HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center on Law & Economic Justice is proud to announce the launch of the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center (HBPC) and the selection of Beth Giesting to serve as its director.

Hawaiʻi Appleseed created HBPC to be a source of accurate, thoughtful, independent and timely public policy research and analysis. HBPC will have a special focus on state and county budget and tax policy, which profoundly affects how Hawaiʻi addresses issues of poverty and fairness. The need for HBPC is particularly compelling today given the magnitude of our current challenges, including:

• Mounting financial pressures on nearly half of Hawaiʻi’s residents, who live paycheck-to-paycheck in spite of continued local economic growth;

• The highest housing costs in the nation, the highest rate of homelessness, and the highest rate of overcrowding in housing—problems that continue to worsen with housing costs increasing at more than twice the rate of increases in wages; and

• Serious new threats to federal funding for programs that serve low-income and other vulnerable populations.

HBPC will be a resource to decision-makers and the public, providing relevant, impactful information on tax and program policy to reduce poverty and inequality and foster greater fiscal responsibility. 

HBPC will also contribute to coalition advocacy efforts through data-driven research, creating compelling policy arguments and developing tools advocates can use. With a broad focus on tax equity, revenue adequacy, budget priorities and government transparency, HBPC will select projects that are timely, strategic and likely to increase social justice and equitable prosperity.  HBPC will have its own dedicated, highly qualified staff but will be housed at and supported by Hawaiʻi Appleseed.

“It is an honor to be chosen to head up the new Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center at Hawaiʻi Appleseed,” said Giesting. “Developing and sharing objective information about the effects of local budget and policy decisions with elected officials and the public is becoming more urgent as the economy and social dynamics of Hawaiʻi change.”

Giesting’s interest in social and economic equity stems from a career in shaping health policy and programs for low-income people paired with a recognition that poor health and the stresses of poverty are intertwined. Giesting was a formative executive director for the Kalihi-Palama Health Center and served as CEO for the Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, advocating for resources for community health centers across the state and the people they serve. 

Later, Giesting worked as the state’s healthcare transformation coordinator for both Governors Abercrombie and Ige, where she consulted healthcare stakeholders across the state and best practices across the country to develop a plan for better care and coordination for Hawaiʻi.

HBPC has been accepted as an introductory member of the State Priorities Partnership (SPP), joining a national network of 43 budget and tax policy state centers that align their work with that of the esteemed Center on Budget & Policy Priorities (CBPP). Like CBPP, which is recognized as the “go-to” source of reliable and meaningful research and analysis of budget and tax policy at the federal level, SPP organizations fill the same role at the state level. SPP organizations share policy ideas and research so individual states can tap into the experience of their counterparts across the country.  

Only one organization can be a member of the SPP network in each state. As with other SPP centers, HBPC’s work is expected to be relied upon by a variety of advocates, community-based coalitions, service providers, and state administrative and legislative policy makers. It is designed to become a valuable community asset of expansive impact.

“The Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center, under Beth Giesting’s leadership, is now the newest member of the State Priorities Partnership,” said CBPP Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy Nick Johnson. “This network of independent, non-partisan, deeply-rooted state-level policy organizations pulls back the curtain on state budgets and taxes, cuts through the jargon and politics, and sheds light on whether policies give everyone an opportunity to prosper and thrive. Because of this work, Hawaiʻi lawmakers, community leaders, journalists and ordinary citizens will have reliable, real-time information to aid sound policy decisions.”

“The Hawaiʻi Appleseed board is gratified by the broad community support that creation of HBPC has already received, and is delighted that Beth Giesting has agreed to serve as its first director,” said Hawaiʻi Appleseed board president David Reber. “With the financial support of a number of foundations and individuals, and the insights that will be provided by a blue ribbon advisory board, we believe that HBPC will elevate policy analysis and transparency in Hawaiʻi, and will become a highly valuable resource for advocates and policy makers alike.”

Hawaiʻi Appleseed has carefully explored the viability and potential value of forming a budget and policy center over the past two years, a process that included an analysis conducted by the locally-based Islander Institute. This analysis confirmed the need for and viability of an SPP center in Hawaiʻi. HBPC has formed a strong advisory board to assist the HBPC with its work, chaired by University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents Vice Chair Randy Moore.

“Beth Giesting will bring to the center a passion for improving the conditions under which Hawaiʻi’s financially stressed population labors; a solid understanding of key government functions that address those conditions; and a keen intellect to analyze the impact of public budgets and policies on outcomes that affect these populations,” said Moore.

Financial commitments to support the staff dedicated to HBPC have been secured from the following foundations: Aloha Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation, Bank of Hawaiʻi Foundation, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, HEI Charitable Foundation, HMSA Foundation, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation. Members of the advisory board have also made personal financial commitments to support the center.

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Hawaiʻi Appleseed is working to build a more socially just Hawaiʻi, where everyone has genuine opportunities to achieve economic security and fulfill their potential. We change systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice through policy development, coalition building and advocacy.

The Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center’s mission is to ensure that our state and local economic policies increase opportunity for all residents. We do this by analyzing and understanding the implications of tax and budget decisions and making sure that the public and policy-makers are informed through strategic communications, coalitions and key partners.