Funding Free Transit
What would it cost to make bus transit free for everyone in Hawaiʻi? New report estimates $62.4M a year—and outlines how the state can pay for it.
Understanding Hawaiʻi’s Landlord-Tenant Code
Current Protections, Gaps and the Case for Reform
Policy in Perspective 2026
The most significant failures of the session all share a root cause. They are reforms that would rebalance power or resources away from those with established political influence, and toward those with unmet needs.
Oʻahu Mobility Needs
Looking beyond conventional commuter data to understand how Oʻahu residents of all ages and abilities get to school, work, and beyond.
Pedestrian Head Start
Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) and Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) give people a safer head start and make crossings more inclusive for those with disabilities.
A Fairer Tax Code for a Thriving Hawaiʻi
Progressive Revenue Options to Protect and Invest in Our Future.
Closing the Capital Gains Loophole
By taxing capital gains at the same rate as regular income, Hawaiʻi can make its tax code more fair while funding critical investments in education, housing, healthcare, and support for working families.
Policy in Perspective: 2022
The 2022 Hawaiʻi legislative session included extraordinary examples of the types of actions policymakers can take to rewrite the economic rulebook.
Eviction Prevention Through Hawaiʻi’s Tenant-Landlord Mediation Program
An analysis of Hawaiʻi’s pandemic-era rent relief and pre-litigation mediation program created through Act 57 (2021).
Budget Primer 2022–23
A guide to understanding the basics of the Hawaiʻi state budget and its importance to society.
Feed Our Keiki; Support Our Schools; Help Our Farmers
The missed opportunity of federal child nutrition programs in Hawaiʻi.
Refunding Hawaiʻi
How expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it refundable can boost the economy and provide opportunity to Hawaiʻi’s working families.
Tax Credits as Tools to Advance Prosperity
Tax credits can fine-tune the tax system to promote social welfare and encourage economic activity by delivering targeted tax relief.
Building a Housing Market for Hawaiʻi’s Working Families
Part three of the Good Health Depends on Decent Housing series highlights the disconnect between the state’s housing market and the needs of its residents.
Health and Care for People Experiencing Homelessness
Part two in the Good Health Depends on Decent Housing series shows how helping people who are currently experiencing homelessness with housing and other needs is not only life-changing, but also saves money.
The Health and Housing Connection
Part 1 of a Good Health Depends on Decent Housing series of policy briefs shows how chronic stress from insecure housing produces cumulative effects that result in mental and physical health problems.
Policy in Perspective: 2021
Policymakers have shaped an economy that relies far too much on extractive tourism that provides little to residents in return. To reverse these trends, we need a dramatic shift in our public policy.
Healing Hawaiʻi’s Economy
The State Government’s Crucial Role in Countering the Pandemic Recession.
