In much-needed modifications to his controversial emergency proclamation (EP) on housing, Gov. Josh Green has unveiled a more-inclusive and transparent framework to get up to 50,000 affordable housing units built to meet Hawaii’s severe shortfall.

Recalibrations were crucial, after his July 17 decree left many uneasy and some angry, due to mistrust of government that only grew in the wake of the Lahaina and Kula wildfires. But whether Friday’s amended second proclamation is enough to defuse tensions — including a lawsuit against the initial EP filed by esteemed plaintiffs — remains to be seen.

Let’s hope it is, for the sake of moving forward on the urgency to deliver more affordable homes, a crucial component of keeping Hawaii’s high cost of living bearable for kamaaina.

Most NOTABLE is that the EP no longer suspends laws in several key areas; instead it now:

>> Restores the Sunshine Law, which includes requirements for open meetings and public input; Green’s waiving of this law in the first EP should never have been done. Transparency is critical, if the governor has any hope of dispelling the deep antigovernment mistrust that has set in for some, especially after the tragic wildfire that leveled Lahaina.

>> Restores the historic preservation law, which includes Native Hawaiian burial grounds and handling of iwi (ancestral bones).

>> Restores environmental laws, which require environmental impact statements for some projects.

>> Rescinds the exemption for projects between 15 and 100 acres from going before the state Land Use Commission for zoning. Some had found Green’s suspension of this LUC authority particularly offensive, since the Legislature just this year had discussed such a policy but, in a democratically derived consensus, ultimately didn’t approve it.

One of the most necessary changes in Friday’s new EP is the addition of “affordable” to its title, and throughout. The EP now emphasizes and prioritizes the state and counties’ affordable housing projects, which aim to create thousands of new low-income and workforce housing units statewide. This is needed specificity to dispel suspicions of developers attempting to cash in with luxury housing projects at the expense of workforce homes.

Still, it bears watching that the amended EP defines affordable housing as up to 140% of area median income — which allows leeway for market-priced units, rather than a laser focus on housing for lower-income earners. Project eligibility is allowed for mixed-use/mixed-income proposals “that are primarily affordable,” the proclamation states.

Other welcome changes in the new EP: Rather than decision-making being done by one “lead housing officer,” there’s now a leader- ship trio within the Build Beyond Barriers Working Group of 22 members (most of them top governmental officials); and it excludes the area affected by the Lahaina wildfire, to allow residents there to guide the rebuilding process.

Green has now conceded on most of the first EP’s objectionable aspects, as highlighted in a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Sierra Club, ACLU, Native Hawaiian advocates and others.

While all agree with Green on the need for more affordable housing, the plaintiffs contend that the governor’s use of emergency powers to suspend laws on this problem is an overreach. The end, they say, does not justify the means.

It will be for the courts to rule on whether Hawaii’s housing crisis is a true “emergency” that allows Green to unilaterally suspend the rules of law. An argument could be made that while the shortage has been chronic and occurring for many years, it’s now hit an emergency point — evidenced in just the last couple of years with quantifiable outmigration of kamaaina who cite lack of affordable homes as their reason for leaving.

“There are some significant changes in the latest EP,” Green said on Friday. “What is unchanged, is our administration’s unwavering commitment to cut red tape and build more affordable homes for Hawaii residents.”

On another, related front: It’s fervently hoped that this housing EP, good for at least another 60 days, will spur the Green administration to come up with a policy package for the Legislature to take action on next year, on a range of strategies for affordable units. It also should put pressure on legislators to work on streamlining Hawaii’s byzantine land-use processes, and to not abdicate their responsibility to improve policies that ease the affordable housing crisis.

The state has until Wednesday to respond officially to Earthjustice’s lawsuit, en route to a Nov. 1 court date. In many ways, Friday’s EP changes answer the lawsuit’s concerns. These steps are a promising comeback, but whether it’s enough remains debatable. Let’s hope the legal challenge doesn’t become so all-consuming that we lose sight of the prize that requires bold, urgent action: making headway on many, many more affordable homes in order to keep Hawaii’s people in Hawaii.