Governor Green Delivers 2026 State of the State Address

STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
 
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
 

GOVERNOR GREEN DELIVERS 2026 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS, DOUBLING DOWN ON HIS BOLD VISION FOR HAWAI‘I’S FUTURE

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2026 

HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green today delivered the final State of the State Address of his first term, doubling down on the bold priorities he has continued to pursue since he took office; a values-driven plan to lower the cost of living, build housing at a historic scale, reduce homelessness, strengthen healthcare and protect Hawaiʻi’s environment for future generations. The address highlighted three years of progress — from tax cuts and housing production to healthcare expansion and Maui recovery — and laid out a forward-looking agenda to ensure every family in Hawaiʻi can afford to live, work and thrive in the islands they call home.

“Three years ago, Hawaiʻi families told us what mattered most — the cost of living, housing, healthcare and the future of our keiki — and we got to work,” said Governor  Green. “Today, we’re seeing real progress, from record housing production and tax relief to better healthcare access and a historic investment in climate resilience. And we’re not done. Our vision is simple: a Hawaiʻi where working families can afford to stay, where our kūpuna can live with dignity, where no child goes hungry and where our islands are protected for generations to come.”

Key Initiatives and Accomplishments Highlighted in the Address:

LOWERING THE COST OF LIVING

• Expanded tax relief for working families, including doubling the Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Tax Credit to save families $88 million per year in taxes.
• Delivered the largest income tax cut while preserving the state’s long-term fiscal health.
• Historic income tax cuts were preserved for 2026 while increasing the state’s fiscal reserves to offset federal cuts.
• Strategic pause enacted on future cuts to restore $1.8B for essential services to be preserved for food security and child care needs.
• Increased support for food security through expanded SNAP matching and regional food hub investments.
• In partnership with the USDA, he launched Sun Bucks to provide summer food benefits to eligible children statewide to ensure keiki don’t go hungry at school.
• Strengthened child care support to help families keep more of what they earn.
• Expanded regional kitchens and food hubs to strengthen food security, improving emergency preparedness.

BUILDING HOUSING AT A HISTORIC SCALE

• Delivered the most significant housing regulatory and zoning reforms in over 40 years.
• Record housing production with thousands of affordable homes completed and many more underway.
• Entitled 5,500 affordable units and more than 6,500 affordable units since entering office.
• Over 62,000 housing units in the statewide pipeline, including 46,000 affordable units.
• More than 20,000 units planned on state lands; expanding workforce housing statewide.
• Historic homestead leasing on Hawaiian Home Lands with over 2,500 leases granted in 2025 — the most awarded in a single year in DHHL’s 100 year history.
• Continued transformation of public housing and leasehold programs to expand long-term affordability.

ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS WITH A HEALTHCARE APPROACH

• Twenty-five kauhale tiny home villages have been opened to date, with 30 villages expected by the year’s end.
• Nearly 1,000 new beds in supportive housing communities.
• Healthcare costs for formerly homeless individuals have dropped significantly following permanent housing placement.
• Continued $50M/year investment in housing first solutions (kauhale), outreach and civil legal services.
• Integration of mental health care and addiction treatment into homeless strategy for improved outcomes in breaking the cycle.
• Goal to cut chronic homelessness in half this year and again over the next four years.

GROWING THE ECONOMY AND CREATING LOCAL JOBS

• Hawaiʻi maintains one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates.
• Strong increases in GDP, personal income and visitor spending, with GDP forecast to be 5% higher in 2025 than in 2019.
• Personal income is forecast to be 11% higher and visitor spending is now the highest ever recorded.
• Expansion of film and TV tax credits to boost local hiring and keep creative industries in Hawaiʻi alive.
• Diversified growth with investments in career pathways like healthcare, conservation, construction and education.
• Workforce pipelines strengthened with public-private partnerships in healthcare, energy and education sectors.

PROTECTING HAWAIʻI’S ENVIRONMENT

• Safe removal of 104M gallons of fuel and permanent closure of Red Hill ahead of schedule.
• Reestablished State Fire Marshal and upgraded emergency alert systems.
• Deployment of wildfire and extreme weather sensors statewide.
• Implementation of the nation’s first Green Fee to generate $100M+ annually for climate resilience and environmental protection.
• Formed an environmental advisory council to help guide a comprehensive strategy for resilience and climate mitigation.
• Nearly 500 community-driven proposals submitted to guide environmental investments.

STRENGTHENING HEALTHCARE STATEWIDE

• Launched HELP — a state-funded initiative providing educational loan repayment for more than 900 providers licensed or certified to practice in Hawaiʻi.
• Directed more resources to Medicaid rate increases, improving care for almost 400,000 of the most vulnerable people in our state.
• Budget includes $16.5 million to cover the cost of preserving enhanced ACA tax credits for Hawaiʻi families.
• Nearly $190M secured in federal funding for our Rural Health Transformation Program to modernize rural access to care, grow our economy and create thousands of good jobs across our state.
• Five-year, nearly $1B effort underway to stabilize and grow healthcare capacity across the islands.

MAUI RECOVERY

• The Governor personally engaged federal leadership to secure a FEMA housing extension through February 2027, ensuring Maui wildfire survivors continue receiving stable housing support while long-term recovery moves forward.
• Thousands of temporary housing units delivered for wildfire survivors.
• More than 1,200 interim homes built; rental support provided for displaced residents.
• Over $2B in federal disaster funding secured.
• Another 1,200 interim housing units and 2,200+ permanent homes planned, including hundreds of affordable units.
• Continued support for those in transitional housing into 2027 to give them more time to rebuild their lives.
• Continued wildfire mitigation, infrastructure upgrades and community rebuilding efforts.

A VISION FOR HAWAIʻI’S FUTURE

Governor Green closed the address with a reaffirmation of Hawaiʻi’s core values — aloha, ʻohana and kuleana — and a commitment to creating a future where families can afford to live and thrive, communities are healthy and secure and Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural heritage is protected.

“This is the Hawaiʻi we are building together — a place that’s more affordable, more resilient and more hopeful for every family,” the Governor said.

A full copy of the speech can be found here.

The speech may be viewed in its entirety via Governor Green’s Facebook page, here.

Images from the fourth annual State of the State Address will be uploaded here; photo credit Office of the Governor.

# # #