Hawaii

Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature by wide margins. Governor Josh Green, a physician, has focused on housing and wildfire recovery since taking office in December 2022.

The state’s fights are not red-vs.-blue. They are about whether recovery money arrives fast enough, whether housing gets built before more families leave, and whether the islands can adapt to a climate that is already changing the coastline.

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Lahaina Wildfire Recovery

The August 2023 Maui wildfires killed 102 people and destroyed Lahaina. It was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century. Nearly three years later, 125 homes have been rebuilt out of thousands destroyed.

$6.8 billion estimated total recovery cost for housing, infrastructure, and economic development

A $1.6 billion HUD Community Development Block Grant announced in January 2026 covers less than 25% of that need. Over $900 million of the grant goes to housing, which alone needs $2.4 billion.

Governor Green secured an extension of FEMA Temporary Housing Assistance through February 2027, approved by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. But federal budget cuts threaten future FEMA funding. If disaster relief shrinks, Maui’s recovery stalls.

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Hawaii’s Housing Costs

Hawaii has the highest housing costs in the nation. The median home price exceeds $800,000.

Green has said 64,000 units are in the affordable housing pipeline. Civil Beat found nearly 31,000 are in early stages still requiring land-use permits that can take years.

Green’s July 2023 emergency housing proclamation drew lawsuits. Critics charged it let developers bypass protections for Native Hawaiian burials and historic properties. On September 15, 2023, Green issued a new proclamation that, in the words of a Ka Wai Ola guest essay, “abandoned many of the harmful suspensions.”

Governor Green also signed SB 2919 (Act 17, May 2024), giving counties authority to ban vacation rentals in communities that do not want them. Maui’s vacation rental bill, which divided the community, was signed into law in December 2025.

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Sea Level Rise in Hawaii

Hawaii was the first state to declare a climate emergency. By 2050, the islands face 150 high-tide flood days per year per location under intermediate projections. That is not a distant forecast. Coastal roads and neighborhoods are already flooding.

Hawaii’s Green Fee, Senate Bill 1396, raised the statewide Transient Accommodations Tax from 10.25% to 11%, with counties allowed to add up to 3%. The fee took effect January 1, 2026, and generates roughly $100 million a year for climate resilience. It survived its first legal challenge.

The money funds defenses against sea-level rise and wildfire prevention. Visitor arrivals are projected to exceed 10 million in 2026, a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels. Tourism pays for the damage tourism accelerates.

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Health Coverage After Federal Cuts

The 2026 legislature moved fast to protect healthcare access as federal coverage shrinks. HB 2310 (Act 21) is an emergency appropriation to maintain food assistance and health insurance for residents losing federal coverage.

The legislature also passed three measures protecting reproductive rights and access to gender-affirming care, according to Indivisible Hawaii, which worked on them with Save Medicaid Hawaii.

Millionaire tax passed Green signed SB 3125 (Act 24), which raises taxes on households earning more than $1 million

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is delivering land to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries for homesteading, with a goal of cutting the waitlist in half by 2026. The legislature unanimously passed HB 2309, expanding homestead lease succession to include nieces and nephews who meet the one-quarter Native Hawaiian blood quantum threshold.

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2026 Elections in Hawaii

Hawaii held its primary on Saturday, August 8, 2026, and holds the general election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. All nine seats on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees are elected to four-year terms. Every voter statewide can vote in every OHA race.

OHA trustees shape policy on Native Hawaiian land, resources, and cultural protections. These races rarely draw attention, but the board controls how Hawaiian Home Lands are managed and how trust revenues are spent.

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What You Can Do in Hawaii

1. Check your voter registration. Hawaii has automatic voter registration. Verify your status and mailing address at elections.hawaii.gov. The general election is November 3.

2. Know your health coverage. If you or someone in your household had Medicaid, check whether your coverage was affected by federal changes. Call your insurer or visit medquest.hawaii.gov to confirm enrollment.

3. Track Maui recovery funding. Visit mauirecovers.org to see where federal dollars are going and what gaps remain. If you are a displaced resident, confirm your FEMA housing assistance status before the February 2027 deadline.

4. Show up at county council meetings. Your county council votes on vacation rental bans, housing density, and how Green Fee revenue is spent. These decisions happen locally, not in the state capitol.

5. Call the governor’s office. 808-586-0034. Ask about the affordable housing pipeline and what is being done to move the 31,000 units stuck in early permitting.