Gov. Green delivers State of the State address, again prioritizing tax cuts, housing

In his State of the State address on Oʻahu, Gov. Josh Green said Hawaiʻi has been through difficult times in recent years, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the devastating wildfires on Maui, but “by uniting as ‘ohana, we found in each other the faith, hope and strength we needed to keep going and to rebuild.”

Standing in the House Chambers on Tuesday morning during the first 2025 joint session of the Hawai‘i State Legislature, Green confidently said: “Today, I am proud to report to you that the state of Hawai‘i is strong.”

He enters his third year in office with priorities he has had since Day 1: tax cuts and housing.

Last year, Green signed a bill passed by the legislature that provides the largest income tax cut for Hawai‘i families in the state’s history. Over time, it will move Hawai‘i from having the second-highest to the fourth-lowest tax burden in the country, he said.

“This tax cut will take effect in steps over the next seven years, providing an estimated $5.6 billion in total savings to our people,” Green said. “It will reduce taxes from between 10 to 71% for working families, depending on household income.”

A family of four making the median household income of $88,000 in Hawai‘i will see its take-home pay increase by more than $3,600 by 2031 when the tax reform has been fully implemented.

Green said these tax cuts are already going into effect now, and by 2031 the number of Hawai‘i households that will pay zero state income tax will rise from 25 to 40% — keeping more money in people’s pockets, and stimulating statewide economic growth.

While his speech was focused on progress and plans throughout the state, Green, a doctor who had practiced medicine on the Big Island, specifically pointed out his budget request of $25 million for Puna’s Keaʻau Outpatient Center for the construction of Urgent Care, Primary Care, Specialty Care Imaging Centers and a Behavioral Health Center, and more than $44 million for improvements to Hawai‘i Health System Corporation’s facilities, including the renovation of Kona Community Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Green also highlighted the launch of the Health Care Education Loan Repayment Program to address the shortage of health care professionals in rural and underserved areas.

Green said housing is the single largest expense for Hawai‘i families, accounting for 38% of household spending on average. Even before fires destroyed the homes of thousands of people on Maui in August of 2023, the state faced an estimated shortage of 50,000 housing units throughout the islands.

“Because of our lack of affordable housing, we also face a shortage of teachers and healthcare workers — and more Native Hawaiians now live on the mainland than in our state,” Green said.

To address the housing crisis when he came into office in 2022, Green said he immediately approved 10,800 new units of low-income housing for struggling families.

Over the past 18 months, the exemptions established in Green’s two emergency housing proclamations have helped approve or accelerate nearly 7,000 affordable housing units across the state, he said.

Right now, Green said the state is tracking more than 62,000 units over 257 projects being built by state and county agencies and private developers over the next decade — with 13,000 new units to be completed this year and 10,000 more next year.

This includes 46,000 new units of affordable housing.

For the next two years, Green’s administration has requested more than $500 million for housing initiatives. The governor also has been working with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on a 5-year plan to deliver more than 7,500 homes and lots for Native Hawaiians.

Green also touted the expanding kauhale (tiny home) villages to 17 statewide, with 30 villages planned by 2026.

But Sen. Joy Buenaventura, who represents Puna, said she was disappointed Green didn’t mention the housing projects tackled by Hope Services on Hawai‘i Island in two separate collaborations with ‘Ohana Health Plan and the Hilo Benioff Medical Center.

The nonprofit established supportive housing for those chronically houseless who struggle with mental health. Creating these supportive housing units were non-existent, the senator said.

“It’s a big thing,” Buenaventura said. “They did it without kauhale money. This is a nonprofit taking the bull by the horns and seeing a need.”

Buenaventura said these nonprofit and community collaborations are the future, adding: “We can’t keep funding these kauhales everywhere.”

Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who represents southeast portions of the Big Island, thinks Green has been successful in the kauhale program, which established communal villages of tiny homes for the houseless throughout the state, including Hawai‘i Island.

For Kapela, what stood out to her from Green’s address was that the beneficiaries for the tax cuts also include the highest income earners in the state.

Kapela believes more can be done to get money back into the pockets of families who are in need.

Kapela also felt something was missing from Green’s speech with regards to protecting immigrants who have made Hawai‘i home.

In his speech, Green also highlighted the passage of two new gun safety laws: designating sensitive places where firearms are prohibited and providing active-shooter training in public and charter schools

The governor also touted two gun buyback events where approximately 1,000 firearms were collected and the establishment of the Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which has seized 227,000 pounds of illegal fireworks.

Following a deadly fireworks incident on O‘ahu, Green plans to pursue legislation to ensure only safe and legal fireworks are used in the state.

In closing, Green said if the state continues to stand together, “we will reach out dreams, and together we will build the Hawai‘i our children and grandchildren deserve.”

Senate President Ronald Kouchi of Kauaʻi closed the joint session by committing to working with Green this session.

“I will guarantee you today, we’re not going to have agreement all the time, but I believe we are in alignment in what we want for the people of Hawai‘i,” Kouchi said.