Gov. Green to cut ‘red tape’ to stimulate Hawaii affordable housing

Gov. Josh Green plans to issue an emergency proclamation in early June to reduce construction “red tape” to stimulate development of more affordable housing, especially around the city’s rail line.

With Hawaii in need of 50,000 housing units, Green said he will not subvert environmental rules, but plans to “cut red tape and redundancy that goes on in the construction areas between the county and the state,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program Friday.

“People simply need housing too much,” Green said. “Until we get housing, we’re not going to have nurses. Until we get more housing, we’re going to still be 1,200 teachers short.”

Green also told “Spotlight” to expect “major changes” on Tuesday to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, along with changes to the state Board of Education and Hawaii Tourism Authority board.

“I’m going to do something somewhat, I think, provocative but meant to change things a little bit, meant to light a fire under us to really bring extra attention to the capacity of our university. … Expect a super boost on Tuesday.”

Green suggested that he plans to appoint former Gov. Neil Abercrombie — a finalist — to the UH Board of Regents, but Green only identified the new regent by the initials “N.A.”

Green also told “Spotlight”:

>> That he plans to cut in half the $1 billion that the Legislature budgeted for the state’s “rainy day fund” because updated Council on Revenues forecasts mean the state has $270 million less to spend and because the Legislature “overshot by a significant amount of money with projects.”

In “the coming weeks,” Green plans to announce that he will cut spending for individual “projects that just aren’t ready for prime time or have raised concerns by people.”

But he will protect “all housing projects, homeless projects, homeless serv­ices, education and climate response.”

>> He will be transparent on how he spends $200 million in discretionary funding appropriated by the Legislature.

Some $55 million to $60 million will go to the state Department of Education. More than $60 million will be used to fund tourism promotion and marketing contracts. And an unspecified amount will support “the university a little bit more,” Green said.

“I don’t want anyone to think that that money is going to anything other than our necessary projects,” he said.

>> Along with changes to the HTA board, which appoints HTA’s leader, Green suggested that a replacement is imminent for HTA President and CEO John De Fries after the Legislature failed to provide any dedicated funding in the legislative session that just ended.

“I do worry that John was not able to essentially win over the hearts and minds of those that have to fund the HTA,” Green said. “I worry that John does not have the ability right now to get the Legislature to fully fund what he would like to do.”

Before the 2024 legislative session begins, Green said that “they (HTA) have to produce this year.”

>> He expects to veto “a bill or two that took executive authority away during emergencies,” he said. “That’s not acceptable.”

The bills would reduce a governor’s powers over water rights and are “not that big a deal,” he said.

The larger issue, he said, is that “during emergencies you need the governor to take responsibility. That’s just all there is to it.”

>> He hopes to see 12 to 25 more tiny-home “kauhale” to provide permanent housing for homeless people across the state.

Green expects the next one to go up on Middle Street after a new “medical respite” kauhale takes in its first homeless patients Wednesday.

Pulama Ola, as it’s called, took seven weeks to go up on a state Department of Health parking lot between The Queen’s Medical Center on Punchbowl Street and the governor’s mansion.

It came in at a cost of “well under $20,000 per tiny home,” Green said.

Green held up a dark T-shirt emblazoned with “YIMBY” — meaning “Yes in My Back Yard,” he said.

Because of Pulama Ola’s location next to the governor’s mansion, Green said, “I’m speaking literally.”

Green, a medical doctor, plans “to do medical rounds” at Pulama Ola.

He hopes that Pulama Ola sends the message to residents across the islands that they, too, should welcome a kauhale to reduce homelessness in their communities.

“The costs of homelessness will plummet when we do this well,” he said. “Overall, people will be safer because there aren’t individuals, say, taking over a park, or they’ll be safer because someone perhaps isn’t doing drugs on the street or near a school.”

At the same time, Green said, “we do have to care for people who are really struggling.”