Video: Josh Green marks first 100 days as Hawai‘i’s ninth governor

Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green and his administration are just getting started.

Green, who spent more than 20 years as a physician on the Big Island and is a former state legislator, marked a milestone Wednesday — his first 100 days as the state’s ninth governor. Since taking office Dec. 5, 2022, not only has he diagnosed problems, he’s already prescribed and suggested solutions to treat many of Hawai‘i’s issues, including homelessness, affordability and climate change, as well as addressing government transparency and housing, among others. 

“My team and I are very proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish in our first 100 days,” Green said in a press release. “When we took office, we promised to take bold action. Today, we share some of these actions and we hope the people of Hawaiʻi see that this is a new beginning and a new path forward for our state — and we are just getting started.”

The Green administration has proposed 147 bills during its first legislative session and is engaging with diverse groups throughout the islands and beyond. That includes traveling to Washington, D.C., for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address in February.

Green said in a video marking his first 100 days in office that he and his wife Jaime were there to “build new bridges with all of the government in D.C., which again will help all of our people in Hawai‘i, we believe.”

Here are a few of the major moments — including several that have impacted the Big Island directly — during Green’s first 100 days as the state’s top executive:

• Enacting an emergency proclamation within the first two months of his administration to address homelessness by streamlining construction processes while ensuring iwi kūpuna and significant cultural and environmental resources are protected. The proclamation allows for the rapid acquisition or construction of projects to quickly house those who are unhoused.
• Initiated the first neighbor island Kauhale, or tiny home villages, on the Big Island. Green and other officials, including Hawai’i County Mayor Mitch Roth, recently broke ground on Kukuiola in Kealakehe, a long-waited Kauhale and assessment center that will help homeless people in West Hawai‘i. The Kauhale program will help thousands of people, with up to 15 villages possible in the first four years.
• Championed legislation to decrease the cost to access government documents and pledged to have a higher standard for public documents and government transparency.
• Spearheaded a proposal to create a new Climate Impact Fund and championing the state Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission to address climate change head-on and protect and preserve Hawai‘i’s natural resources.
• Initiated a plan to address the state’s high cost of living through the Green Affordability Plan to provide tax relief for Hawai‘i residents. Green said the plan means money will go back to every family that’s really struggling.
• Released $50 million in grants-in-aid for organizations such as Goodwill Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i Foodbank so they can take care of the people who need help the most.
• Asked state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez to make sure people get the information they want in real time because they need to see what the state’s government is doing. Green has vowed to be the most transparent governor in the state’s history.
• Committed $100 million right out of the gate to the state’s climate agenda to protect the ‘āina. Another $100 million should be coming for food security.
• Included in his budget request to the Legislature funding for three long-desired Big Island infrastructure projects: Pohoiki boat ramp construction ($40 million with match federal funds), Kohala ditch repairs ($10 million) and Kona Community Hospital improvements ($21.7 million). He also is committed to getting $50 million for Hilo Medical Center.

The governor also took action when a Hawai‘i Life Flight aircraft and its crew went missing in waters of the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel between Maui and the Big Island.

“We lost three people that we love and respect, but we had to keep our system together to get sick people from the neighbor islands to O‘ahu,” Green said in his video message. “So, we empowered the National Guard and the Coast Guard to make sure our system stayed intact and we’ve rebuilt it.”

Additional actions on the way include a Hawai‘i Tourism contract and seeing women’s reproductive rights honored when he signs legislation to protect their right to choose.

“We’re going at this as hard as we can because we care about people,” Green said in his video message about how he and his administration are working.