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Green highlights ‘major milestones’ in first 100 days

Dan Nakaso
STAR-ADVERTISER
                                Gov. Josh Green delivers remarks, Dec. 19, about the Executive Budget for Fiscal Biennium 2023 - 2025.
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STAR-ADVERTISER

Gov. Josh Green delivers remarks, Dec. 19, about the Executive Budget for Fiscal Biennium 2023 - 2025.

One hundred days into his new administration, Gov. Josh Green today highlighted what he called “a few of our major milestones.”

Among them:

>> The nominations of 20 Cabinet members and most of their deputies, led by Green’s Chief of Staff Brooke Wilson. Nine of Green’s nominees and two of their deputies have been recommended by various Senate committee for confirmation before the full Senate.

Kali Watson, Green’s second nominee to lead the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, is scheduled for his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee, which earlier voted against recommending that former Council Chair Ikaika Anderson lead DHHL. Watson previously served as DHHL chair. Chris Sadayasu, Green’s nominee to lead the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, is also scheduled for a confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Energy, Economic Development and Tourism Committee.

>> The nominations of more than 70 people to the Senate to serve on state boards and commission that include his Cabinet appointments.

>> An emergency proclamation that Green signed on the Senate floor during his first State of the State speech to address homelessness “by streamlining construction processes, while ensuring that iwi kupuna and significant cultural and environmental resources are protected.”

>> The on-going expansion of Green’s kauhale tiny home village concept to provide permanent housing for homeless people that has since moved to the neighbor islands: Kukuiola on Hawaii island and another in Kealakehe on the Kona coast.

>> Support for legislation to decrease the cost to access government documents and a Green’s pledge “to have a higher standard for public documents and government transparency” following 31 recommendations by a special commission.

The Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct was created after then-former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and now-former Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen pleaded guilty in federal court in February 2022 to accepting bribes to support and kill legislation on behalf of Milton J. Choy, owner and manager of a company called H2O Process Systems.

>> Spearheading a proposal to create a new Climate Impact Fund and the “championing (of) the State Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission to address climate change head on and protect and preserve our state’s natural resources.”

>> Green’s plan to address the high cost of living “through our Green Affordability Plan (GAP), which provides historic tax relief for Hawaii’s residents.”

>> The introduction of 147 bills this legislative session.

>> “And we have taken decisive, executive actions on housing, homelessness, affordability and climate change as promised,” Green said.

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