Blog

Hawai‘i Appleseed is creating a new center focused on research and analysis of state budget and tax policy—the Hawai‘i Budget and Policy Center (HBPC). On August 24th, we had the opportunity to provide a preview of the HBPC at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s .

Nick Johnson from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based in Washington D.C., discussed how proposed federal budget and tax policies will affect Hawai‘i.

Hawai‘i Appleseed Co-Directors Victor Geminiani and Gavin Thornton followed up with…

On July 10, 2017, Governor David Ige signed HB 209, a bill creating a non-refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) worth up to 20 percent of the federal EITC. With this new law, Hawai‘i joins 28 other states and D.C. in offering a state-level EITC to help working families keep more of their earnings.

It is estimated that the new tax credit will provide $130 million in tax relief for low-income and working-class families over its first 6…

Over the past several months, we have been working with the tenants of Front Street Apartments, a 142-unit complex in Lahaina that houses 300 low-income residents. The complex was built in 2001 using low-income housing tax credits with the stipulation that it would remain affordable for 50 years.

On May 2nd, the Senate and House voted to pass HB 209, putting us just one step away from a Working Family Credit in Hawaii, and greater tax fairness for low-income residents. House Speaker Scott Saiki has labeled the passage of the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as the “most consequential work in the last few years to reduce poverty and Hawai?i’s high cost of living.”
 
Hawai’i Appleseed led the effort to get the EITC (or “Working Family…

This month, Hawai‘i Appleseed collaborated with Hawai‘i Habitat for Humanity to host the 10th-annual Build-a-Thon, which for the first time included a model accessory dwelling unit (ADU). ADUs are small dwellings that can be built on single-family properties and rented for six months or longer. Event sponsors donated labor and materials to create the ADU, which was put on the lawn of the State Capitol.

Appleseed and Habitat staff held tours and answered questions from approximately 2,500 visitors, including homeowners…

Hawai’i Appleseed recently released a report entitled “Struggling to Make Ends Meet: The Need for a Working Family Credit,” which highlights the results of a survey that we commissioned to learn more about the financial situation of Hawai’i residents as well as their opinion of tax credits that would let low-income workers keep more of what they earn.

The results were both sobering and promising. Read the full report here.…

The Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) and local foster parents have reached an agreement regarding the amount that should be paid to cover the expense of caring for children in foster care. The agreement is intended to bring to a close a federal class action lawsuit that was filed in December 2013, and a related case filed in state court.

When the lawsuits were filed, foster parents were provided with a stipend of $529 per…

Thanks to tremendous support from our sponsors, individual supporters, artists and volunteers, our fifth annual Artists for Appleseed was a huge success! The event raised more than $100,000 for our work on affordable housing and homelessness. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed, and we are looking forward to putting these funds to work on one of the most critical issues facing Hawai‘i's low-income residents.

In April 2016, the Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice released a report entitled “The State of Poverty in Hawai‘i: How Hawai‘i’s Residents Are Faring Post-Recovery.” The report brings together the most recent available data to provide a snapshot of how low-income residents have fared after the economic recovery.

While some indicators have improved, families continue to struggle. Hawai‘i has the highest cost of living but the lowest wages in the country…