Legislature shows support for local agriculture, food security
Food security advocates are also celebrating policies that will make it easier for kūpuna and inmates nearing the end of their sentences to participate in SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Why housing affordability progress stalls out in Hawaiʻi
What is missing is not knowledge, evidence, or available policy options. What is missing is honesty about whom these reforms actually threaten and why bills with broad public support keep dying for reasons that rarely get named.
Luxury home tax pitch to fund Hawaiian Homes flopped. Now what?
The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands came away with some funds but will need to look for other revenue sources.
New data tool gives side-by-side comparison of House and Senate budget drafts
This update is the third in a series of data-forward additions Hawaiʻi Appleseed has made to its website in recent months, reflecting the organization’s commitment to transparency, accessibility, and evidence-based advocacy.
Hawaiʻi income tax cuts hang in balance as legislative session nears end
House and Senate committees focused on state finances pursued different paths in early March to preserve more or all of the scheduled tax breaks for all but the highest-income households.
Free school meals are popular. Hawaiʻi isn’t sold.
Three years after lawmakers first considered making school meals free for all kids, students and teachers are still pushing for change.
Don’t undermine Hawaiʻi’s Safe Routes To School program
A bill under consideration would give the transportation department broad authority to direct program funds for its existing projects, without going through the legislatively mandated evaluation process of the other proposals.
Tax fairness promoted in bills would implement major changes
The Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition is advocating for bills that would make major changes to the state’s income tax, capital gains tax, real estate sales tax and a tax on income for real estate investment trusts.
Free bus rides for keiki? So much for that
One supporter said she hopes the effort will come up again in a future year.
Bills to increase tenant protections advance at Legislature
State lawmakers are considering two measures that aim to improve protections for tenants and provide resources to better understand their rights.
Push to feed Hawaiʻi kids more local food is ‘structural disaster’
The DOE has not taken the effort seriously and has no real plan for how to meet a legislative mandate to spend 30 percent of its food budget locally by 2030, according to a state audit.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers debate scaling back promised tax cuts
In 2024, lawmakers passed sweeping tax relief under Act 46, promising phased income tax reductions for Hawaiʻi residents over several years. But the state’s financial outlook has changed.
Balancing the state budget could require pauses to income tax cut plan
With federal funding cuts on the horizon, state lawmakers are advancing measures proposed by Gov. Josh Green that would pause some of the “historic” state tax cuts passed in 2024.
Transportation: a cost-of-living burden but also an opportunity
Reframe the conversation by investing in multimodal services and infrastructure.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers debate Gov. Green’s freeze on income tax cut
Because lower tax rates through this year will continue at the 2026 level beyond this year, Green’s office said Hawaiʻi families will save $5.4 billion over the next five years after $1.5 billion this year under his proposal.
Protecting Hawaiʻi’s future demands pause on tax cuts
In the face of severe and unpredictable federal cuts, the plan to pause future state income tax cuts is a responsible safeguard for the very foundations of our community.
Scrutinize pause of tax cuts for all
Freezing progression of at least some of the state’s planned tax cuts is the clearest, cleanest path to preserving financial balance—at least until the effect of federal spending cuts is fully determined.
Hawaiʻi coalition calls for tax fairness for local needs
As Hawaiʻi struggles to meet growing needs in housing, education, health care and climate resilience, a broad coalition of community groups, labor unions and nonprofit advocates is pushing lawmakers to confront a long-standing question: how to pay for it.
New online tool shows disparities between communities on basic needs
Annalisa Burgos asks Hawaiʻi Appleseed how its Economic Justice Data Dashboard can help focus government spending.
5 Questions: Will White, Appleseed Hawaiʻi executive director
This year marks an inflection point for Hawaiʻi. We can either accept the federal government’s retreat from our public benefits system, or reinvent and reinvest in new systems that work to support Hawaiʻi’s most vulnerable families.