Green pledges new approach to state government

Gov. Josh Green added new details to a range of ideas including how to add more tourist fees to access state parks and trails while renewing his promise that his administration will be transparent and “nimble.”

“Sooner or later, people are going to realize that we shouldn’t do things the same old way. That’s not worked,” Green told the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” live­stream program Monday. “The government is different now. We’re going to be more nimble.”

Green said he plans to move “forward much more aggressively than people are used to.”

He remains open to how to make tourists pay for their impact on Hawaii’s climate and environment — whether it’s a flat fee for every arriving passenger or fees paid for specific sites. Several bills propose charging tourists as young as 15 an annual “licensing” costing $50.

Airlines are reluctant to assess the fees, along with hotels that now charge a new county transient accommodations tax, Green said.

Revenue is estimated at $400 million a year no matter how the fees are assessed — on top of $100 million from the general fund that Green has proposed to also address climate change.

If the new fees go into a special fund, Green said every $10 of state spending can translate into $100 worth of bonds that would multiply Hawaii’s fight against climate change and environmental damage.

“By the end of the Legislature, we’re going to have dollars for the impact that travelers have on our climate, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

He remains unapologetic about assessing new fees just on tourists, especially given the millions of people who visited beginning in 2020 who had to undergo COVID-19-era testing that cost $130 to $140, “and they still came in droves.”

To address climate change, Green said, “we don’t want to have to try to go and raise people’s taxes to pay for it.”

“It’ll work,” said Green, calling himself “an environmentalist at heart. … The key is to take care of the environment.”

Asked about his Cabinet nominees, some of whom have been grilled by senators who will have to confirm them, Green said 90% appear headed for confirmation.

The other 10% include former City Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson, Green’s nominee to lead the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands after receiving a record $600 million from the Legislature to help clear the backlog of Hawaiian homes beneficiaries.

As Council chair and as a Council member before, Anderson “tangled” with plenty of people and “butted heads,” Green said.

But like Green, “he wears his heart on his sleeve like I do.”

Rather than appointing political insiders, Green chose Anderson, who has plenty of experience with permitting and development.

“If you want change, don’t expect me to do it like it’s been done in the last 20 years,” Green said. “These are not insider political picks.”

He also has proposed $312 million in tax breaks to households earning as little as $41,000 a year to up to $129,000 for a family of four and a general excise tax prohibition on food and medicine for low-income families.

“They’re barely surviving,” Green said. “They’re paying too much just for survival.”

Green also would like rental and health care subsidies, an increase in child care tax credits and a doubling of the state standard tax deduction to $10,000 from $5,000.

The plan should add up to an extra paycheck every year for struggling families.

“It all goes back into the economy immediately,” Green said. “Every single dollar … is going to go right back into small businesses. … This is the way to go.”