confidence, the self-esteem you have to empower the lieutenant governor to undertake such an important job.”

At one point, Green, seated behind Kouchi, stood up and embraced the Senate president to show that there were no bad feelings.

Green, who is just one month into his first term as governor, said he didn’t expect much conflict with the House and Senate, though they may have some different opinions.

“We all want the same thing, which is to make Hawai‘i affordable, to have a good housing inventory and probably keep our climate intact,” Green said. “There’s not much else right now that’s on people’s minds.”

Last week, the Senate Majority caucus released a list of priorities ahead of the 2023 session, including supporting affordable housing projects through funding and permitting reform, addressing the teacher shortage through dedicated affordable housing and educational pathways, and establishing annual mental health checkups as a mandatory covered health insurance benefit.

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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-245-0427 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com. Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.