A federal government shutdown looms as Congress goes down to the wire on a Friday night deadline to deal with the budget.
Closer to home, Gov. Josh Green this week released his proposed spending plan as the legislative session opens next month. His next budget will be dominated by various housing efforts.
The Conversation spoke with Green about his state priorities and the federal political climate.
Interview Highlights
On the possibility of federal funding cuts
JOSH GREEN: We're watching the federal government very carefully, because they're in turmoil as of this moment, and it's not at all certain where they're going to land because they are threatening to make cuts across the nation. So we've asked our entire team to prepare for potential cuts from the federal government side. We've left enough money in reserve to be safe. Our carryover balance is, as of this moment, $1.08 billion for fiscal year '25, $1.05 billion for fiscal '26, and $1.29 billion for fiscal year '27, giving us some breathing room in case. My basic position is we have to focus on the priorities, like I've said many times, and then we have to also make sure that we don't remove any working people.
On creating more tiny homes, kauhale, for the state's homeless population
GREEN: We're building some additional kauhale on the west side and we'll be announcing them and doing, the launches of them, the functional operational launches in January. So we're at 16 kauhale, so far. But you will see more in West Oʻahu, and you'll see more on the neighbor islands in the coming year. So far, we have 563 beds for people in kauhale. It will actually increase to over 1,500 by the time this first term is done. So they need just a lot of support. Of course, a vacuum was left when Twinkle [Borge] passed away and that created some chaos. She was one of our heroes in this space. So we have to do all these things. We're getting creative. We're partnering with some private entities. Of course, we're always making state land available for use when it's appropriate. So we keep going. It is a labor of love, but it's very inexpensive compared to the cost of people being on the street — that means that we can afford it. We have put in the budget a total of $50 million each of this year and next to support the growing services. But the projection is it will save $450 million over six years because of people not needing to be with their families on the street and seeing emergency room doctors and so on. So the program, I believe, is a very thoughtful one, and we get better each year. That's the best part of it. Each kauhale is better than the last.
On the state income tax break scheduled for Jan. 1, 2025
GREEN: We're cutting the state's taxes in a historic way. Essentially across all groups, taxes will decrease by about 71% and, at the same time, we are seeing about a 4.1% increase in income — across the board. So what it means is essentially one example, just one example, you'll see a family of four who are making $88,000 and struggling to pay their rent or mortgage, they'll see their income tax liability drop from $5,086 to $1,473 — so that's like $3,600 a year, or $300 a month over the course of this tax break. That is meant to really be meaningful, and it could be even larger for some families. So that combined with building enough housing so that rents come down, that's the current plan. But I will also do what I can to keep other fees away from our local people — like as we talk about climate impact fees and those kind of services, those would be on travelers that come to Hawaiʻi so they won't hit our local families. It's very important that people understand that, because we want to care for our environment, but we can't add any extra cost, at least at the state level, to people's lives. I'll constantly do what I can to keep other political leaders from raising taxes or fees too much — they're trying to cover their costs and deal with the absolute necessities of their government. But most of the taxes were pegged at the state level, and so I'm going to keep dropping them.
On spreading health care across the state
GREEN: There's early discussion about expanding a new hospital in Kona and we're making sure that we are careful about, again, spreading our facilities in a good way to protect everyone's access to care. Hawaiʻi is the health state. We have the best health care access in the country. Even though sometimes it doesn't feel that way — we do, and we're going to continue to pay back the loans through our health program to social workers and doctors and nurses and psychologists, all of these groups, so that we have more and more providers, so you don't have to wait and you don't have to be afraid you can't get your prescription or whatever it is that you might need as a patient. We're going to be the only state in the country that repays anyone's health care debt, they've been trained. We'll be the only state that gets there 100% of the way. It will take me through about 2030 to get there. Might be able to get it done by 2028 if I'm given the opportunity to continue to serve and do this. But it helps us all because if you get a family doctor or a nurse practitioner into a rural area, they can care for thousands and thousands of people, and getting rid of their $300,000 or $400,000 or $500,000 debt, but getting a commitment from them to serve is a good trade-off.
On his upcoming trip to Washington and Trumpʻs Cabinet nominations
GREEN: I will likely be in Washington, D.C., in early January to share my feelings about some of the nominees, particularly RFK Jr. and his unfortunate, inappropriate nomination. He should not serve as HHS secretary because he doesn't believe in public health and prevention. So I'll be pushing very hard. He caused, indirectly, the measles epidemic in Samoa by scaring people there, and then providers were unable to deliver care. So I'll be in D.C. The federal government needs to stay open. I know that they are now going to be driven very hard by President Trump and Elon Musk, apparently, who's kind of running a shadow government right behind President Trump — which I am very surprised that the president's tolerating for now. He's not that kind of guy to tolerate someone trying to manipulate when he likes to be the one that makes decisions. So I'm going to be over there, and I will work with them and share just some honest reality with them about health care. The feds are likely to come to a deal in the coming days, but it might have a bumpy spot over this weekend. We absolutely need them to do the disaster relief money so that we can care for the people that suffered so much on Maui. So there's just a lot going on. I know it's dizzying for people to hear all these things, but just don't worry, I've got it. There are going to be some moments, but Hawaiʻi is going to come through this very well.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Dec. 19, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Tori DeJournett adapted this story for the web.
