A mix of progress and missed opportunities: affordable housing efforts at the 2024 legislature
As Hawaiʻi continues to grapple with the complex dynamics of housing affordability and availability, it is clear that a more balanced approach that incorporates both supply- and demand-side measures, is essential.
The big budget trouble with HB2404’s over-broad and sweeping tax cuts
Last minute changes to the bill, made without public scrutiny, will increase its cost by nearly eight-fold, while higher-income households will get a far bigger benefit than those struggling to make ends meet.
Leverage Hawaiʻi’s conveyance tax to equitably fund affordable housing, land conservation and infrastructure needs
The legislature has the opportunity this session to raise revenue to pay for much needed affordable housing—as well as land conservation and infrastructure—by increasing conveyance tax rates on investment properties.
Focusing in on people-first policy for the 2024 legislative session
Hawaiʻi Appleseed announces its legislative priorities for the 2024 session.
Hawaiʻi can increase housing stability through a rent relief & mediation program
Creating and funding an ongoing rent relief and pre-litigation mediation program will increase housing stability in Hawaiʻi.
Legislative agenda 2023: tax reforms to boost incomes and fund investments in our future
Top of the list of immediate challenges for Hawaiʻi is to find a way to prevent our people from being overwhelmed by the high and rising cost of living in the islands.
What Finland can teach us about ending homelessness in Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi can end homelessness. It starts with a mindset shift: housing is a human right, and the cost to provide housing to each and every person in Hawaiʻi is well worth the necessary investment in public resources.
What made the 2022 Hawaiʻi legislative session a win for working families?
After multiple years with little progress on policy to help working families survive Hawaiʻi’s highest-in-the-nation cost of living, several factors came together to deliver a banner year in 2022.
Honolulu County’s eviction mediation program was a resounding success
Act 57’s pre-litigation eviction mediation program shows a promising pathway forward to greater housing security by preventing evictions and keeping families housed.
Community-driven progress on Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing crisis
The only to address Hawai‘i’s long-standing housing crisis is through a comprehensive, community- and data-driven approach designed not to just build more housing, but to build the housing that Hawaiʻi residents need and can afford.
Put more money in working people’s pockets and reduce housing costs
This legislative session, Hawaiʻi Appleseed is pushing hard to implement a significant minimum wage increase, expand successful tax credits for low-income families, and lay the groundwork for housing policy that will mean no one in Hawaiʻi is left unsheltered because of poverty.
A tax on vacant units could provide housing crisis relief, if done right
Besides funding sources, taxes can be an excellent way of shifting behaviors; but getting rates and exemptions right is key to success.
Honolulu just moved to the forefront of vacation rental regulation
After 30 years, the county finally has the tools it needs to stop the proliferation of illegal short-term rentals.
Enforcement of vacation rental regulations would restore balance
More than one out of every 20 housing units statewide is now offered as a vacation rental; in some communities, as many as four out of every 10 housing units have been converted into STRs.
Appleseed announces 2019 policy agenda
After months of research spent examining these critical issues, this agenda prioritizes efforts for maximum benefit to the community at-large.
Public charge rule change would hurt Hawaiʻi’s economy
Not only would the proposed rule change adversely impact the standard of living of Hawaiʻi’s immigrant families, it would also harm Hawaiʻi’s overall economy.
Incomes in Hawaiʻi are not as high as you’ve heard: Here’s why
Over the years, the media has often reported that Hawaiʻi incomes are among the highest in the nation. If that doesn’t sound quite right to you, trust your gut.
Honolulu’s proposal to regulate short-term rentals needs serious help
Addressing the rampant proliferation of short-term vacation rentals in Hawaiʻi is critical to solving our housing crisis, but it’s imperative that we do it the right way: here’s how.
Coming soon: The Hawaiʻi Budget and Policy Center
Hawaiʻi Appleseed is creating a new think tank focused on research and analysis of state budget and tax policy—the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center (HBPC).
ADU demo draws hundreds of visitors
The 10th-annual Build-a-Thon included a model accessory dwelling unit (ADU), a small dwelling that can be built on single-family properties.